Page 32 of A Sun Scorched Bloom

Erik gave him time as he reflected on the journey here. Emma, growing up in the castle, had known the basics of riding and had been sufficient enough in her skills to ride alongside them on her own horse, and Noah had been given one when he’d offered to help track Lea.

Janelle had ridden with Erik, as she'd never been trained in horseback riding. Riding behind her had been difficult, his cock hard and his hands itching to pull her closer. He pushed down the ache spreading through his body at the memory.Now is not the time to think of such things,he reminded himself. Not with war on the horizon and Gray so on edge.

Gray tied Noah’s honey blonde and white spotted horse to the saddle of the larger horse, a rich, earthy brown stallion with a shining coat, before climbing on and looking at Erik expectantly. Gripping the saddle, Erik pulled himself to straddle the other horse, Cinnamon. It was a feminine name for a stallion, he thought, but it described the horse’s coloring perfectly. The click of Gray’s heels spurred the pair to trot forward.

After riding in silence for many minutes, Erik waiting patiently as he allowed Gray to work through his stubborn notions, Gray finally spoke. "You may train her in weaponry, and you may train her to use her day magic. I will help her conquer her darkness. That is the most I can agree to." Thunder rolled in the distance, and Erik’s jaw almost dropped at Gray's concession. Offering to help train her had been the rational choice, the safe choice, but Erik hadn’t expected a rational or safe answer from Gray.

"Okay," Erik agreed with a nod. "We will start her training tomorrow."

Chapter 18

Lea

GraywokeLeajustbefore dawn, shoving a makeshift plate of bark filled with stale bread and fresh berries into her hands. After not eating for so many days, it made her stomach feel sour, but she forced the chewy, tart bites down anyway, motivated by the way the lines of worry on her handsome mate's face eased with every swallow.

Bringing her a bucket of water, Gray gently washed the remaining blood away from her chest and arms, before helping her dress in thick trousers and a soft brown sweater. Her sores had closed completely from the day before, but the memory of the Lonely Death on her skin lingered. Pink welts remained where her wounds had been, the itching almost unbearable as they rapidly healed.

Lea buttoned her tunic, attempting to hide the evidence of her brush with death. Why she bothered, she wasn’t sure. It was obvious from the tension in Gray’s shoulders and the exhaustion in his posture that he wouldn’t be forgetting her brush with the other side of the veil any time soon.

Surprised at how exhausted her body still felt, she allowed Gray to hoist her onto Obsidian. He effortlessly climbed up behind her and Lea immediately felt his arms wrap around her and pull her close as he tugged his riding cape around the both of them snugly.

"It’s okay if you need to rest, Little Flower." He pushed her hair back from her eyes, a sweet, gentle gesture. "The Lonely Death might not be able to kill you now, but you’re still recovering. There’s no shame in allowing yourself to heal."

Lea wasn’t sure if that was true. If she was being honest with herself, she’d never felt exhaustion like this before. Not on her journey to the capital, nor after Alaric had beaten her nearly to death. The fatigue she felt now was bone deep, and as relentless as an aphid. Despite the fact that she had done nothing but pass in and out of consciousness for the last several days, her muscles throbbed. Even the deepest breath didn’t seem to provide enough oxygen to energize her tired body, and just lifting her arms to braid her hair away from her face had caused them to shake and burn.

As Azalea was about to argue, Emma appeared next to them, leaning forward to scratch Cinnamon behind his ears. "Your body feels weak to me, Lea. It’s makingmetired, sensing how much you need to rest. If you won’t listen to Gray, then please do it for me."

Lea sighed as she looked at Emma. There were dark circles beneath her eyes, and lines crossed her forehead and the sides of her mouth. Emma wasn’t lying about feeling exhausted. Lea was aware how stubborn she could be, had been forced to be after her mother died and her father had left her alone. But these were her friends, she reminded herself, and she needed to accept that advice from those she trusted was worth considering.

"Okay, I’ll rest. But I want you to wake me in a few hours. I don’t want to sleep all day and risk being awake all night."

"If that should happen," Gray said, "I can think of plenty of ways to fill our time." Underneath her cloak, Gray’s fingers caressed the underside of her breast—his movement hidden from the others. Lea yearned to give in to that feeling, the heat bubbling up inside of her. But not here, and certainly not with an audience.

"Hands to yourself, Commander," Lea whispered with a yawn.

Gray’s hand slipped across her belly, pulling her back so she could lean against him, her head falling into the crook of his arm as he held the reins. "Rest, my love."

Lea closed her eyes, allowing the gentle breeze blowing through the trees and the rhythmic, melodic beat of the horses' hooves to lull her into a deep sleep.

Lea was vaguely aware she was dreaming as she stood in a small area of cleared trees near a rundown cottage that was calling to her from the corner of the clearing. Her stomach twisted as she walked toward the cottage, passing an overflowing garden of moonflowers—stark white instead of the rotting black she was so used to seeing. Reaching down, she trailed her fingertips along the crisp petals, but a gravelly voice made her pause, one that made her stomach churn in anticipation, though the sensation was not entirely unpleasant.

"Azalea?"

Lea was pulled from her dream, opening her eyes to see the beginnings of sunset, a rich orange-red glow radiating across the horizon.

The trees had changed dramatically since she’d fallen asleep, the landscape evolving as she’d wandered the clearing in her dreams. Where this morning there had been average-sized trees with rough, bark-covered trunks and luscious green foliage, the trees that now surrounded them were shorter and skinnier with mostly naked, knotted branches.

A few of the trees held small bunches of dying leaves. They were dry and brown, clinging desperately to the branches in an attempt to survive, and yet, even as she watched, they fell one by one, dropping to the forest floor quickly under the weight of their own death.

"You didn’t wake me," Lea croaked. Gray discreetly shook out his arm as she sat up, and she realized that he’d been supporting her body weight on the same arm for the entirety of their ride today. Lea gave him an apologetic smile.

He leaned forward to kiss the back of her head, brushing off her concerns. "I’m fine. Emma said you still felt weak, and you need your strength for when we enter the woods."

"You feel much stronger to me now, Lea," Emma singsonged from behind her. Lea wanted to be angry with them for allowing her to sleep for so long. She didn’t like feeling as if she wasn’t strong enough to help them during their journey, but she had to admit that she felt much better than before she’d dozed.

As if sensing her thoughts, Erik trotted his horse up next to Obsidian. "If I had to guess, Sunshine, I would say that your sleep last night helped your night magic refuel, and the sun on your face today has helped with your day magic. You need to replenish both after such a severe illness." He looked at her pointedly, as if sensing she was about to argue.

Reaching down deep inside her chest, Lea felt around for her magic. Both her day and night magic did indeed feel stronger, as did her bond to Gray. She hadn’t realized before how much the Lonely Death had dulled her senses—that she had been so close to going beyond the veil that even the magic inside of her had started to diminish.

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