Page 59 of A Sun Scorched Bloom

Had she hit her head when she’d fallen? Imagined the entire vision of Queen Emmaline’s murder? Of saving the baby? It wasn’t possible that it was real, that she had traveled through time and altered the course of history. And yet, without even having to prod, she could feel the crack in the floor of her magic, a trickle of darkness wafting through and swirling in her chest. She ignored it, unable to focus on anything other than the sorrow soaking every inch of her body unlike she had felt since her mother’s death.

Lea felt a tickle along her arm, interrupting her thoughts. The moonflowers were growing, wrapping around the trellises and cascading back down where they slowly crept across the dirt. Lea watched in awe as a vine wrapped around her wrist, snaking up her hand and between her fingers.

Her blood-covered fingers. Lea’s breaths grew shallow as she examined them. Her nails were cracked, bloody and broken, with sharp, jagged edges. Crimson stained her hands, and she wiped them in the dirt, trying to remove the blood. Ithadbeen real… Of course it had. Buthow?

With shaking arms, Lea reached forward to pick a moonflower. Had the goddess been trying to help her learn how to wield them? The flowers had remained alive, pristine and white, until they’d fallen into the queen's blood. Even now, she’d never seen them live for so long. They’d always died away within moments of blooming, but now? They almost glowed as they continued to grow, the vines healthy and the flowers vibrant withlife.

Lea’s bloodstained fingers brushed against a petal, soft as a whisper. It didn’t recoil, didn’t wither away. A flashback of the petals turning into ash filled her mind, and as she plucked the bud off the vine it turned black, crumpling and dissolving into nothing. Tears pricked the back of her eyes as she tried again and again. Why were they blooming if she couldn’t pick them?

The moonflowers back at home had always died on the vine after a few moments, but these? They’d obviously been here foryears. She channeled her light, pushing it into the moonflowers as she tried to harvest the petals, but again and again they died.

Everything had changed, but as the flowers crumbled away into her bloody hands, Lea felt as if she was once again that girl back in Bearswillow who had lost everything, who spent all of her time and energy failing to conquer the illness that had taken so much from her.

Defeated, Lea laid down on her back, staring up at the bright moon in the dark night sky. How long has she been gone? She was overwhelmed, exhausted in a way she'd never felt before. Remnants of the dark, raw power she'd accessed still crackled through her blood, but she pushed it down again. She had needed to use it to save the baby, but the way it made her feel? It had been painful—horribly dark and terrifying, but at the same time, intoxicating in a way that frightened her.

Her head throbbed behind her eyes and at the base of her skull, and Lea sent what little healing magic she had left to soothe it away, but it did nothing to help the pounding headache. She rubbed at her temples, trying not to think about what her ability to use that power had meant, and why it had been sealed away inside her so deeply in the first place. It had almost been as if she’d never been meant to access it at all.

Lea took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. She needed to get back to Gray. He’d know how to help her.

The scent of the moonflowers was intoxicating as she continued to take steadying breaths, unlike anything she had ever smelled before. They were far more potent than any of the ones she’d ever grown.Just a few more minutes to rest, she told herself,and I’ll get up and figure out where I am. I’ll find a way to get back to him.

The creaking of door hinges caused Lea to bolt upright, her magic thundering in her chest and begging to be released. Lea’s head snapped toward the cabin, taking in every detail on instinct. The windows were shut firmly, and soft white smoke churned from the chimney. The door had opened, only slightly. Adrenaline made her eyesight sharper, and she could see the black outline of someone staring through the cracked door, even through the black of the night.

She readied her magic as she tried to make out the shape. The figure was large and definitely male. The sharp tang of worry filled Lea’s nostrils, and she felt a shift in the air as the man inside the cabin shuffled his feet hesitantly.

"Who’s there?" Lea called out. "Show yourself. Now!" Lea stood as she sent a bolt of lightning cracking overhead to emphasize her point. She would not be a victim again, was done allowing herself to be caught off guard.

"Azalea, it’s just me." Her father stepped out from the doorway, his eyes widening as his foot touched the grass outside of the front door. As soon as he cleared the cottage, he picked up his speed, his long strides bringing him to stand in front of Lea within seconds. He started to reach toward her, but Lea took a step back. Her father lowered his hand, sorrow filling his eyes. "I deserve that." He nodded as if convincing himself. "Look at you," he said breathlessly, gesturing toward her arms where fire licked from her fingers to her elbows. "You seem… different. Your magic, it’sincredible."

Lea stared at the man in front of her, narrowing her eyes. He certainly looked like her father. Sounded like him, even. There was no prickle of warning that this man was someone to fear. But… how would her father have known where she was? And if it were her father, why would he leave her lying in a garden instead of bringing her inside the cottage? It had to be another demon, another trick. She shuffled back. "You expect me to believe you?" she asked.

"I’m telling you the truth. Are you okay? I heard something inside the house, and I laid you down to investigate, but it was empty, and when I came to get you, you wereglowing. I couldn’t get near you, couldn’t step a single foot outside the cottage. I’m sorry I scared you, Bug."

Lea felt as if she had been punched in the stomach.Bug. Her father had been the only one who had ever called her that. As she’d grown up, whenever Lea helped her mother in the garden, he’d said she was like a bee buzzing from flower to flower, pollinating and helping them grow.

"If you’re my father, tell me something only you would know," she demanded. Was it a demon who could steal her memories? The thought terrified her.

"I know about the moonflower birthmark on your arm." The man touched the inside of his upper arm, exactly where her birthmark inked her skin.

"Which you could’ve seen while I laid unconscious on the ground," she scoffed. That wasn’t good enough. "If you are my father,proveit."

"The letter your mother left you. I know that she told you there were things we had kept from you. To let the wind and stars guide you. You clearly listened." He smiled as he stepped forward.

"That letter has been out of my possessionmanytimes since I went to the castle," Lea argued, and yet her flames receded. How would a demon from the Wicked Wood have found her letter?

"The song your mother used to sing you as a child…"

Lea‘s chest physically ached at his words. She hadn’t thought of the lullaby in a long time, hadn’t been able to bear to listen to the words that had soothed her boo-boos and carried her to sleep as a child. Her lips shook as she stepped back. "I don't believe you."

If ever you should laugh, my dear

May that magic echo sing

And when you run in joy through flowers

May your legs fly fast as wings

If ever you should love, my love

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