Page 110 of A Sun Scorched Bloom

Gray was silent for several moments, and Lea could hardly process the emotions radiating off of him in waves. Confusion, anger, then understanding.

"It was my father who took the queen's blood." Gray met her eyes. "It must be my bloodline to spill for the moonflowers to grow."

Lea pressed her lips together, fighting off another wave of dizziness. It made so much sense. How had she not seen it before? "Will you do it?" Lea breathed. In another life, she wouldn’t ask. Wouldn’t want her mate and the love of her life to hurt himself, to bleed, to help her succeed. But this was war. These moonflowers… They could save so many people. They could change absolutelyeverything.

"It would be my honor to be the one to help you grow the moonflowers." Gray caressed her cheek, and Lea nodded into his hand. She was overcome with emotion, overwhelmed by his unrelenting love and selflessness.Thank you,she whispered into his mind.

With a steady hand and a quick kiss to her forehead, Gray moved the clouds from in front of the moon. "I would do anything for you, Little Flower. Now, hand me the dagger."

Chapter 72

Gray

Kneelingwiththeirshoulderspressed together, Lea pulled a moonflower seed from her pocket. She gently placed it on the dirt, then slowly rocked back on her heels and called her magic into her fingers. They glowed silver-blue, ready to urge the flowers to grow.

Gray could feel her anticipation buzzing through their connection, her absolute terror that even with his blood, it wouldn’t work. The agony of seeing her worry, of watching her throat bob as she waited to discover if the flowers would finallylive, injured him more than any wound could. With a swift, forceful slice, Gray opened the cut on his hand once again, cutting deeper and letting his blood drip directly onto the seed.

The reaction was immediate. Vines shot out in all directions, spreading rapidly and instantly taking root. The evasive white flowers appeared within seconds, far more of them than when Lea had used her own blood.

It’s working,Lea said into his mind, as if she was afraid she might scare the moonflowers with the sound of her voice.

Gray nodded, and Lea pulled a moonflower from its stem. The white petals almost shimmered, and they held their breath as they counted the seconds as they passed, but it didn’t take long before the edges turned black, the darkness cascading across the petals far more slowly than usual.

It was as if a disease had taken hold, but the flower was trying to fight it off. It continued to spread until the whole flower was as dark as the night around them. Gray reached a tentative finger to touch it, but it disintegrated into a fine powder.

Lea cried out as if physically in pain, her shoulders falling as she wiped a tear from her cheek. Without hesitation, Gray opened another cut on his hand, even deeper this time, adding more blood to the already saturated soil. The moonflowers pulsed, every single one of them opening as one.

Lea looked up at Gray through her eyelashes, likely making sure he wasn’t making the same mistake that she had. Her brow was creased in thought, and silent tears dripped from her chin. With shaking fingers, Lea picked another moonflower.

Gray’s stomach twisted as the flower disintegrated to dust in her fingers. Lea ripped the dagger from Gray’s hand, attempting to open a cut on her own hand again, but Gray stopped her.

"It won’t work," he said gently as he sent a wave of love and calm down their bond.

"I don’t understand!" Lea squeezes her hands into fists. "Eudora promised! She said an offering of blood!"

"What were her exact words?" Gray asked, his mind racing.That fucking witch!He should have known that there would be more to the instructions she’d given his mate.

Lea took a deep breath, closing her eyes. "She said it was the spilling of the queen's lifeblood that cursed the moonflowers. And that an offering of blood would be required to undo it."

Gray sat back on the cold ground, his blood chilling as he draped his arms over his knees. "Herlife’sblood… her life. The queen’slifewas forfeited when my father stole her blood to create the Lonely Death and destroy the only cure. How many times has Eudora said that magic demands balance? An offering of blood is not equal to a life."

Lea swallowed down a sob, sniffling as she squared her shoulders. Through the bond, Gray could feel her attempting to maintain control, to not give up and allow her raw, primary magic to feed off her emotions and overtake her. "Are you saying you would need to drain every drop of blood from your body for this to work?" Lea asked.

"I’m saying that I think the cost of the cure is a life. And not just a life, but someone from the king's bloodline."

"Balance," Lea breathed. "It was your bloodline that killed Emmaline. Now that same blood must spill for me to break the curse your father set upon the kingdom. I can wield the cure, but the cure is in your blood. Your father and brother’s blood."

"The Lonely Death still spreads." Gray looked at the stars, the crushing reality of the consequences of his father’s actions settling on his shoulders. "Unless we can ensure every person infected is eradicated, it will continue to spread, even if my father is dead. If Alaric is stealing magic…"

"Then we need to be prepared," Lea finished for him before standing up, wiping her eyes as a look of hardened determination washed over her features. Smoke rose from around her feet, and Gray’s shadows squirmed uncomfortably as small, black flames appeared around her fingers, glowing soot and ash falling to the ground and extinguishing in the bloody soil. "Wherever Alaric falls, wherever his blood spills, I’ll need to be there, ready to plant the seeds."

Chapter 73

Lea

Thecoolhiltofthe sword warmed in Lea’s palm, the beautiful pattern of vines and moonflowers replicated in the metal thrumming beneath her fingers. Her thumb absently traced along the empty locket soldered in the very center.I want you to place a moonflower there, when you learn how to harvest it. Because I know you’re going to do it one day, Lea. You’re going to cure the Lonely Death,Thomas had said the day he’d given it to her.

The fact that it was still empty made her want to vomit, as did the fragment of unease that still hung between them. They’d been best friends once—everything to each other. And while they’d made up, apologized and moved on, there was still a distance between them that felt unnatural and uncomfortable.

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