Page 33 of A Petal in the Crown

“Azalea—”

“Do you not trust me?” Lea asked, finally swinging her head to stare him down. “Do you not think I'm capable?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then, let me do this,” she growled, refusing to back down. Lea knew she was being controlling. That if the roles were reversed, she would never leave his side. But she didn’t care. Not when she’d already watched the life drain from his eyes once before. This was already their second chance. There would not be a third.

Gray hesitated, his shoulders tight. It took several moments, but Lea could tell when he relented. He reached out and cupped her cheek, touching her for just a moment longer than a casual goodbye before sighing and leaving the room.

With a hard click, the door shut firmly behind him, and Lea finally exhaled. She pulled the sword on her hip from its sheath, squeezing the hilt tightly as she followed the thread of magic that connected the sword’s powers to her own. With a slow exhale, she pulled its magic inside her, bending it to her will to create an impermeable shield of air around her body and sending a gust of wind to hold the door firmly shut.

Without giving herself time to falter or second guess her plan, she allowed her shadows to seep through the tiny crack in the cage, forcing them inside until they filled every inch of space. All except for the small mound that lay curled in the back right corner. Whatever it was, it wasalive, its back rising and falling with deep, even breaths as if it were asleep. Lea prodded the pile of cloth and skin. Human, she realized as she mapped out the shape. It was curled up in a ball, its knees pulled to its chest and its head tucked beneath thin, frail arms.

Even though it was only her shadows touching the person, Lea’s stomach rolled at the filth it was living in. The person’s hair was matted and long, its skin caked with dirt and who knew what else.

A chill ran down Lea’s spine. How horrible must the person inside be to be forced to live this way? Were they a monster in human clothes? Or were they simply so powerful, the king hadn’t been comfortable with allowing them to roam the dungeons freely?

Lea forced down her revulsion and spread a shield of air, along with her shadows, placing it firmly around the form to protect it. Whoever it was, whatever they had done, Lea was certain that her deal with Eudora wouldn’t be complete unless it survived her breaking it free.

Once she was certain that both she and the figure were protected, she pulled away the shield around her primary magic, allowing it the freedom to escape. Like the click of a lock of a different kind, she opened that door inside her, power exploding in a spectacular display of black flames and shadows.

Destroy.

Destroy.

Destroy.

Lea sighed, the pressure in her chest easing as she funneled it through that crack, pushing more and more of her power inside until the seams groaned and the iron buckled outward. She threw her head back, letting the magic expand and explore. Now that her raw power was free, she closed her eyes, savoring the sweet feeling of relief—but it was short-lived.

Far too soon, the cage exploded outward, the metal buckling and breaking into jagged, deadly fragments and crashing throughout the dungeon. Lea ducked as a piece embedded itself into the wall just behind her head, another several bouncing off her shield and shattering into smaller pieces.

Her magic swelled, building and straining as debris rained down around her. It pushed out further, snaking through the dungeons. The ceiling creaked, small pebbles joining the ash now floating down like snow.

Destroy.

Lea sucked in a sharp breath as too much magic escaped, cracks forming beneath her feet.

Destroy.

“Azalea!” Gray banged on the door, and she shuddered, biting her lip as she tried to control the magic.

Destroy.

“Lea! Open the door!” Gray shouted again, and she wanted to. But the magic overwhelmed her, fire spreading along the cracks and climbing the walls. Her chest hurt, a searing pain that made her worry the skin was being ripped from her bones as the darkness burst outward.

A guttural groan ripped from her throat.

“Come back to me, Lea!” Gray roared, his fists beating the door with an unrelenting rhythm.

Gray.Her husband. Her mate.You control the darkness,his voice said in her head, drowning out the constant call to destroy.

With every ounce of her strength, Lea demanded the darkness return back into her chest. It fought back against her, but she refused to let it win. A dribble of blood dripped from her nose, as she grit her teeth and closed off her primary magic. It roared in fury, raking long nails againsther ribs and throat, but she allowed Gray to become the mantra in her head.

You control the darkness.

You.

You.

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