Page 65 of A Sun Scorched Bloom

Erik and Gray made eye contact over Lea's head. "We've always wondered why there were so many humans with magic in Bearswillow."

"It's because most of them weren't human at all," Henry said matter-of-factly. "Our town is small. We protected our own. We weren’t the only ones living in Bearswillow who never aged. It was an unspoken agreement amongst the villagers. Protect each other, and don’t ask questions. It helped that my abilities to track and hunt helped feed the village."

"And the freezing of time?" prodded Gray. "How does that help you with hunting?"

"I can only freeze it for a few moments, maybe a minute. It allows me to make a clean killing blow, with no suffering to the animal."

"How big of an area can you freeze?" Gray asked, the line between his eyebrows indicating that he was calculating, planning.

Her father leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table, resting his chin on his fingers. "I’ve never tried to freeze an area larger than this room. And I don’t think now is the time to be questioning how you can use me in your battle with your father."

"It isalwaysthe time to be planning," Noah said from where he still stood against the wall, his eyebrows drawn together. "If we want to win this war, we will need to use everything at our disposal. Every magical ability we have. Is that not what you want?"

"Everything I do and have done is to try to keep Azalea safe." Henry didn’t break his eye contact with Gray. "It has hadnothingto do with this war. So why do you think I will be so willing to abandonmyfight to keep my daughter alive when your war might be the very thing that kills her?"

Lea lifted her chin. This was her dad. The man who had read her bedtime stories about gnomes and ogres and princesses as he rocked her to sleep. And despite the resentment she felt toward him for leaving her behind, she loved him dearly. He had to help them. If not for the good of the kingdom, then for her. "You’ll do it, because I am asking you to. I'm not a child, not anymore. The girl you knew when you left is gone. I will be fighting alongside my mate," she grabbed Gray’s hand, "and my friends." She nodded toward Janelle and Erik before smiling at Noah.

He looked around, his jaw working as he appeared to process what she was saying. Running a hand through his hair, he finally exhaled slowly as he stood. "Is there no changing your mind, then?"

Gray cocked his head, like he had expected more of an argument, but Lea recognized the look on her father’s face. Defeat. Lea had a mate, someone she loved. And that was something her father could understand. Henry would have done anything in the world for Adelaide, and Lea was sure he had no doubt that his daughter would love just as fiercely. Lea shook her head no, lacing her fingers between Gray’s and squeezing.

"Then I guess I have no choice. If you plan on walking into battle, then I plan on being right behind you."

Chapter 44

Gray

Erikhadinsistedthatthe rest of their group go back to their campsite to retrieve their supplies, Azalea’s father included. He’d balked at the idea, wanting to stay with his daughter, but Erik hadn’t given him a choice as he’d slung an arm around his shoulders, offered him a sliver of jerky, and herded him toward their horses. Her father may have been Fae, a revelation Lea would have to unpack later, but he was no match for Erik’s size and strength.

It had been decided that Lea’s father would go back to Woodhurst where he had connections through his trading, with the aim of recruiting more men and women to fight alongside them. What they aimed to learn in Calir was invaluable information, and Gray didn’t trust him. Not yet, at least. While he appreciated that Henry’s priority was protecting Lea, he also wouldn’t allow him to derail his own plan to defeat Brennus and Alaric.

Gray made a mental note to thank Erik for taking the burden of Henry's presence from his mate. Lea deserved time to process what she’d just learned. And Gray needed time to hold her, to help her through all the intense emotions he could feel flooding their bond.

Lea’s grief was so thick it nearly choked him. Though Gray suspected that the idea that Lea’s parents might not be of the biological variety may have passed her mind at some point, it didn’t ease the sting of having it confirmed. But it wasn’t just grief that his mate was feeling. The sharp, bitter bite of betrayal sank into his gut, mixed with a regretful anger that made his heart literally squeeze in his chest.

Not only had they hidden Lea’s parentage from her, but her mother had also smothered her magic. Hidden it behind a thick, artificial wall. Gray knew Lea had always felt different, and he couldn’t help but echo Lea’s feelings of anger and betrayal as he thought about how her parents had hidden the truth. It was well intentioned—Gray knew that—and with time he was sure he would forgive her mother’s memory and her father’s… well, unorthodox way of learning about his daughter. But had they just allowed Azalea to be herself, they would have been more equipped to both keep her safeandfight against his father and brother.

The moment Gray saw those dark shadows explode from her hands in her anger and hatred toward him, he’d known there was a deep well of power hiding somewhere in that tiny body. He had never seen her look so beautiful. Her power was tangible, unlike anything he had ever seen or felt before. It threatened to suck the light from the sky and the soul from his body, had she been able to tap into it.

Staring at Lea as she absently wandered the cottage, he wondered again how he hadn’t seen it sooner. The resemblance was there, in her eyes and hair, the way she glowed when she tapped into her powers. But—something had changed. As she traced her fingers from windowsill to desk, across the mantle and to the doorframe leading to what was likely the bedroom, she appeared more graceful. Were her steps softer? Or was his imagination simply allowing her to appear stronger, more invincible, so that he would stop worrying about her fragile human life?

Lea stalled as she reached a tall chest, an ashy oak with a set of drawers at the top and bottom with long, solid doors in between.

"What do you need, Little Flower?" Gray started toward her, but she held up a hand, closing her eyes. Lea inhaled deeply, and Gray watched as shadows drifted from her fingertips. They were soft, almost translucent as they coiled and floated through the air. Small pieces of ash wafted from the shadows, as if they themselves had been made of fire that had been smothered, embers secretly burning and waiting for enough oxygen to ignite once more.

The sight was breathtaking. The way his mate wielded her shadows was so different from his own. They were beautiful. Soft, but powerful. They were magnificent in the same way one would admire a poison. He was confident that those shadows could hide in plain sight, luring you into a false sense of safety before appearing only once they were inside you, consuming you from your very core.

Gray watched with reluctant restraint as Lea’s jaw clenched in concentration, her mouth pursing a bit as she chewed on the inside of her lip. Her shadows danced around her, spreading around the armoire and seeping through its small cracks.

Apopsounded, and Lea’s eyes opened as if she had been startled, but her shadows did not falter. They opened the cabinets and Lea peered inside, shuffling through odds and ends until she pulled a thick, worn leather journal from the back. The cracked cover was a light brown, and when Lea lifted it, at least a dozen pressed flowers slipped from between the pages and drifted to the floor.

As if she had been born welding night magic, she commanded the long tendrils of darkness to pick the flowers up. Lea walked toward the couch as if in a trance—the dead, dried flowers floating through the air behind her.

Gray’s heart throbbed. There was nothing he wanted more than to gather his wife in his arms and kiss her pain away. He would use his fingers to pluck the hurt from the center of her, his mouth to whisper into her lungs his absolute devotion. He would gladly offer his shoulders to carry the weight of the truth and loss she was experiencing, and he knew that if he only suggested it, she would allow him to do it.

But he also knew that it would only be a bandage on a wound that would someday have to close. His mate was not weak, and he refused to insult her by doing anything to make her feel like she was incapable of healing herself. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t stand by her side as she stitched herself back together.

Brushing the journal with her fingers, Lea slowly unraveled the twine and lifted the tattered cover. Gray felt her despair immediately, as sharp as a knife in an artery. Slowly, so as not to startle her, he walked forward, standing behind the couch and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. He leaned down to kiss the crown of her head, looking at the open pages in her lap.

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