Page 22 of A Sun Scorched Bloom

"Well, Little Flower," he rumbled, allowing his shadows to caress her skin and pull her hair over her shoulder, "I guess that makes you gray, too."

Chapter 14

Lea

Leawasfreezing,numbedto her very bones, as if a winter chill had found an entryway into her veins and pushed jagged shards of ice beneath her skin. Teeth chattering, she pulled at the covers that had surely fallen off as they’d slept, only to find them wrapped tightly beneath her chin. She burrowed herself deeper into Gray’s side, her body shaking as she pulled the blankets above her head and curled into a ball to warm herself.

Gray stirred, pulling Lea more firmly into his arms before opening his eyes sleepily. "Azalea?" He pushed up onto his elbow, worry creasing his face. "You feel like you’re on fire." He bolted upright, pulling the covers down enough to place his callused hands against her cheeks. "You’re feverish." Concern mixed with the remnants of sleep in his voice as he pulled the covers off of himself, doubling them over Lea’s shivering body. "Are you not feeling well?"

Lea shook her head, attempting to sit, but a burning sensation in her chest stopped her in her tracks. Pain seared through the skin below her neck as she tried to speak. She ran a hand up her chest, tears springing to her eyes as her fingers traced pea-sized lumps across her skin. Poison ivy, perhaps, from sleeping on the ground?

She'd seen her mother treat various rashes all her life, had helped treat them with her own hands at her mother’s direction, but these bumps felt foreign to her.

Pressing gently on one of the bumps, Lea winced in pain as fluid ran between her fingers. She pulled them back to see fresh blood and a horrified look on Gray’s face.

At that moment, Lea knew she should be feeling panic, but instead she just felt tired.Something’s wrong,she thought through the fog in her mind. Her tongue felt dry as cotton and her head swam with confusion. She’d just been asleep, so how was it possible for her to feel this exhausted?

"Azalea," Gray’s voice broke through her rambling thoughts as he pulled the covers back quickly, his hands trembling as he looked down at her chest. "Where is your necklace?"

"Hmm?" Lea absently reached toward her neck, but Gray stopped her hand before she could touch the open sores again.

"Your necklace, Lea! Look at me!" Gray gently grabbed her face, and Lea noticed sweat beading on his brow, shadows floating from the hand now gripping her chin. "Where is it?"

Lea didn’t answer, racking her brain about where it could be. Gray laid her down gently before running to the supplies lying on the grass near Obsidian, ripping open bag after bag as he frantically searched through their belongings.

"Janelle," Lea croaked, pushing onto her elbows at a memory of Janelle and Emma’s smiling faces as they teased her that her necklace didn’t match her wedding dress.Such a silly worry,Lea thought as she whispered her friend’s name again. "Janelle…" She couldn’t finish her sentence. Whatever was on her chest was making it hard to speak.I need to lie down,Lea thought through her daze. Collapsing backward, she tried to snuggle back under the covers.

"What do you mean, Azalea? What about Janelle?" Gray rushed over to her, gently pulling her back to sitting. His forehead was creased with concern, his green eyes filled with terror.Such pretty eyes… Lea thought as she reached up to touch the dark bags below them.

"I need you to focus. I know you’re tired, but Ineedyou to answer me. Okay?" The way he was speaking to her reminded her of how Thomas sometimes spoke to his younger siblings. "Think, Little Flower. Where is your necklace? Does Janelle have it?"

Lea looked down at her chest, where the beautiful stones and chain had laid almost every moment of the past year. The sight of her skin caused a wave of dread to flood her veins, burning away some of the confusion and fatigue. Across her breastbone and trailing up her neck were not just bumps, but black welts. They had begun to open, and deep red blood ran in small rivers down to her stomach. A red rash trailed up her throat and across her shoulders where minuscule raised dots were beginning to appear. The pain intensified as she looked at her diseased body, and she was suddenly certain that were she to peel away her skin and muscle, she would find the same black bumps coating the inside of her throat and lungs.

"Emma made such a beautiful dress. She asked—" Lea swallowed down the metallic taste of blood, the effort of speaking causing the wounds in her throat to open. "I gave it to Janelle to wear during the ceremony. I meant to get it back after, but the explosion…"

Gray gathered Lea in his arms and she felt his warmth seep into her, soothing her pain. She opened herself up to him, using precious energy to try to understand what he was feeling. As she closed her eyes and leaned into the bond, she was overwhelmed by his disbelief—his utter terror. He was filled to the brim, absolutely buzzing with panic. His hands found her bloody chest, and he pushed his energy into her, his healing magic closing her wounds and easing her pain just enough to allow her a single deep breath.

"The Lonely Death," Gray breathed. "This isn’t happening." His breaths became shallow as his hands traced her body. He looked up at the horizon, the beginnings of oranges and pinks peeking out from above the trees. Lowering her down gently, he pushed every ounce of his power into her skin, pressing his cold, shaking hands against her chest, throat, and shoulders, trying to heal her as much as he could before the sun crested and his magic weakened. "This isn’t happening," he said again and again before bolting back toward their sacks.

Lea’s mind spun, but she was unsure if it was from the illness or her terror. The Lonely Death had killed her mother, Thomas’s father. Little Anthony… And now it was coming for her. The course of illness was unpredictable. She could have two days, maybe three, but however many days she had left, they were numbered. One thing she was certain of was that death would find her.

Gray yanked the box holding her letters and vials from her bag and sprinted back to her. Throwing open the top, he shuffled through the contents until he found Lea’s one remaining vial. He uncorked it and held it out toward her; the vial shaking so violently that a drop spilled from the mouth onto the grass. The ground turned black instantly, a tendril of fragrant smoke rising and bringing the sweet scent of the deep blue berries that had grown in her garden to her nose.

"It’s the potion of death, Gray." Lea recognized the smell. "Potio mortis." Had her mother expected her to need it? To take herself from this world and travel beyond the veil?

Gray’s fingers loosened, about to drop the vial, but Lea quickly grabbed at it, crying out in pain as her sudden movement caused agonizing pain to spread down her arms. Gray scrunched his brows, his nostrils flaring as he replaced the cork, and Lea breathed a sigh of relief. If her mom had thought it might be necessary, she couldn’t waste it.What did you know, Mom?

Gray stood, roaring at the sky, his head thrown back as his scream rattled the leaves of the trees. He paced, his head in his hands as Lea’s own mind spun. How could this have happened? She’d been with Thomas, then Gray, but then there had been chaos…

Fuck.The realization crashed over her. How had she forgotten seeing Alaric in the woods? She’d hoped it had been a dream, a trick of the mind, because surely, wouldn’t he have taken the opportunity of seeing her alone to stab her through her heart?

"Gray," Lea whispered, her voice shaking. "It was Alaric, I saw him."

Gray froze mid-stride, swiveling his head to her. "When?"

"During the battle. He was standing in the trees, speaking under his breath. He was just smiling at me, Gray. But he didn't make a move to kill me. Not a single step… I only saw him for a few moments, and it was dark… I thought maybe I was seeing things."

In less than a second, Gray was kneeling at her side, cradling Lea’s head between his hands.

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