The Raven and the Dove (The Raven and the Dove #1) - Kaitlyn Davis Page 0,8
the bite of this frigid, foreign land.
“And what does the queen say?” Rafe asked, trying a different approach. Xander’s mother hated him and everything he represented, as did many of his people. There was no way she would agree to this insane plan, no way she would ever admit he was better equipped than her son for any challenge. Truth be told, Rafe thought she was right in that belief.
“She understands the necessity.”
It was all Rafe could do not to snap his wings wide open and fly away. Not to retreat. Not to run from this role he’d never wanted, not even in his imagination. “So that’s it? It’s settled, whether I want it to be or not?”
“You’ll don the royal seal until the final day of the trials, when the matches are revealed, and then we’ll switch places. Tradition dictates you'll be wearing a mask, anyway, and I’ll stay out of sight. No one will even suspect anything. My face will be the one they remember in the end, so you have nothing to fear.”
Rafe frowned. “Easy for you to say.”
“True.” His brother grinned.
The frown only deepened. “What will you be doing during all of this?”
Xander shrugged, bright lavender sparks flashing in the corners of his eyes. “I’ll be playing you, of course. The loyal, quiet, subservient second to the prince, who does everything his older brother commands.”
Rafe arched a single brow in his brother's direction.
Xander continued jovially, “Who does everything his older, and wiser, brother commands.”
Rafe sighed.
He’d give in.
He’d known he would. He’d known it before they’d even left home. And now, looking into his brother’s confident, kind, and silently pleading face, he knew there was no way he could say no. Not when Xander was the only reason Rafe even had a place and a people to call home. Not when Xander was the one who had begged the queen to let him stay after their father died. Not when Xander had risked so much.
Who am I kidding? he thought, his heart warming despite the chilly air. I love him too much to ever say no.
“I’ll take the seal after we get to the House of Peace,” Rafe conceded. “You should enter as our crown prince and rightful heir, not me.”
Xander pounced on his moment of victory, offering Rafe the ring. “Take it now, before you have a chance to change your mind. And before any of the other houses have a chance to see…” He trailed off, his gaze again dropping to the rounded end of his right arm.
Rafe jumped back. The edge of his boot scuffed against the crystal as he stepped onto the bridge. “Later.”
“Now.”
“Later.”
“Would you just listen to me for once?” Xander half laughed, half sighed the words.
Rafe grunted but lifted his hand. Xander dropped the ring into his open palm. As he positioned the chain around his neck, he felt the weight of the obsidian stone all the way to his core. Nothing had ever felt so heavy. Yet for his brother, he could do this. He would.
“It looks good on you,” Xander whispered, his tone almost vulnerable.
Rafe shoved the ring beneath his shirt. “It looks better on you.”
The edge of Xander’s lip twitched with amusement. “Obviously.”
Before Rafe could respond in kind, a thunderous roar cut across the sky. His wings unleashed instinctively, standing to attention as he turned with his brother, their movements in unison as they tried to locate the source of the sound. They’d heard it only once before, but that deadly snarl was impossible to forget, as were the memories that came with it.
“It can’t be,” Rafe muttered.
“Not here,” Xander agreed.
As their gazes dropped to the open air beneath their feet, they both realized they were wrong. A body of angry orange-and-red flames emerged from the mist, leathery wings smooth as they cut through the fog, vapors swirling in its wake.
The fire god had sent his fury.
A dragon was headed straight for them.
4
Rafe
“Get back,” Rafe shouted, shoving Xander’s chest and pushing him away.
He pumped his wings and launched himself into the air over the sky bridge, shifting into fight mode as the beast approached. It left a trail of dark smoke, stark against the expanse of bright gray. A change in the air behind Rafe caught his attention, and he turned to find his brother flying a few feet away, hand searching for the knife at his hip.
“Get out of here,” Rafe ordered. “Go get the others. They can’t be far.”