Page 16 of A Petal in the Crown

Adelaide swallowed, her brow creasing as she shook her head. "Then you must be careful, Lea. It will consume you whole, consume the world whole, if you allow it to. You must remember who you are. Who I raised you to be. The woman Gray fell in love with. Do not let the darkness win."

Lea tried to push it down, but it bubbled beneath her skin, pulsing and pounding to escape, so intense, she could only nod.

"Can you help me? Control it, I mean?" Lea asked the moon goddess.

"I’m afraid to interfere any more would only make things worse for you. All I can say is youcancontrol it. And you can win. I wouldn’t allow you to return if I wasn’t certain."

Lea’s throat bobbed, her primary magic rebelling inside her as if insulted.Destroy.

"You are destined for great things, my daughter. I will be with you," Adelaide said, throwing her arms around Lea and squeezing her tight.

"As will I," the goddess replied, looking over her shoulder. "Take the cure, before—"

The hills began to rumble, cracks forming and spreading beneath her feet like the earth itself was going to open up and swallow her whole. Light exploded around them in a white-hot flash of fury as the god ofthe sun appeared on the hill above them, his anger so bright, his entire being was hidden by flames.

Lea turned to run, placing the petal on her tongue and swallowing it as the goddess and her mother were thrown backward.

The sun god surged toward her, impossibly fast, but the magic of the moonflower was faster. In a fraction of a second, Lea was no longer on a hill in Bearswillow.

No. She was lying in a soft, familiar bed. Through her closed eyelids, warm light flickered from candles around the room. She shivered, a groan escaping her lips as feeling returned to her body. Every joint ached, and her head throbbed, but Lea welcomed the pain as her heart thundered its first strong beat. Gray's and Janelle's voices floated through the air, and she gasped, sucking oxygen back into her lungs.

A crash sounded from next to her, a chair being thrown backward, and Gray was suddenly at her side. "Lea," he cried, a plea. A prayer.

She opened her eyes.

Chapter 10

Gray

Agasp—a deep inhale—and Gray’s world stopped spinning. Lea’s chest rose, and before he could even process what was happening, he lunged at her, his chair clattering to the stone floor with a crash. His hands cupped her cheeks, and his heart kicked into a furious rhythm as he found her skin warm and pink.

"Lea," he breathed, and as if his voice had called her home, her eyes opened. Her beautiful blue eyes that he had believed he would never look into again in this lifetime.

Gray cried out her name, his shadows wrapping around them as he pulled Lea into his arms and crushed her tired body against his. Countless questions ran through his mind, but all he could say was her name, again and again. She was here. She was home. She wasalive.

"I’m here," she said, her voice weak as she inhaled deeply into the crook of his neck. She pulled back, running her fingers along the side of Gray’s face. "I’m here," she repeated, her voice getting stronger with every word.

"How— How is this possible?" Janelle asked. Lea’s eyes slid over to her friend, and just like when they’d both been beyond the veil, Gray was once again aware of how much Lea had changed. Her warmth was gone. There was no sparkle in her eye as she looked at her best friend, no hint of light within her at all.

It didn’t matter. He would take her however she was, and would help her find her way back to herself. Of course, she was different. What she had been through… Gray’s shadows pulsed at the memory.

"The goddess of the moon sent me back. She said if we are to defeat Alaric, she had no choice. The god of the sun—" Lea’s voice hardened, her eyes darkening. "He was against it. There will be consequences."

The hair on Gray’s arms stood on end as he took in Lea’s words. If the goddess of the moon had acted against the sun god’s wishes, they would be battling more than just Alaric. He hoped it wouldn’t affect his magic, or Lea’s. They needed every weapon at their disposal to win this war.

But he shoved down the thought. "Whatever the consequences are, we will handle them," Gray said. "Together."

Lea nodded, but her eyes remained haunted, unsure.

Gray’s shadows caressed Lea from head to toe, prodding and assessing her for injuries as much as savoring the feeling of touching her warm skin. Making sure she was reallyhere.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, no longer caring that Lea had forced him to return without her. He’d been so full of grief at losing her not once, but twice. It had been mixed with anger at what she’d done. At tricking him into returning without her. But not anymore. Now, he was filled with only joy and relief.

Lea nodded. "I’m fine. I’m…" she trailed off, clenching her jaw.

"Janelle, get Erik and Emma." Gray said without sparing a glance at Janelle, but the click of her shoes on the stone floor told him she was scurrying away to do what he’d asked.

The moment she was gone, Gray crushed his lips to Lea’s, needing to feel her warmth seep into him. A growl left his throat as she opened her mouth and climbed onto his lap, straddling him, her tongue darting between his lips and her hands scraping down his back.

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