"I need to know about Lyana." He swallowed the lump in his throat. "About Lyana…and Rafe."
Lyana and Rafe—the last two people she wanted to discuss in the world. At least he was coming to her as the jilted lover and not the suspicious prince. This was a problem she knew how to handle.
With a casual shrug, Cassi murmured, "What about Lyana and Rafe?"
"I need to know how they met," Xander said, a gruff edge to his tone. "I need to know how they—how they fell in love."
"Why don't you start by telling me what you know?"
"I know the dragon attack in the House of Peace had something to do with it, and then the trials. I don't know how long they carried on here behind my back, but I need to. And I know…" He trailed off, pausing to glance from one side to the other as he leaned in close. "I know about Lyana."
Cassi couldn't help herself—she shifted forward, copying his movements as she glanced side to side, mocking him. "What do you know about Lyana?"
"I know," he said again, with more emphasis.
She, of course, understood exactly what he was implying, but if she gave in too easily, it would be suspect. No matter what happened, Lyana was her best friend, and she wouldn't give up her secrets so easily, not without a little something in return. "I'm afraid I don't—"
"Look, Cassi," Xander cut in, a bit of frustration evident. She tried not to grin, though the edges of her lips twitched nonetheless. She was used to seeing him from a distance, the perfect prince, but she liked him better this way, not quite so proper. "I understand that you're in a foreign house, surrounded by people you hardly know. I understand that you spent far more time with my brother than with me. I understand we're still relative strangers. But I meant what I said—you're safe in my home. And I’d like us to be friends. You can trust me. I promise we're on the same side."
There he was again, speaking with a voice full of conviction and far too alluring. But he was also naïve, which was a weakness she could use, though she hated herself, just a little, for how quickly that thought came to mind. "What side is that?"
"The side that wants to keep Lyana safe, to bring her home."
"I'll tell you what I know, but only on one condition." Cassi paused as his brows drew together. It was a gamble, sure, but she needed to see how freely Xander would give up the information her king would kill for. And the closer she could get to him, the less he would suspect her. "You tell me what happened to Lyana first."
His lips flattened into a thin line, but he didn't look away. Neither did she. Their battle of wills lasted for a few prolonged seconds. Then he told her everything—how a mysterious man with magic infiltrated the sacred nest, how he was stabbed, how Lyana fought the strangers off to bring him back from the brink of death. That last little detail made her smile. Malek must've been furious yet at the same time fascinated to have his own magic used against him. A devious little part of Cassi wished she had been there to see him beaten at his own game. Mostly, she wished she had been there to see her best friend, her queen of prophecy, finally come into her power.
"You seem impressed," Xander murmured after he finished.
Inwardly, Cassi winced. Outwardly, she cleared her features, cursing herself for letting her mask fall for even a moment. "Lyana's strong."
"So you're not worried for her?"
"I didn’t say that," she replied sharply, injecting a little fear into her tone. The sentiment was somewhat true—part of her was terrified of what would happen to Lyana the longer she stayed beneath the mist, of who Malek would turn her into without Cassi there to ground her. But what could she do now anyway? Lyana would never forgive her for the lies, for the betrayals. Their friendship was over, and sooner or later, Cassi would be forced to face that ugly truth. "I only meant she can handle herself. She'll be all right until we find her."
He nodded, a distant, hopeful expression on his face.
Cassi capitalized on the moment. "Who else have you told?"
"About Lyana?" he asked, refocusing on her. "No one. I told my mother and Helen about the man and the magic, but they're sworn to secrecy. We want to keep it as contained as possible until we know more."
Good.
She added Helen and Queen Mariam to her mental list—she'd have to watch them too, just in case. Malek had been right. Murder would be much easier, at least in theory. But she couldn't imagine Xander's warm lavender eyes as lifeless. Keeping him from learning the truth would be difficult, but not impossible. The only impossibility was the idea of snatching the dagger from her belt and plunging it into his heart right now. Everything else was within reach.
"Thank you for telling me the truth," Cassi said. "And thank you for keeping Lyana's secret. Ask what you want, and I'll tell you everything I know."
Xander sighed, a bit of relief softening his hard edges. "They met that day with the dragon? Lyana saved him. How?"
"Lyana and I were hiding in a cave beneath the sky bridge when the dragon came. We saw Rafe fight it, and we saw him get hurt. She flew out to stop it, and I chased after. I'm still not entirely sure how we managed to scare it away, but we did, and then we brought Rafe into the cave to hide him so Lyana could, well, you know."
She didn't want to mention magic, not out loud, even though they were alone. Cassi of all people understood that there was always a chance someone could be listening unseen.
Xander nodded, prodding her to continue.
"We didn’t know he was a raven prince until we went back. I left the two of them alone, so I'm not sure what happened between them. Though I suspect Rafe had a secret of his own, because the next time I saw Lyana, she was claiming him as her mate. And there's only one thing I know of that could draw two strangers together so quickly."
"Your suspicion is correct."
Cassi didn’t ask for more. Of course, she didn’t need to. She already knew everything there was to know about Rafe's magic, but there was no reason to tell that to Xander. Let him think her uninterested. "Then, well, the trials brought them closer together, until she learned the truth of who he was, who you were, and it stopped."
"But it didn't."
"It did," she countered softly. "For a while at least. Lyana pretended to hate him. I think there was a time when she fooled herself into thinking she did. But then…"
"The earthquake," Xander said, the realization widening his eyes. They grew glassy as he sank back into his memories. "Rafe saved her during the earthquake, and she must've helped with his wings because I knew they healed too quickly, and then—" He stopped short and looked sharply at her. "The children. The victims. It wasn't Taetanos. It was never Taetanos. It was her—it was them—all along."
"Even then, they never kissed. Nothing happened, not until the night before your mating ceremony. She went with the intention of saying goodbye, and I know they made a mistake, but they did say goodbye. She came back to her room in the morning. In the end, she chose you."
"Is that how you would want to be chosen?" he asked softly, staring into a world she couldn't see. A wave of emotions passed over his face—anger, regret, and most of all, pain. What caught her attention, however, was how hard he fought them off, right arm trembling under the strain. The muscles in his jaw ticked as though biting back all the terrible thoughts his mouth ached to say.