Page 63 of A Sun Scorched Bloom

ThedayLea'smotherfound her on a bald in the mountain town of Bearswillow twenty-three years ago, the wind stirred and seemed to bend the long stalks of grass toward a small bundle surrounded by a collection of wildflowers. When Adelaide opened the bundle, she’d found a beautiful baby girl with eyes the color of bluebells and lips the pink of a spring tulip.

The wreath surrounding her, a perfect oval, was filled with hyacinth, bee balm, poppies, lady’s bedstraw, and Queen Anne’s lace, among many other flowers, with no hints or clues as to who had left this perfect girl behind. Adelaide had been startled, of course, to find a baby so small all alone in the mountains, but what had struck her as the most peculiar was that, despite the warm day and the bright sun beating down on the bald, the baby did not cry. She simply looked toward her new mother, a tiny smile on those tulip pink lips, content to be held once again.

It had been odd to find a baby so close to her home. The baby was at least three months old. Adelaide knew of every birth within the village, for she was the one who attended to them. It seemed impossible that any of the women she knew so well would have hidden their pregnancy, birth, and first several months of motherhood from her, and that she wouldn’t have needed any care as she healed or the child grew. It was far more likely that the baby's mother was from a neighboring village, but in that case, was it just luck that she'd been left practically on the doorstep of the village healer?

It had seemed as if this baby was an answer to her deepest prayers. She had begged the gods for a child, had tried for years, but no matter what herbs she drank or magic she used, the only people who sat at their dinner table as night magic swept across the kingdom were herself and her husband. It wasn’t until she’d brought the babe home and unwrapped her from her soft swaddle that Adelaide realized that she had been meant to find this child. And while it was possible that this baby was still a gift from the gods, it no longer felt as if finding the girl had been an accident.

As the little girl on the table in front of her stretched her arms, Adelaide caught a glimpse of a small, moonflower shaped birthmark beneath the baby’s arm.

"It can’t be," she’d breathed, closing her eyes as she thought back to the day she’d cut a baby from her dear friend’s corpse. The baby should have been dead. Adelaide had never been able to find an explanation for how the baby had lived, despite the fact that her mother’s body had already begun to cool. They’d known that were the baby to stay in Auropera, Brennus Nestruir would find her and kill her. Everyone in the castle knew the rumors of his jealousy, knew that he would do anything to take his friend’s place as king.

"You have to take her to Calir," she’d told her friend, Delphine, as Genevieve rushed to collect bread, dried meats, and cheese, as well as several bottles of goat’s milk. As they waited for her to return, she pulled a small pouch from her pocket and removed a needle to stitch together the queen’s belly, hoping she could use her magic to conceal the scar. "And do not tell a soul who she belongs to. Hide her away. Shewillhave magic, and it will be strong. Never allow her to set foot back in Desia, not if she wants to live. Brennus will sense it, and he will find her. And if he finds her…"

Her friend nodded gravely, her face pale. "He will kill her, I know."

Adelaide had wished she could take the baby herself, but she had made Genevieve a promise to help protect her from her husband, and she intended to keep it.

"You have to leave, too." Delphine whispered urgently. "They’ll see her scar and know there was a baby. They will know that you’re the only one with the skill to pull a babe from a mother’s womb."

Adelaide placed a hand on top of Delphine’s and nodded. "Iwillleave, I promise. But there is something I must do first. Go."

Delphine rose, the sleeping baby cradled to her chest and the satchel of food across her back. "Where will you go?" she asked Adelaide, her voice choked. "Where will you be if I need to find you?"

Adelaide paused. "Home," she said after a moment. "I think it’s time I go home."

Chapter 43

Lea

"Youfoundme?" Lea felt as if she was going to be sick.

"Your mother did. But, yes. We found you, and we loved you immediately, with everything we had."

Gray continued rubbing slow circles on Lea’s back.

"And you didn’t tell me?" Lea didn’t want to cry, but first the vision and now this? She was too exhausted to keep the tears at bay.

"We needed to find answers first." Her father shook his head. "We wanted to be sure of who you were."

"And who am I?" Lea asked. "Who are my parents?"

"What else did you see in the garden, Lea?" Henry asked gently.

"How do you know I saw anything more than what I already said?" Lea shook her head. None of this made sense.

"We’re running out of time, Lea. The Lonely Death has crossed the border to Calir. Eudora said that if I could get you here, it would give us answers. So tell me,please. What did you see?"

"You know Eudora?" Gray asked, his shadows darkening.

Lea’s father nodded.

"And what did you offer her in exchange for this information?" Gray snapped. "The witch does not give without asking in return."

"What I offered her is none of your business. She can help us, but first, I need to know what my daughter saw."

Eudora had told him to bring her here. It made Lea feel as if she was walking on a rope, hanging precariously above a canyon. Lea placed a hand on Gray’s arm to ground her. "I saw Mom, she—" The room began to spin. "The queen was pregnant. I used my magic to keep the baby alive, and Mom cut her out. She saved her."

"Your mother sent the baby away with the queen’s maid. Delphine. She was meant to raise her in Calir, somewhere she'd be safe. But I think once the baby grew up and Delphine passed, she came back to Desia. I think she wanted to be back inside her own kingdom."

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