"Do you—"
"Tomorrow, Brighty." Captain dropped her arm from the door and walked toward her cabin, her voice as heavy as her thudding steps, trailing behind her like a weight. "When we're in the open seas, far away from the city, with some distance between us and the king's mages, we'll figure out the rest. Just give me until tomorrow."
Tomorrow, Brighty thought, her mood far lighter. She took the steps two at a time and burst through the door with a bang, weary and exhausted, yet somehow more alive than she'd felt in ages, as though seeing Effie had sealed a leaking wound and saving Rafe had closed another. Turning him into a king would be no easy job. Hell, he hardly passed for a sailor. But they'd find a way. If it was meant to be, the way she somehow knew it was, they'd find a way—tomorrow.
56
Lyana
As they flew to the House of Song, Lyana and Xander tightened their story. If anyone asked, they would say she disappeared during their mating ceremony as they pressed their palms to the god stone to murmur their vows. Xander had thought it was a trick played by Vesevios, some sort of magic he'd gotten Rafe to learn in order to spirit her away. But in truth, Taetanos had welcomed her into the spirit realm where all the gods were waiting to greet her. They said a terrible war was coming. They said she was chosen to help guide their people through these uncertain times. And they gifted her with the power of Aethios so she might see his will done. When the House of Whispers fell, the gods knew their time was running out, and Taetanos released her back to the world of the living.
"Do you really think they'll believe it?" she asked as they neared the northern edge of the House of Song, a dense canopy of trees visible just beyond the cliffs.
"You know what my mother told me once?"
He took her hand to stop her and Lyana turned. As they hovered side by side, the moonlight played on the skin of their joined fingers, a study in shadow and light. It had been so long since she'd seen the stars, since the sky had felt open and expansive rather than condensed and closed in.
"She said frightened gossip has the power to bring a kingdom to its knees, but I have something to add to that. Hope has the power to make a fallen kingdom rise." He swallowed and tightened his grip, his words like deftly wielded weapons cutting her doubts away. "You are that hope, Lyana. You'll be the bright spark to lead our people through the darkness. They'll believe you, because right now they need something to believe in. They've lost their homes, their way of life. Some of them have lost their families. They're terrified and adrift. Your arrival will be the dawn of a new day. Trust me. I believe that, and if you believe it, they'll believe it too."
He'd always had a way about him that made her feel special, but this was different. Now he made her feel strong. He spoke with conviction and authority. He spoke like a king—a true king, who led through faith and love instead of emotionless power. Lyana had almost forgotten what that felt like, but she was grateful for the reminder. "Thank you, Xander."
"Are you ready?" He lifted his chin toward the isle waiting just out of reach.
"No," she answered with a grin. "But let's do this anyway."
As they crested the edge and soared over the thick forests of the songbird homeland, Lyana gathered her power, mulling over his words. If she believed, they'd believe. Though she was nervous and frightened and unsure, she couldn’t show it. She had to be strong. She had to lead. There would be no more racing into the clouds, dreaming about the distant horizon and the adventure she might find there. It was time to grow up. For them. For the world. For herself.
It was time to become a queen.
They found the flock in an open clearing a few miles inland, the sea of raven wings looking like molten obsidian beneath the moonlight. Helen was the first to spot them, jumping to her feet as her hand rose to fight the glare. More soon followed, pointing and shouting as their prince and princess descended from the sky. Stealing Malek's favorite trick, Lyana sent her magic out in a wave of gold. It enveloped the lost ravens, filling their souls with warmth and love, that small trace of healing power just enough to enliven their weary bones. Without magic, no one would be able to see the subtle shimmer in the air. They'd just feel the slightest weight lifting off their shoulders. And anyone with magic, well, Lyana trusted they'd keep her secret. She was done being afraid, done hiding who she was, done pretending that power didn't run like blood through her veins.
"Helen," Xander called as soon as they landed on the soft grass. "Where's my mother?"
The captain of the guards dropped her gaze, and Lyana's heart dropped with it.
"Helen?"
"My prince," Helen said, apology thickening her tone. With her magic on full display, Lyana felt Xander's spirit freeze, as though his heart had stopped beating in his chest. "The queen didn't make it."
Xander took Lyana's hand, squeezing her fingers, and she squeezed right back, aching for him as the pain in his soul sank into her own, the sort of wound even her magic couldn't heal.
"What happened?"
"She was gone by the time I got to her room. The ceiling in the royal chambers collapsed during the earthquake, crushing her beneath it. There was nothing we could do before the isle fell."
Xander opened his mouth, then closed it, swallowing before he opened his mouth to silence once more. He was the boy who always knew just what to say, and now he was a man made speechless by grief.
"You did what you could," Lyana offered Helen, raising her voice so everyone could hear and strengthening the alluring pull of her magic. "All of you did what you could in the face of impossible horror. I know you're tired and confused. I know you're frightened and hurt. But Prince Lysander and I are here with the blessing of the gods to lead you through this terrible time. On the day of our mating ceremony, Taetanos welcomed me into the spirit realm and brought me before the gods. That's where I've been these long weeks. That's why I left. But now I'm back, and Aethios has gifted me the power to save you. If you would have us, we would be your king and queen. If you would have us, we would be the light to guide you through the dark."
At first, nothing happened. The ravens were wary and exhausted. They didn’t know what to believe. But then the girl from the ruins of Pylaeon stepped forward with her mother and baby brother, faith a light in her eyes, making her glow beneath the stars. As one, all three knelt, bowing their heads to the ground. Beside them stood another man Lyana and Xander had saved. He knelt too. Then the next, and the next, starting with those they'd rescued and then spreading until the entire House of Whispers circled them, their foreheads touching the grass, not a sound in the clearing but the subtle rustling of feathers and leaves as a breeze swept through.
Lyana glanced at Xander. He stared back at her.
Are you sure? his caring eyes seemed to ask.
Are you?
Together, they lifted their clasped hands above their heads. A cheer erupted, full of so much hope and promise it stirred the rising sun.
57
Rafe
A blur of shadows and blood filled his vision. Red droplets glinted beneath the night sky. Tendrils of darkness swirled in the air. His clawed hand wrapped around a pale neck, and then his ebony scales slashed. Screams and screeches filled his ears, the chaos of movement, then silence.