Page 19 of A Sun Scorched Bloom

"My father’s need for power—for control—is insatiable. It blinds him to reality. He would have been proud of her magic had she been his son—an heir—but as his daughter? She was a threat." Gray paused, tilting his head back and staring up at the dark gray clouds swirling in the black sky. "He slaughtered her in front of me. In front of Alaric. He showed us that day how he steals the magic from the bodies of those he murders." Gray hesitated, his shadows pulsing and yearning to burst from his chest, a lethal look in his eyes. "And Iwillkill him for it."

Lea cupped a hand to Gray’s cheek. "I’m so sorry," she said softly, pushing her love down the bond and wrapping it around his heart. Gray felt what she was trying to say immediately—that she understood that there were no words, no apologies that could soothe the violent pain that had remained inside him every day since his sister was taken from him.

"Alaric held me back as my father’s sword sliced through her neck. Pulled me away as her blood stained the floor under her tiny body. He was always so eager to please my father, to follow in his footsteps. That was the moment that I knew his heart was as cruel as the king had hoped it would be. That he’d been carved in stone to be the exact future leader that my father envisioned for the kingdom."

"Did he…" Lea trailed off, but Gray knew exactly where her mind had gone.

"Steal her magic? He did. There’s a spell, an incantation given to him by a sorceress. She’d been imprisoned under Queen Emmaline’s rule for crimes against humans so vile, you would never sleep again if you heard them. My father made her a deal, and the world has never been the same."

Part of Gray almost felt bad for the witch. She was horribly disfigured and had clearly been abused by his father for years. But he would be lying to himself if he said she wasn’t third on his list of people whose throats he wanted to rip out with his teeth for the spell she’d created.

"So he doesn’t need the Lonely Death to steal magic?" Lea asked, her eyes widening in horror.

"No. As long as the incantation is said before the heart stops beating, it can be done. Though by using the Lonely Death, the kingdom fears a mysterious illness rather than their wicked leader. He chose to slaughter Callie and take her power. My father said it was more merciful this way. That he could kill her instantly rather than allow her to suffer from the Lonely Death for days."

"Gray, I’m so sorry." Lea’s grief was thick and overwhelming through the bond.

Gray let the feeling wash through him, tears welling in his eyes. "I tried to fight to get to her. I wanted to kill him, but Alaric held me back. My brother never missed a chance to make our father proud. The king was infuriated by my ‘weakness.’ He said it was shameful to care more about my sister than the power inside her. And because I was weak, he beat me for months, placed me in the dungeons and starved me. My father," Gray winced, the memory physically painful as a familiar ache squeezed the air from his lungs, "He left her body to rot in the cell with me—a reminder of my weakness, he said. That was the moment I vowed to kill them both."

Gray expected Lea’s sorrow to seep into his chest, and he prepared himself for the despair he was sure he would feel from her at his admission. But there was no pity in the emotion radiating from her skin. No, it was purpose, resolve. She crawled onto his lap, straddling him as she stared into his eyes. "I will allow you the killing blow," Lea whispered furiously, "but it will be my face beside yours that bastard sees as he takes his final breath. We won't let him get away with this, Gray. I swear to you, I will help you however I can."

Gray smiled with pride at his fierce, beautiful mate. "I was hoping you would say that, Little Flower." He kissed her deeply, allowing their anger and hurt to merge together until it strengthened into a fiery, deadly point. Gray broke the kiss, pulling back only slightly.

"You doubted I would help you?" she whispered, hurt flitting across her face.

"Never, for a moment, have I doubted you. But I think I will need your help more than either of us initially realized," Gray said, taking a deep breath.

Lea sat silently, leaning into him as if she somehow knew he needed to gather his strength to summon the words that had been dancing through his mind ever since she’d thrown him against the wall with night magic in her fury. She had been so deadly, so beautiful… otherworldly.

"I think the prophecy that my father fears was speaking about you, Azalea. I think that you are the Daughter of the Sun and Stars, Queen of Flames and Shadows, sent to bring peace back to the kingdom; descendent of Queen Emmaline, and true heir to the throne of Desia."

Chapter 11

Lea

Theworldwentfuzzyas Lea felt Gray’s words settle in her stomach.

"That’s impossible. I would know. Right? My parents would have known if one of them descended from Emmaline," she stammered. "Surely my mother would have been more powerful. And my father? He doesn't even have magic." He was wrong, of course. And yet, Lea knew there was no explanation for why she had both magic of the day and night, why she and Gray had been chosen as mates when there hadn’t been such a thing in hundreds of years.

"Breathe, Azalea. I’m not positive, and it doesn’t change anything.Exceptthat we need answers."

"Dad might know something…" she trailed off. She didn’t even know where her father was. Likely north in Woodhurst, hunting and trading, avoiding the home he’d shared with her mother that caused him so much pain now.

"We’re not just going to Calir for their king’s help in defeating my father, or to break the curse that would allow me to kill him," Gray said, interrupting her thoughts. "The witch who helped me before will know how to help us find information on who you are and where your magic comes from. She is the one who spoke the prophecy, Azalea."

Gray grabbed her hand, interlacing his fingers with hers and sending her strength as her head began to swim.

"If I am her descendant…"

"Then you are the true Queen of Desia. Rightful heir to the throne. You would unseat Alaric and myself as the next leaders of the kingdom."

Lea shook her head. "I couldn’t take your place. I wouldn’t want to."

"And I wouldn’t lead without you as my queen, regardless. It doesn’t matter. Whether you are the daughter of a healer and a trader, or you share blood with the most powerful queen in Desia’s history, we will rule together."

"If it doesn’t matter, then let’s just follow the army to Bearswillow. I don’t want to know—"

"Weneedto know, Little Flower." Gray’s voice was gentle, but his resolve firm. "Alaric has seen you use your powers—both day and night. If he knows, he will either tell my father or he will try to steal your power for himself. We need to be prepared for all possibilities, and to do that, we need more information."

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