Page 123 of A Sun Scorched Bloom

Defeating both his brother and his father would be challenging enough if they each had their own magic, but if Alaric truly had stolen the king's powers, then he was, without a doubt, the most powerful Fae alive. He wasn’t sure even Lea’s power could match the immensity of the magic that Alaric now possessed.

He and his brother had always been so close to evenly matched, with Gray having just a slight upper hand due to his focus and control. But now? Alaric had stolen his father’s death from him. And Gray feared he wouldn’t have the strength to overcome the magnitude of his stolen power.

As they arrived at the office, Vincent standing guard outside the door, Gray got a strange feeling in his gut. Something didn’t feel right, but he didn’t know why. Maybe it was the timing of all of this. How would a soldier have known to head toward Bearswillow, and with enough time to get a word to them about the incoming attack? Alaric was playing some sort of game, and Gray intended to find out what it was.

"Vincent," Gray angled his head. "What do you think? Can he be trusted?"

"I interviewed both him and Noah when they arrived. He's just a boy, and a terrified one at that. He has no weapons, and only a small amount of day magic. I don’t see any way he could be a threat."

Gray ran a hand across his scruffy beard. "I’d like to speak to him, then." Vincent took a step to the side and opened the door, swinging it inward to reveal a tall and lanky boy, not yet a man. Ezra sat, pale-faced, with wide eyes and his hands in his lap, his knuckles white from his tight fists.

"Ezra." Gray commanded the room instantly, the others filing in behind him. "Thank you for coming to warn us. You might have saved our lives by escaping. What can you tell me about my brother's plans?"

Ezra swallowed audibly. "I don’t know much, other than that the entirety of the royal army has been called back to the capital and divided into troops. We were given four days’ notice."

"And how was it," Gray stalked around the desk, "you knew to comehere?"

"Alaric informed us we’d be marching on Bearswillow." He leaned back in his chair, his wary eyes watching Gray’s shadows intently. "The army will travel as one until they get to the mountains, then split, half around each side. You’ll be completely surrounded."

Gray’s face remained passive, despite the turmoil churning inside his gut. "How does he even know where we are?"

Ezra looked away, pressing his lips together. "I don’t know exactly. The way he spoke about it. It was… odd. He was so certain you were here, but I’m not sure he knows you're actuallyinthe mountains."

Erik and Gray made eye contact. "Someone turned on us," Gray spat. "They betrayed our location. That is theonlypossibility. Vincent, I need a list of everyone who has left this compound since our return." He spun around to face Ezra again. "How do you know all this?" Gray crossed his arms, not backing down from his intentionally intimidating stare at Ezra.

"After he killed his advisors, Alaric addressed the army. He told useverything. All the reasons we needed to kill you. He said we needed to avenge your father. That it was your fault their king was dead. None of it made sense." Ezra rambled, scooting his chair back so far he hit the wall. "He’s lost control completely, gone absolutely mad. It feels like there’s no real plan other than for him and as many of his soldiers as possible to show up here and destroy every last one of you. I couldn’t let that happen."

He’s telling the truth.

Gray’s eyes flicked to Lea, whose hand was wrapped firmly around the hilt of her sword." My brother is calculated. He has to have some sort of plan. Something that was worth killing his advisors for knowing." Gray leaned forward and placed his palms on Vincent‘s desk, his shadows floating to the floor and wrapping around the boy’s legs. "How did you manage to get away?"

Ezra’s eyes bugged out of their sockets, and the scent of urine floated through the air.

"I just ran through the gates. I thought it was suicide. I was positive Alaric would come after me. He was standing on the parapet as I left. It…" He rubbed his hand across his face. "It was like he knew I was going to flee. And he just held his arms out toward me, smoke and fire whipping around him. But nothinghappened. I stole a horse from the stables, and I fled. I wasn’t sure where exactly you were, other than that you were hiding somewhere near the village of Bearswillow. I headed this way as fast as I could, and by the grace of the gods, I stumbled across Noah."

The candles in the room flickered, and a stab of horror gripped Gray’s heart through the bond.

"Get everyone out of here now," Lea whispered, running to the door and grabbing Janelle and Erik‘s arms. "Get out! Right now!" The panic in Lea’s voice caused a cold dread to wash through Gray's entire body.

"Vincent, where did Noah go?" Gray took a step away from Ezra.

"He returned to the barracks on my orders." Vincent’s deep voice was questioning. "What’s happening, Commander?"

"Please," Lea begged her friends, terror filling her eyes as she opened the door. "Get out of here now." Janelle started to move to the door, but Erik placed a heavy hand on her shoulder.

"It’s too late, Little Flower." Rage boiled in Gray’s stomach, pulsing through his arteries and into every tiny vein and capillary.

"Too late for what?" Thomas asked, wrapping a protective arm around Emma’s shoulders.

"Open your shirt," Gray instructed Ezra, who narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"I don’t understand. Why would you need me to—"

Shadows wrapped up Ezra’s body, coiling around his neck. "Open. Your. Damned. Shirt!" Gray’s staccato words were bursting with fury. "Now." He hissed through clenched teeth.

With shaking hands, Ezra slowly unbuttoned the jacket of his royal uniform. As he pulled his tunic to the side, the room stilled, going completely soundless—so quiet, Gray thought he might choke on the thick, cloying silence.

On Ezra‘s chest, beginning to creep up toward his collarbone, was a red rash giving way to tiny black dots. The Lonely Death.

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