The Raven and the Dove (The Raven and the Dove #1) - Kaitlyn Davis Page 0,45

our homeland to keep the House of Peace strong, and our gratitude for all that you sacrifice on our behalf in serving our god Aethios, the highest of them all.”

The princes and princess gently placed their vials in the offering basket and then swiftly fluttered to the empty seats beside their parents.

The hall grew quiet as hundreds of heads turned back toward the main door, waiting for the next house. Lyana, however, couldn’t help but feel the heat of two sets of eyes studying her carefully controlled features—her father’s, alight with anticipation, and her mother’s, a bit sharper and more analytic. Luka, nervous and protective, tightened his hands on the arms of his throne.

Lyana’s heart dropped yet rose at the same time, with a sense of dread and intrigue in an odd mixture that threw her off balance as the doors finally opened. The next house was the House of Flight. And she knew from all her snooping that its crown prince was the one her father had chosen for her. The mate she was supposed to select. The mate that was expected.

Lyana swallowed.

A flock of hummingbirds shot through the entrance, mirroring her nerves. Their wings beat so fast they were little more than blurs of blue silk darting around the hall. Each of them held a jug of what Lyana could only assume was nectar as they moved to their allotted positions, then hovered twenty feet in the air. There were now two lines of ten people along either side of the entry.

Two masked figures entered, walking slowly, wearing matching navy jackets and tan trousers, wings tucked so Lyana couldn’t see them. By the feathers shrouding their faces, she could guess their coloring. One mask was a violet tanzanite that shifted into a rainbow of colors as the man walked, and the other had orange hues that reminded her of the setting sun. From this distance, she couldn’t tell who was the crown prince, but she guessed the first, by his stature. His hands were clasped behind his back, and there was an aura of arrogance about him that reeked of a firstborn.

As the princes made their way, step by step, down the hall, a flurry of activity took place above their heads. The hummingbirds in formation threw the marigold liquid in their jugs over the princes until a glittering pattern filled the air as they darted around, catching, tossing, zipping, and zooming. They moved so fast their bodies seemed to disappear, as if the two princes were alone beneath a ceiling that moved with them. When they reached the main atrium, the hummingbirds soared higher and spread wider. Lyana winced, waiting for a splash to land on her head, but nothing did. The hummingbirds reached their final spots and hovered there, throwing the nectar back and forth so the pattern became clear—a lily.

Just as suddenly, it disappeared.

The hummingbirds turned their jugs upside down.

Lyana flinched.

Before a single drop hit the ground, an orange blur circled the room, catching every falling stream, then speeding to a halt before the offering basket with a bowed head. The other prince remained in the center of the room, and a moment later, the hovering birds produced flowers and tossed them into the air. The prince with the iridescent mask jumped into action, a figure of blurred glitter as he caught the falling buds, one by one.

He landed on one knee at Lyana’s feet and offered her the bouquet, glancing up to meet her surprised smile with a charming lopsided grin of his own. A dimple dug into his right cheek. When she reached to accept the flowers, he brushed his fingers against hers, his olive skin warm and smooth. Before she knew whether to frown at his audacity or deepen her smile in approval, the prince disappeared, soaring to his brother’s side with a flash and also lowering into a bow.

The king jumped in quickly, as though his son’s display had been unexpected and unplanned, “May I present Damien Eurytheus, born of the god Eurythes, Crown Prince of the House of Flight. And Jayce Eurytheus, born of the god Eurythes, Prince of the House of Flight.”

Neither prince looked up as they placed the jug of hummingbird nectar in the offering basket. When they were done, their father continued with the formal statement.

“May we gift our offering to the god Aethios in the name of Eurythes, god of water and the plentiful harvest it provides. Nectar and nourishment from our homeland to keep the