"I tried to warn you," Helen said as she landed by his side.
"Nothing could've prepared me for this."
Cassi's boots scuffed on the rocks behind him, but she said nothing, perhaps just as shocked as he.
"You said it started before I left?"
Helen nodded and crossed her arms, brow furrowed as she stared at the city in shambles before them. "You were here for the first two earthquakes, both short enough to seem like aftershocks, which is exactly what we thought they were, until the next one happened a few days after you were gone. It was short too, but then a few days later another one happened, also short. The queen and I sat down with the advisors and tracked the timing, realizing they were happening closer and closer together. For the past week, they've been occurring daily, sometimes more than once or twice a day, almost as though leading up to something—but we don't know what. By themselves, they don't cause much damage, but with so little time in between, the structures are failing bit by bit. Even if the dove prince hadn’t come, I would've gone to retrieve you. I was already preparing for the journey to the owl kingdom when he landed at our door."
As she spoke, Xander let his gaze drift along the river cutting through the center of the valley. In the late-afternoon sun, its crystal waters sparkled like a beacon for his eyes to follow, leading him to Taetanos's Gate. The gushing fall spewed with all the fury of a scorned god, white and chaotic. A fine mist curled into the air to catch the light, but the shadows were what interested him. Wet with moisture, the cliff face glistened like polished onyx. Hidden deep at its heart was the sacred nest that now occupied his thoughts.
"Have you kept a watch on the god stone?"
"We've been getting daily reports from the priests and priestesses, but nothing is amiss. It remains in the heart of the sacred nest where it's always been. The only thing that has changed is the level of Taetanos's fury. The priests and priestesses say that before every earthquake the stone trembles with his anger. They think he's making our world shake as a reminder to right the wrong done against him, to face Vesevios and bring Princess Lyana home."
The only time he'd seen the stone shudder was in the presence of magic. Had that man come back? Was he hiding in the forests? Was he using magic to affect the stone? And if he was, why? What did it all mean?
Xander closed his eyes and squeezed the bridge of his nose as his face twisted with frustration. He was close—so, so close—to understanding. The riddle was staring him in the face, taunting him. All the words were there, but he couldn't see between them. He just wanted someone to tell him the answer, to supply the epiphany that would make it all clear.
"We've been spotted."
His eyes popped open and he shifted his focus toward the area of the valley he'd been pointedly ignoring—the one littered with ivory tents and pale wings that didn’t belong in a land built for ravens. It didn’t take long to spot the dove racing toward him like an arrow aimed at his heart. Two more followed behind their prince, Aethios's avenging army coming to strike. Xander stood his ground and waited for the blow.
"Where is she?" Luka Aethionus shouted as he landed on the rocks below, then half jumped and half flew the rest of the way to the top. His ashen wings cut through the air like swords, the body beneath them athletic and strong. He was a warrior through and through, but the look on his face wasn't of anger or hate. The only emotion shining in his honey-hued irises was worry, a fact that immediately endeared him to Xander. They both wanted Lyana safe, and everything else was just politics. "What have you done with my sister? I want to see her now."
"I'm afraid that's not possible."
"Listen," Luka spat. He grabbed the front of Xander's jacket and yanked him so close their noses almost touched. Xander motioned for Helen to stay put, already anticipating her reaction. "We might have tied in single-weapon combat at the trials, but this isn’t the arena any longer. Where is my sister?"
"Threaten me all you like, but it won't bring your sister back," Xander said smoothly. "And I'm afraid a duel would leave you sorely disappointed. I'm not the fighter I once was."
The fire in the dove's eyes dimmed as a frown crossed his lips, but he didn't move.
"Luka," Cassi admonished.
At the sound of her voice, the dove prince relinquished his hold and stepped back. His attention shifted briefly to Xander's missing hand before rising to her. News of his injury had traveled fast, exactly as he hoped it would, but that wasn't what had intrigued Xander. It was the way the dove's face softened as soon as he looked upon the owl. All those hard edges fell away, replaced with an intimate vulnerability that left Xander feeling like an intruder.
"Where is she, Cassi?" The words were quiet, barely there and on the verge of breaking. "What has he done to her?"
She stepped forward and took the dove's hands in hers. Luka responded to her touch by threading their fingers together and holding her palms to his heart, the look in his eyes fierce and scared, but most of all, loving. The two other doves showed no surprised at their prince acting so familiar with Cassi. Xander turned to Helen and a silent conversation passed between them that left a stubborn ache in his heart.
One answer, at least, had become clear.
Luka was the man Cassi had loved—the one who'd left her bitter and angry about women sacrificing all while men lost nothing. He was a prince who'd kept his kingdom and his home, who'd gained a new mate and a promising future, while she'd been banished to the House of Whispers, losing everything in the end, including her best friend.
And last night she'd kissed another prince bound by sacred duty.
He could still feel the impression of her lips on his neck. His fingers had repeatedly run over the spot, yet each time he was surprised to find smooth flesh instead of the outline of her kiss burned there like a brand.
No wonder she'd cried.
No wonder she'd told him to leave and hadn't met his eyes since, not on the long flight, and not now either, with his stare burrowing into her cheek.
"Xander hasn't done anything to her," Cassi murmured, all her focus on Luka. The sun did little to hide the wet sheen to her eyes. "I promise, the only thing he's done is try to help her."
"Where is she?"
"I don't know."
A long breath escaped the dove prince's lips as he tried to absorb the information. Then he nodded once, coming back to life. The frantic fear in his gaze cleared, replaced with awareness and the smallest shred of pain. He glanced down at her hands held against his chest and swallowed tightly before stepping back. Cassi pulled her arms away and let them fall to her sides as she bowed her head. Luka shifted toward Xander.
"My informants told me she was taken by your bastard brother. Is it true? They said he was an agent of Vesevios, and that if he has her, it means he took her beneath the mist."
At that, Cassi looked up.
Xander didn’t know what to say. The panic in her eyes was surely a mirror of his own. He knew the rumors would get out eventually, but he wasn't prepared to face the truth, not yet. They still didn’t have answers or a plan. And if the doves learned the truth, it was only a matter of time before Aethios's chosen took over the search. If they found Lyana, they'd never let her leave the crystal city again. His people would be left even more lost than before.