Page 8 of A Sun Scorched Bloom

Lea’s heart slowed, the furious pounding she had felt in her chest easing as she absorbed his words. A shimmering veil sparkled along the border of the trees, so subtle she wasn’t surprised she hadn’t noticed it in her panic. It was the same magic that had guarded them in the dungeons, the same rush of power that had washed over her as she'd run into the clearing.Gray will be here soon.The thought brought her peace. All she could do now was wait for him.

"Good," Erik said as he watched the tension ease from her shoulders. "These people might not know it yet, but you are their queen. After they find out that Gray is behind this movement, they'll be watching your every move, so you better start practicing maintaining a calm exterior. My guess is that they won’t trust Gray right away. He’s done too good a job pretending to be as wicked as Brennus. But you're one of them. Show them you trust him, and they will follow your lead." Erik clapped her on the shoulder, almost knocking her over before leaving her alone with her thoughts.

Their queen?Lea’s heart thumped faster as she schooled her face into a calm expression. It was ridiculous, but if Erik was right and the rebels would be looking to her to decide whether or not to trust Gray, then she needed to remain calm. Forcing herself to turn from the opening between the trees, she peeled her eyes from the place she so desperately hoped to see Gray’s enormous, angry form storm through.I need to busy myself,she thought. She couldn’t do anything to help her mate right now, but she could help Emma.

Among the groups of rebels, Emma was sitting on the hard ground with her knees to her chest. Her face was as pale as the ghosts she claimed to have seen, and she was muttering under her breath with wide, terrified eyes. It sent a shiver through Lea, the idea that spirits might be around them at any moment without their knowledge.

Kneeling next to her was Thomas, and Lea let loose a rattling breath. She hadn’t known exactly what had happened to him during the battle, but here he was, in one piece, with no visible injuries. A tiny bit of tension faded from the knot in her stomach as she reveled in the fact that all of her friends were here in the safety of Gray’s enchanted hideout.

Lea’s heart warmed as she watched Thomas whispering softly to Emma, one hand cupping her cheek as he gently stroked her face with his thumb. Emma appeared to know Thomas was there by the way she leaned ever so slightly toward him. It was an intimate gesture, one she recognized from all the times Thomas had comforted her over the years, and she turned away to give them a moment of privacy.

"Lea," Thomas called, pulling Emma closer. "What happened to her?"

Emma kept her eyes downcast, rocking slightly within the circle of Thomas’s arms as she continued to speak to herself.

"Go away. Go away. No, no, no. I don’t want to see them again." She muttered, the words nonsensical and her eyes out of focus as if reliving another moment in time.

"Emma?" Lea prodded gently, her voice quiet. But her friend closed her eyes, continuing her rocking.

"Oh my girl, what did you see?" Elise’s voice cut through Emma’s panicked state as she ran into the clearing and straight to her daughter, kneeling in front of her and grasping her hands. "It happened again, didn’t it, my love?"

The spell controlling Emma was shattered as she launched herself into her mother's arms, a devastating sob ripping from her throat as they collapsed together in the soft grass. "Mom! You’re here!"

Lea let loose a breath.Thank the gods.Elise was here. She would get through to Emma.

"Of course I’m here," Elise soothed as she rubbed Emma’s back. "You think I don’t know everything that happens in the castle? I can’t believe you thought for a single second that I would let you leave without me."

Lea’s heart clenched and stuttered, relief that Emma’s mother was there butting up against the sorrow of watching her friend suffering clashing in her chest. If only there was a way to take Emma’s pain away, Lea would do it without hesitation. Instead, she took a step back and allowed Elise to comfort her daughter.

"I saw them, Mom. All of them. Claire. The guards," she heaved through tears. "And theyknewI could see them. They were reaching out to me, begging for help."

"We knew that was a possibility, my love," Elise said, stroking her daughter’s face. "We knew it might happen again."

"Itcan’t." Emma placed her head in her trembling hands. "Ican’t. I’m not strong enough for this."

"Nonsense," Elise replied, far more sternly than Lea had ever heard her speak. "You are mydaughter. I raised you to be kind, and I raised you to bestrong. There is no weakness in fear, my love. You were given this gift by the gods themselves. Onlyyou. It is an insult to them to say that you are not powerful enough to wield it."

A sob burst from Emma’s throat, and Elise soothed her hair and whispered soft words of comfort to her daughter.

"Elise," Lea said quietly. "What’s happening? How can we help?"

The small Fae looked up at Lea, a brave face attempting to hide the unending worry of motherhood. "As you know, Emma is part Fae."

Lea nodded. She hadn’t known for sure how much Fae blood Emma had. It wasn’t something they'd discussed, but it stood to reason that, despite Elise being full Fae, Emma was at least part human due to her slightly clumsy nature. She was beautiful in the way of the Fae, delicate and willowy, with smooth, light-brown skin, large eyes, and shiny, curly black hair. But she had never mentioned her father, and it hadn’t been something that Lea had cared about. Fae or not, Emma was caring and thoughtful. A one-of-a-kind friend. That was all that mattered to Lea.

"And you also know that, with the king so near, having magic at your disposal is dangerous.Especiallyif yours is a talent that is exceedingly rare." Elise looked around as if still afraid of the king’s reach, despite the fact that she was surrounded by those filled with the desire to kill him and end his reign.

"Emma has magic?" Lea asked breathlessly, almost hurt. Had Emma not trusted her to keep her secret safe? But then, Lea hadn’t been forthright with Emma about her own abilities, either. Guilt burrowed deep into her belly.

"It appears she does, though we weren’t positive. And regardless, her gift isn't one that we wanted to experiment with." Elise tenderly brushed Emma’s hair back from her eyes, pausing before continuing to speak. "Years ago, a stable boy fell off his horse. It was spooked by a snake in the grass—an unfortunate accident, throwing the boy onto his neck."

Emma winced as Elise spoke about the child, leaning further into her mother, who immediately began to rub her back. "It’s okay, my love." Elise turned back to Lea. "Emma was with me on a walk, only a child."

Emma sniffled, sitting up slowly, and wiping her nose on her sleeve. "I heard his neck snap," she whispered, still clinging to her mother desperately, as if she were the only thing holding her together. "And then I watched his spirit rise from his small, broken body. He sobbed for his mother, begged me to go get her." Tears streamed from her swollen eyes, the sorrow from the memory ingrained in every breath. "I didn’t know what to do. So I just—I froze. I just stood there while the boy sobbed and begged for me to help him. I did nothing as he slowly faded away into the wind. It’s the only death I have seen, until today. And I will never forgive my own cowardice. I had hoped—" her words were cut off by another sob, and Elise brushed the tears from her face as she comforted her daughter.

"We had hoped," Elise continued, "that it was her imagination. Or a trick of the mind. That maybe the boy had magic himself, projecting his spirit to her in his death. But I always had a feeling." She nodded at her daughter. "She has a gift. Her empathy and ability to see a person’s deepest fears and worries and needs… It is not just kindness. She is seeing the very souls that inhabit the bodies we dwell in. In life,andin death."

Chapter 5

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