Page 14 of A Petal in the Crown

"No. She’s not. But you are here. And you have to go on. Alaric will come to destroy everything you love. Dismantle everything that you and Lea built." His mother’s sorrow joined his own, adding another layer to the pain and suffering of this war. Here she was, helping him—no, begging him—to find a way to kill her other son.

Gray cursed the gods again for the lot they had given him in this life.

"I don’t know where to start," Gray said, allowing himself this moment of vulnerability. Later, in front of his soldiers, he would be strong. Confident and steadfast. A leader who could rally his army to lay down their lives, if that’s what it took, to defeat his brother. But right now, right here, with only his mother, he allowed himself to express his doubt.

"Lea said she weakened him. That he was hurt. Now would be the time to strike, but I don’t know where to even begin looking for him. He won’t return to the castle, I don’t think. He knows that will be the first place we go."

Genevieve nodded in understanding. "That’s why I’m going back."

"Back?" Gray snapped.

"Youneed information. I am Alaric's mother, and I am still Queen of Desia, if only in title. That holds weight with our court. Puts me in a position of respect." She raised her chin. "You send your scouts throughout the villages to collect any information they can give you. I will return to the heart of Auropera and see what I can learn from within."

"He’ll have you killed the second he finds out you’ve returned." Gray said, but the idea of having someone within the castle who could alert them immediately if Alaric did return, or if word came about where he was hiding, was tempting. It could change the tide of the war. Give them a huge advantage, if she could pull it off.

"I’ll tell him you've gone mad, that losing your mate sent you into a rampage, and that I realized you could never rule the kingdom like he could. I can feed him false information."

"And if he doesn’t believe you? If he kills you?" The thought made him sick. He’d just begun rebuilding his relationship with his mother. Had never really had a relationship with her at all, before now.

"Then I die knowing I helped my kingdom, and I will keep your mate company until you one day join us." She grabbed Gray's hand. "But I don’t think he will kill me. His pride won’t allow it. Not if I say I have abandoned your cause and wish to help him. He’s always wanted my approval, has always possessed a deep need for me to choose him over you. He didn’t get it from his father, and so he killed him. Stole his magic. But somewhere inside that wicked shell of a man is still a little boy who just wants to matter," Genevieve croaked, her voice as rough as sand.

Gray almost felt pity for his brother at that moment. Almost, but not quite. He would never be able to offer any emotion other than rage and hatred for the man who had taken so much from him. Gray knew that Genevieve had tried with Alaric, that she had shown them both love whenever possible, whenever their father hadn’t been watching, ready topunish herandthem for any sign of weakness. But despite her best effort, evil had taken root somewhere deep inside her eldest son, too deeply ingrained into his DNA to ever be changed or eradicated.

"If you sense danger, return to the cavern and send word. You’ll be safe there." Gray paused, considering what his mother was offering. "It will be difficult, convincing him you have changed your mind. Even harder pretending to approve of what he does."

"Weallmust do hard things. Somehow, despite the odds, we find a way to survive."

Gray knew the meaning hiding beneath her words. There is a time to mourn, and a time to let your pain forge you into someone stronger. Into a weapon to be used for the greater good.

"It’s time," she said. Softly. Gentle as the brush of a feather.

Gray somehow found the strength to nod, unable to speak. Lea wasn't coming back. He had to move forward, even if it killed him. Silently, he hoped that it would.

The wind blew gently as he bent down to pick up his mate's lifeless body, the melody of swaying grass and chirping birds a reminder that even in our darkest times, the world continues on.

They didn’t speak, but Genevieve remained at Gray's side as he carried his mate back to the cavern to prepare for burial. To prepare for whatever comes after.

As he walked through the main corridor, his soldiers went silent, bowing their heads and whispering prayers as he carried Lea’s body to their room, the one they'd shared so recently. Tears streamed down his face, and he allowed himself those final moments of surrendering to his sorrow. Sorrow he would find once again, in another time and another place—once Alaric was rotting in the ground, and the kingdom found peace.

Chapter 9

Lea

The rush of night magic washed across the land, the grass bowing to the immensity of the night's power, and the shimmering magic cascading like a wave from the horizon, making the sky appear darker. Lea pried her eyes away from the hill where, in another world, her house sat, burned to the ground. She wondered where her body was now. Where Gray was.

Where Alaric was.

The wind changed, and Adelaide gasped. With lightning speed, Lea whipped her head around, her night magic surging when she saw the moon goddess standing only feet away, her face far more stern and serious than Lea had ever seen before. Her usually smooth, tidy hair was frizzy around her face, her eyes wide and features uncharacteristically sharp.

Lea called on her magic, scrambling to her feet and scanning behind the goddess for the god of the sun. She’d been waiting for their return, mentally preparing for whatever punishment they would attempt for her disobedience.

"He’s not here. Lower your hands," the moon goddess said in a hushed whisper. "And you shouldn’t be either. You have to go." She rushed to Lea’s side, grabbing her hands and squeezing.

"I’m not leaving here." Lea let the fire inside her grow impossibly hotter.How dare she tell me where to go?"Not until I’m with Gray again."

"Youareleaving. Because you’re going back." The goddess held out her hand, and instantly, as if her skin was made of soil, a moonflower bloomed in her palm. Perfect and pristine and white as snow.

Lea froze, a mixture of trepidation and disbelief wrapping between her ribs until she was breathless.

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