Page 68 of A Sun Scorched Bloom

The king looked up at him with a broad smile, reaching into his pocket and grabbing a fluffy chunk of bread. "Good to see you, Erik." He tossed Erik the bread. "I hope you’ve been practicing your rooksnuff since I last saw you."

Erik jumped off his horse with ease, ripping off a hunk of the bread and handing it to Janelle before tearing a huge piece off with his teeth. "Mhmmm." He swallowed, taking another bite. "I’ve been a little preoccupied with this whole war thing, but last time was a fluke. You won’t beat me again." Erik chuckled as he gave King Tanad a beast of a bear hug.

Tanad’s eyes grew sad, the joyous sparkle inside them dimming to a mere twinkle. "And unfortunately, I need you as well. You’ve heard the Lonely Death has crossed our borders?"

Gray nodded solemnly. "It’s true then?"

"Yes. But we’ll discuss it more later. There is much to tell you, I’m afraid." King Tanad clapped his hands together, forcing a smile as he looked around Gray’s broad shoulders. "And this must be Janelle and Emma, correct?" Tanad closed his eyes for several long seconds before cracking one eye open and looking at Janelle warily. "It appears I’ll need to keep my eye on you."

"Oh, you don’t have to worry about her," Erik said through another mouthful of food. "She might be a thief, but she’s not stupid enough to try to steal from you."

"I’m not a thief!" Janelle cried out, clumsily sliding off Cinnamon. Erik tilted his head at her, raising his eyebrows. "I just borrow things sometimes," Janelle said as a blush creeped up her neck. "But not from you, Your Highness. I swear."

The King winked at her before closing his eyes again. "And Emma," the king said. "I’m sorry for the burden of the gift you carry. It must be hard, seeing those in the worst moments of their existence and being unable to help them." He offered Emma his hand, helping her dismount. "Your soul is kind. I think your gift was given to exactly the right person." He nodded at her slowly, and Emma’s eyes watered.

"He can sense people's gifts," Gray leaned down and whispered into Lea’s ear. "A very useful power for a king, don’t you think?" Lea looked at the man in awe. If he could sense people's powers, would he be able to tell her more about her own? Were there other things he could sense, like why people possessed the power they did? And more importantly, would he be willing to tell her what he felt from her?

"I’m afraid I don’t know your name," Tanad said kindly. "But I assume if the Commander here allowed you to join them, you must be a friend." The king shook Noah’s hand without hesitation.

"It’s Noah," he said, lowering his chin in a bow.

"He’s a brave one, Tanad," Gray chimed in, clapping Noah on the shoulder. "And loyal as well. So yes, I would say we consider him a friend."

Noah smiled, a blush creeping up his neck and a dimple Lea had never noticed before pulling in his cheek. Lea’s heart warmed a bit. Their circle was growing, her list of friends expanding like the roots of a tomato plant. It felt like the more good people she surrounded herself with, the more joy those roots sucked into her body, nourishing her in a way that was healing for her soul.

"Well," the king clapped his hands together again, interrupting Lea’s thoughts. "A friend of Gray’s is a friend of mine. Welcome to Calir, Noah." Tanad crooked a finger and a massive cream-colored horse appeared from underneath a nearby tree where it had been lying in the shade. Its hooves were the size of Lea’s head, and she wondered if it was to allow the animal better traction in the sand. "I suspect a warm bath and a hot meal are in order. You are our guests, of course."

Gray stepped toward the King. "I’d like to talk about—"

"War and strategy can wait a few hours," Tanad cut him off, holding up a hand. "You’ve been through so much." He looked at Emma again with kind, understanding eyes. "Let’s clean that dirt from your hair and the mud off your leathers before you dirty up our war room, shall we? And poor Erik must be starving. Look at him." He gestured to Erik’s broad, muscular body. "He looks malnourished. Have you not been feeding the man? What have you eaten this week, Erik?"

Erik laughed, that booming cackle that brought a smile to Lea’s lips every time without fail, as he hopped back up on his horse and pulled Janelle up with him.

"All we had was a foobil! Can you believe it? And I didn’t even get my own. We had toshareit," Erik moaned, holding his stomach as if suffering from hunger pains.

"See?" Tanad raised an eyebrow. "We can’t allow your strongest soldier to starve to death. We’ll discuss business later," he said with a pointed look before effortlessly mounting his horse.

Lea couldn’t help but smile as Gray gave her a leg up to settle into the saddle. It seemed as if her mate had found his match in stubbornness, and she had to say she quite liked it.

Chapter 46

Lea

KingTanad’scastlewasunlike anything Lea had ever seen. As they approached on their horses, Lea was completely awestruck. The castle looked as if a sandstorm had blown it into existence, with sloping walls that drifted down and blended into the sparkling sand that led to a glistening shoreline. Seashells stuck out of the landscape and exterior of the palace, and beautiful turquoise waves rolled onto the shore, starkly contrasting the beige walls of the castle. Had there not been balconies and windows, Lea would’ve been positive that she was staring at a mountain of sand rather than a palace fit for a king. It wasstunning. There was no other word to describe it.

Servants and soldiers wandered casually about, their skin tan beneath their lightweight uniforms in various shades of blue. They were barefoot, and Lea wondered if the sand was as warm as the balmy air, or if the salty breeze that was filling her lungs cooled it as it gently blew off the sea.

King Tanad led them through the ornate gold front doors that swung open with a flick of his wrist. They were at least twenty feet tall, with gilded depictions of all sorts of marine life. And somehow, those animals moved. Fish, dolphins, crabs, and various creatures of the sea that Lea didn’t recognize slowly swam around on the door as if it was made of water rather than a gold plated entrance to the castle.

"Welcome to my humble home," the king said as they passed an enormous tank that filled an entire wall of the foyer. Unable to resist, Lea raised her fingers to the glass, trailing them softly across where a pink starfish stuck to it. Except—Lea gasped. There was no glass. As her fingers touched the surface, the wet, tiny suction cup feet of the starfish brushed against her fingers. Cool water trailed down her arm, a ripple appearing on the surface of the wall of water.

"Ahh—careful, my dear." King Tanad winked at her. "We wouldn’t want too large of a break through the surface. There are some things best kept contained in that tank there." He tilted his head toward where something casting a monstrous shadow lazily swam above their heads.

"Holy shit! I mean—" Noah cleared his throat. "What is that thing? Look at its teeth! They’re the size of my hand." Noah took a step away from the tank. "Are you sure that thing can’t break through?"

"Chicken," Janelle teased, poking him in the ribs.

"A hakar. The shark’s only predator. You’re quite safe, though," King Tanad said, waving a hand flippantly. "Though I wouldn’t advise sticking your arm in there. If you’d like to play with the fish, there’s a tank near the dining room with dolphins. Much kinder animals, dolphins," Tanad mused, stopping when they reached a split in the hallway. To the right was what looked like a statue of a whale floating near the ceiling, while to the left, another wall of water created a tunnel by curling over the top of the hallway like a wave about to crash back into the ocean. "I assume your usual rooms will suit you?" the king asked Gray and Erik.

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