The Hunter and the Mage (The Raven and the Dove #2) - Kaitlyn Davis Page 0,85

He was just a name. Yet he stayed with her long after she and Xander returned to the castle, long after they bid each other good night, long after she slipped into her dreams. He was there beside her as her spirit explored the underground workings of the library, searching for a way into the rooms that held the information her king might need. He was there, guiding her down a path she wasn't sure she was brave enough to follow on her own.

27

Lyana

"Where are we?" Lyana asked as she emerged from the interior cabin, surprised to find nothing but open waters and endless fog before her.

When Malek had come to retrieve her, she'd been so relieved to see him without those blasted elemental bowls, she hadn’t even cared where they were going. As he'd led her into the depths of an unadorned boat, shielding them from the crowds she was starting to grow used to, she'd been admittedly curious. Now, standing at the edge of the city, its sounds dulled by the fog, with the ocean to her left and a plain wooden structure to her right, she was downright intrigued.

"I have it on good authority that one of your favorite things to do before coming to this world was train."

"Whose authority?"

"So." Malek ignored her. "I thought we might try something new."

"New?"

He stepped onto the dock without looking back. Lyana jumped over the side of the boat and landed easily on the damp wooden planks, then followed him toward the nondescript building. The front door was ajar and the white glow of mage light seeped through the opening, giving no hint as to what waited inside.

"While you're making progress with the bowls, it's not happening fast enough."

A snort slipped out before she could stop it. You think I don’t know?

Every lesson was like torture. Those four bowls mocked her as they sat unmoving on the table. Malek's eyes judged her, his every disappointment written across his face. The sight of ripples passing over still water was the greatest thrill she'd had in days. It was hardly the stuff of legend, not nearly enough to heal the world.

Lyana tried to think back to that day in the sacred nest, with the power swirling all around her, a manifestation of Aethios's might, his hands guiding her as she pushed Malek away and fought him to save Xander's life. She'd been powerful then. Strong. Unstoppable. Wild, even. Recently, the only thing she felt was tamed.

"I know you're an impulsive person," Malek continued, either unaware or unmoved by her silent insolence, his voice as focused as ever. "You like to do. You like to act. I think maybe you need real stakes to awaken your magic, not always, but now, while you don’t yet know how to bend it to your will. I probably should've brought you here sooner, but I wanted to try the other way first. It's more, well, more humane, I guess you'd say. But we don't have that luxury any longer."

With a slight push, the door swung all the way open and Lyana followed him into the brightly lit corridor. As they stepped through the archway at the far end, for the first time in what felt like days a true smile fluttered over her lips. It was a training arena. What she'd thought was a building was truly a wall, surrounding a flat field of packed sand with the open skies above. Her muscles flared with the sweetest heat. She'd been stuck in the castle for days, and it would be such a relief to finally move.

"When new mages come into their power, we bring them here to train," explained as they approached the small group of men and women waiting in the center of the arena. Lyana recognized them from her days on the king's ship—Viktor, the wind mage, Nyomi, the water mage, Jacinta, the metal mage, and Isaak, the fire mage. "Teaching control isn't always the safest thing, so we like to do it away from the city centers, in a somewhat isolated location. You don't need to hold back here. In fact, I pray that you won't, because none of my mages will hold back with you." Malek flicked his gaze to the side. "Viktor, why don't you go first."

"Yes, my liege," the lanky man answered with a nod, stepping away from the group and unclasping the hands behind his back. Yellow sparked menacingly at his fingertips, but that wasn't what caught her attention. It