Page 4 of A Sun Scorched Bloom

"There are so many of them." Lea’s magic twisted in her gut.

Gray pulled a dagger from his boot and tossed it to Emma. "I’d hoped that the guards stationed in town would run back toward the explosion to help. Cowards."

Janelle rubbed the back of her neck again. "How are we supposed to get past them?"

"You get past them by listening to your magic, Janelle. Has it ever led you astray before?"

"Magic? No—"

"Now is not the time to overthink this. I need you to get Emma and Lea out of here safely. I am trusting you with my heart, with the person most precious to me in the world. And I am doing it because Iknowyou can keep her safe. The best way to keep all of us alive is to get you three out of here as quickly as possible. Avoid danger, avoid fighting if you can. Just get out." Gray quickly glanced around in the moonlight, and Lea wondered what he was able to see with his superior Fae eyesight that Lea and her friends couldn’t. "Look for Erik. He knows where to go."

A sensation of eyes on the back of Lea’s head made a cold sweat break out on her skin.Alaric, she thought, whipping her head around to look for the Crown Prince, Gray’s sadistic older brother. He was near, but where? He was nowhere to be seen, but she couldfeelhim—feel the malice floating in the air—the undeniable threat of a predator stalking its prey.

As they stepped onto the cobblestone street, chaos erupted. Gray pulled a shiny bronze dagger from his thigh and pressed it into Lea’s hand. The tips of dozens of ladders peeked out from over the castle wall and royal guards were climbing over, jumping down to join the fight.

"Let’s move!" Gray shouted, urging them forward as Lea’s magic sparked at her fingertips. Bits of stone crumbled from the parapet wall as soldiers scurried across. Others planted themselves on top of it, readying their arrows and raising their bows. They wereeverywhere.

Three guards in the navy blue uniform of the Royal Army darted forward with their swords raised. Relief wrapped around Lea’s heart as Janelle pulled Emma to the side, dodging their advance and wrenching her backward to hide behind a weathered white fence.

Lea raised her hands and gathered her fire as she stepped forward to join the battle, but an arrow struck the hem of Lea’s dress, causing her to stumble. Gray caught her with a hand on her elbow at the same time he speared the second guard on his sword, the man slumping to the ground as deep red blood spurted from the wound. Yanking the arrow pinning her in place, Lea pressed deeper into the well of her magic than ever before and prepared to fight.

But before she could unleash her power, a blast of intense, red-hot fire caused the third guard to collapse in a pile of agonizing shrieks. There was only one rebel Lea knew of who could create such powerful flames.

"Erik!" Lea shouted, turning to look for him in the mayhem. He needed to get to Emma and Janelle. They were vulnerable, except…

Erik’s broad form caught her attention only feet from where Emma hid, now alone. Janelle had somehow found a thin, perfectly polished sword and was fighting back to back with Erik, striking down guards as if they’d fought together hundreds of times.

"Duck!" Janelle shouted, and Erik listened, dropping down a moment before an arrow whizzed directly where Erik’s right eye had been a moment before. "To the right!" she ordered, and Erik swiped right, opening a ten-inch gash in a soldier’s flank.

Lea’s mouth went dry as she watched in awe. Janelle had never wielded a sword before, at least that Lea was aware of, but she was fighting as if she had been born holding one. What she lacked in strength she made up for in speed, anticipating the guards’ movements before they even seemed to decide themselves. Janelle jumped over an ax that was swung at her knees, and Erik stabbed his sword through her attacker’s chest.

Placing her hands on her knees, Janelle took a deep breath before standing again. The guards just kept coming—one after another after another. Sweat beaded along her brow, and Lea felt perspiration break out on her own neck.She’s getting too tired,she thought as Janelle’s movements turned sluggish, her fatigue growing more apparent with every slash of her sword.

On instinct, Lea shot both hands out, flames bursting from her fingertips and exploding in the small space between her friends and the guards attacking them. Janelle hissed, pulling her arm to her chest as the soldiers jumped backward. They fell on the ground as the flames licked at their legs, their wails causing Lea’s stomach to drop. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the sight of the men's tears.

This wasn’t what she wanted. What if these soldiers had been given the chance to join the rebellion? Would they have chosen to fight with them instead of against them? What if they weren’t actually bad people? Lea’s hands began to shake.I can’t do this,she thought, nausea creeping up the back of her throat.

A nearby rebel with graying hair and smile lines around his eyes fought off two royal soldiers, crying out as a blade nicked his shoulder. Lea stepped forward to help, and one of the soldiers caught her movement, looking up at her with wide, terrified eyes. He was so young—seventeen, if that. Lea’s fire fizzled out as if water had been poured directly on it. She couldn’t kill him, and yet, despite his fear-filled gaze, he lifted his sword overhead and arced it down directly toward the rebel’s neck.

Lea tried to find her power, knew she needed to save the man, but instead of coils of light or darkness, she only found the fear causing her heart to pound erratically. "Dammit!" she hissed as she forced her terror down, searching for her courage and magic.There. A small tendril. Demanding it listen, she ordered it toward the young soldier about to deliver a killing blow, but before she could strike, a man with a red armband darted from inside the house and rammed his sword through the guard’s gut.

Coward, her subconscious chastised her. Deep down, she knew that her magic was lethal, that she could be helping her fellow rebels by striking down the soldiers fighting against them. But… killing someone? Even if it was the enemy? The idea of it made Lea want to vomit.

A tendril of darkness wound around Lea’s arm. "Shield yourself with your shadows!" Gray called from just behind her as he sliced through another guard approaching from the wall behind them. A jolt of sharp confidence pulsed through the bond, waking her magic again. It was as if Gray sensed her hesitation to fight—to kill. "Pull them around you and imagine making them solid."

Gray blasted a charging soldier fifty feet back, throwing him into a hoard of approaching guards in a display of dark power. His shadows floated around her, protecting her as he continued to fight, buying the rebels more time to escape. "Find it, Lea! And use it!"

Protected by her mate, Lea closed her eyes and searched for her night magic. It was harder for her to find, deeper and more elusive inside her than the fire she could now more easily call to her hands. She followed the ball of light next to her heart, branching out until she found a sliver of coolness entwined within. Lea allowed it to emerge, to fill her chest and spread down her arms, dark waves floating from her fingertips. Nausea filled Lea’s stomach as she accessed the magic, the feeling so much darker and more dangerous than her light. It felt like sorrow and fear—a terrifying cold vibrating through her bones.

"You’re okay," Lea whispered to herself, ignoring the way using her night magic made her skin crawl, knowing that if she wanted to live, she needed to use any power she could muster. Pushing the darkness around her, Lea watched in awe as translucent black tendrils snaked in spirals around her body. They were living things, obeying her, but somehow also moving on their own, writhing and pulsing. The power was intimidating and overwhelming, but somehow alsobeautiful. With her shadows by her side, Lea searched the streets for ways she could help.

Lea’s attention returned to where Janelle and Erik fought off a single guard wielding day magic, splashes of fire crashing around their feet. Janelle kept her left arm cradled against her chest as she fought, and Lea cringed at the sight of the charred, black, and blistered skin from her thumb to her elbow.

"Janelle!" Lea shouted, but Janelle held up a hand, silencing her.

"I’m fine. Shield us," Janelle ordered.

Lea wanted to cry, but the adrenaline coursing through her veins made it impossible. She could feel sorry for hurting Janelle later, but she would never get the chance to apologize if Janelle didn’t make it through this battle alive.

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