Page 85 of A Sun Scorched Bloom

"Then we have no time to waste," he threw over his shoulder as he turned and hurried toward the table and pulled out a chair for her. "Even with two of us, it will be difficult to get through all this." He waved his hand at the books.

"Thank you so much," Emma said earnestly, her heart squeezing in gratitude.

"No, my dear. Thankyou. It’s been many years since I’ve had a new challenge. The answer to the Lonely Death has escaped me. As has how to defeat the Black King. But this," he gestured toward the table of books, "This is a riddle that I think we can crack."

"If you like a challenge," Emma said, the beginnings of a question forming in her mind, "there’s something else I need your help with."

Chapter 57

Lea

Goldenlightbeamedthroughthe alcove window as Lea rubbed a finger across the worn leather journal—Evangeline’s journal. She’d glanced at it back in the cabin, but she hadn’t opened it since. It wasn’t a lack of motivation that kept the book closed on the driftwood table in her room. It was more so that she’d learned so much new information in the last few days that she wasn’t sure her mind, or her heart, could process it.

Cracking open the cover, she took a deep breath of salty air. The alcove was open to the sea, tucked near the back of the corridor that held their rooms. Lea hadn’t even been sure she was emotionally prepared to look at the journal today, but she needed a distraction. Days had passed since Gray had left to help reinforce the wards at the border, and shemissedhim.

The feeling was nearly all-consuming, and Lea suspected that it had been amplified by the mate bond, along with her love, respect, and devotion to him. To hermate. Lea smiled. Gods, she loved him. It was a thick, heady feeling that flooded her veins and never left her, a warm blanket wrapped firmly around her shoulders. She felt like she could breathe deeper than ever before. Her power was easier to access, and a little easier to control.

I miss you,Lea sent down the mate bond. She’d probably told him a hundred times since he left, but she couldn’t help it. It was all consuming.

I miss you more,Gray’s rumbling voice replied, a whisper in her mind. It was faint, like listening underwater, but it was there. It didn’t quench her need to see him, nor the way part of her soul was missing from her being, but at least she knew he was okay. She could feel Gray's love with every thump of her heart.

She’d tried to distract herself, spending hours each day in the gardens, unsuccessfully trying to grow the moonflowers. But the only time she had moments of reprieve from missing Gray was during training, which had continued daily just as Erik had told them it would.

It was hard to think of your mate, or anything else for that matter, when your enormous, secretly sadistic friend screamed at you to run faster until you emptied the contents of your stomach onto the sand. Though somehow, by the fifth day, Lea had miraculously made it without vomiting.

Her legs still felt like rubber, but she practiced what Erik had taught her. With every slow breath in, she sent healing magic to her lungs, forcing them to open wider and use her oxygen more efficiently. With every exhale, she focused on healing her legs, easing the intense burn and fatigue that made her limbs feel like gelatin. She still hated running and would much rather spend her time sparring or practicing her day magic, but she also knew that their morning jogs weren’t just about the running. Though she needed to be able to perform physical activity without retching, she also needed to learn how to use small bits of her magic while doing other tasks and control it.

After their run this morning, Lea had needed to escape. To have some time alone, if only for a moment. Pulling her knees to her chest, she placed her birth mother’s journal next to her, opening to a random page. Inside, a beautiful pressed flower was glued to a slightly stiff, time-aged page. It was a deep pink, with diamond-shaped petals that ended in a sharp point. It was beautiful, menacing and stunning and dangerous all at once.

Lea wasn’t familiar with the plant, but scrawled next to it in a loopy, flourished cursive was a name:Altranior Misciefoh. Most effective when planted with intent.

Odd, Lea thought, flipping to the next page where a flower as big as her palm and as black as her shadows was pressed.Mash into fine powder and mix into drink. Best if placed in bottom of glass prior to pouring.Use sparingly. Will kill in seconds.

Lea flipped from page to page, reading the descriptions of the flowers in Evangeline’s handwriting. There was a small, golden flower for luck and a silver vine for truth.Plant at dawn, when truth comes to light. Must interrogate immediately. Lasts less than one hour.

Poisons,Lea realized. Had her birth mother grown all of these? Was Lea’s ability to nurture the earth inherited from her? Sure, she preferred to grow things that could heal, nourish. But all the same, Lea was certain that these flowers had bloomed with the help of magic. She swiped a tear from her eye. Though she would never meet her birth mother, maybe she had gottensomethingfrom her. Maybe a part of Evangeline lived inside her.

Lea paused. What other answers hid within this book? She swiped to the next page. It was blank, but a deep blue-violet residue dusted the parchment.Autolycus: Thief of magic. Last remaining flower.

"My Queen?"

Lea jumped, and Noah raised his hands in front of him. "I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you."

Laughing, Lea closed the journal. "Noah. I’ve told you. It’s Lea, please."

"Lea, then." He smiled, but his cheeks colored as he dipped his head. "Are you okay?"

Shifting to give Noah room to sit, she patted the bench next to her. "I’m fine." She held up the journal. "It’s been a lot to process, you know? I wasn’t over losing my mom, and now it feels like I’ve gained and lost another parent all at once."

Noah sat, keeping a respectable distance from Lea. It made her smile. He was so kind, sohonorable. He never cursed, rarely teased. And above all, he was loyal, both to Gray and herself, even though Lea felt as if she’d done nothing to earn that kind of allegiance from him.

"I can understand that. To a point, at least." Noah held out a hand, raising his eyebrows. "May I?" he asked, looking at the journal.

Lea nodded, handing it over. "How'd you get through it? Losing a parent, I mean."

Noah promptly opened the notebook, flipping through the pages. He studied them for a few seconds before answering. "I have three younger sisters." Noah didn’t look up from the pages. "My mom fell apart when Dad died. She couldn’t get out of bed. Couldn’t take care of any of us. It was… scary."

Tilting his head, he studied a deep blue flower, so dry from its time between the pages that it was crumbling into dust. "We received a generous gift from a stranger. It was enough money to feed and clothe us." Noah looked up, searching Lea’s eyes. But for what, she didn’t understand.

---