"No, of course not," he murmured as he wiped her hair from her cheeks, trying to calm her. "Just close your eyes for a moment, and it'll all be over. You'll meet your mother with everyone else in the House of Song. Just close your eyes."
She nodded, believing him.
He wasn't sure if it was cruelty or kindness, but he didn't have time to decide. Xander slipped his hand to his waist and grabbed his dagger, already stained with the blood of the other lives he'd ended so they could soar in peace to Taetanos's realm rather than lie in pain for hours. The end, either way, would be the same. With a wound such as this, the girl would bleed out before she even reached the sky. Her wings weren't broken, but she'd never survive the flight. This was the true work of kings—bloody and gruesome, full of choices that would stay in his mind like a brand, images and people and deeds he would never be able to forget. But he would rather she die with her eyes closed, dreaming of her family, with him by her side, than alone in the fog as this foreign world pulled her under.
Xander lifted the blade.
"Stop!"
He turned toward her voice as his heart leapt to his throat and the dagger clanged against the stones. "Lyana?"
"I'm here," she said as she stepped through the mist, her ivory wings as luminous as ever, as though starlight lived within her feathers, breaking up the dark night.
She'd come.
Despite the prophecy, despite what Cassi had said about her destiny and her king, she'd come for him and for his people.
She'd come to save them.
"Princess!" the girl cried as she tore open her eyes. "You've returned."
"I have," Lyana crooned as she knelt beside the girl, nothing but sympathy and compassion in her eyes. "I'm sorry it took me so long, but I'm here now. And I come with Aethios's blessing to help the House of Whispers. I've been with him these longs weeks that I've been away, and he's gifted me with the power to save you."
"Oh, thank you. Thank you."
"You might feel a little pain, but it will all be over soon, I promise."
"Thank you."
Lyana lifted her green eyes to him, and for a moment Xander couldn't breathe. He'd forgotten what it was like to be in her presence, like looking at a goddess come to life, a woman so full of spirit and magic she shone as bright as the sun. But it was different now too. He thought of that beach where Cassi had taken him, of the tide flowing in and out, the sand slipping through his fingers with each passing wave. He no longer worried about trying to hold on to something that couldn’t be bottled. She was meant for bigger things than him, and he was fine to simply sit and bask in her glow.
"Help me with her body," Lyana murmured.
Xander copied her movements and they each slid their arms beneath the girl's back. She hissed in pain, but the ache soon receded from her eyes. As they lifted her, she remained still, a serene expression on her face. He couldn’t see Lyana's magic, but he could feel it like a static pulse in the air. The blood oozing from the girl's open wound slowed, and then her skin sealed, the scar shrinking and shrinking until it was nothing.
"In the name of Aethios, highest of them all, you're healed," Lyana said warmly as the girl blinked away her confusion, bright spots of wonder filling her gaze. "Go. Find your family and tell the ravens their prince and princess are coming to save them, with the power of Aethios and Taetanos combined. Go."
The girl raced off into the night.
"The power of Aethios?" Xander muttered, arching a brow.
Lyana turned toward him with a grin. "It sounds so much better than magic."
"Do you think they'll buy it?"
"I think they'll believe whatever keeps them alive."
He had so many questions, and not nearly enough time to ask them, but the answers swirled in her gaze. Her eyes were no longer clouded with secrets, but open and unafraid. He didn’t know what she'd gone through down here in the mist, but one thing was clear—she was done hiding.
"Rafe is alive, Xander, and I love him. For that reason, and so many more, I can't be your mate. But if you'll allow me, I would still do everything I can to save our people."
The words were abrupt, but he'd known them already. He'd known them the second he looked into her eyes. The world was changed. She was changed. And so was he. Xander wanted more than a mate tied to him with shackles. He wanted more for his people, and more for himself. The feelings he'd once had for her had been a fantasy, crafted through daydreams, but he deserved something real. And someday, he would find it.
"Cassi." The name came unbidden to his lips, from some deep place he'd been trying to ignore, but now that it was out in the open, he remembered where he'd left her—behind bars. "She's trapped."
"I know."
"You know?"
"Xander," Lyana murmured, her voice soft enough to crush and yet strung with hope, a hope he didn’t want to snuff out. "Did she truly try to kill you?"
He swallowed, thinking about the knife at his throat and the pleading look in her eyes. "I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"It's…complicated."
"She lied to me for my entire life."
"I know."
"She cut off Rafe's wings."
He winced. "I know that too."
"But still you want to save her?" Lyana stared at him, searching his face as though the answer might be written upon his skin. But there was no right or wrong, no simple choice. All he knew was that he couldn't let Cassi die like this.
"I do."
Lyana released a heavy breath. "Me too."
"Then follow me."
They raced across the city, stopping to help the injured along the way. Lyana moved toward them before he even heard them cry out for help, as though she could feel their spirits and knew where they were without needing to speak. One after another, they knelt together as Lyana worked her magic, healing his people and praising their gods, until even he started to believe she was working with some divine power. He was beginning to see what Cassi had told him. Magic and the gods were one and the same—all that mattered was how the information was framed. If they could come up with a convincing story, his people might think Lyana a messenger of the gods. After this, they would need something to believe in, and she could be that something, if they played their cards right. She could guide them through the storm.
"Xander!"
He was so entrenched in his thoughts, he didn't notice as the ground heaved, sending a cascade of debris off the side of a building. Lyana threw her arms up, and the rocks stopped in midair. With a flick of her wrists, she tossed them to the side. Invisible power raised the hairs on his neck. This magic was different from her healing. This magic made him question the very foundations of what was possible. But when he met her gaze, she was still the girl he knew, strong willed and brave, her expression daring him to say something.
"Thanks."
Her lips twitched. "No problem."
"We're almost—"
He broke off as the ground gave way again, but this time, there was no steadying push back, no gentle sway. The land tilted, slipping farther and farther to the side, until they had no choice but to take to the sky.