Page 37 of A Petal in the Crown

Lea

“My mot—” Lea didn't even have time to finish the word as a blast of heat pulsed through the ceiling, the temperature so unbearably hot it burned her skin. “Fuck!” she shouted, taking off in a sprint, Gray right on her heels. They burst out of the stairwell and into the great hall.

“Your Majesty,” a maid choked out, soot smeared across her face.

“What is it?”

“Fire,” she coughed, clutching her chest. “Near your chambers.”

“Get everyone outside the castle walls and down to the village,” Lea ordered, running straight toward their rooms. Throwing out her magic, she searched the air for any hint of Alaric. An explosion so big she could feel the blast so far from Gray’s wing shouldn't be possible, not without the sun to recharge day magic. Alaric was the only explanation, and yet she couldn't feel him, couldn't sense him or his dark energy.

“He has to be here,” Gray said, and Lea clenched her jaw. Something didn't feel right.

“I don't understand,” she mumbled, the uneasiness swirling in her chest growing stronger the closer they got to their chambers. The heat grew more intense with every step until it was so hot, sweat dripped down her back and legs. But there was no time to stop. Instead, she picked up herpace, flinging herself around the corner and stumbling when she saw that it wasn’t only their rooms that were on fire, but the entire wing of the castle.

Bright orange and yellow fire billowed from floor to ceiling, turning the stone black with soot. Lea grabbed her sword, harnessing all the power she could. Somewhere within the blade was the ability to move air—she’d used it before to create an impenetrable shield when battling Alaric—but would it be enough? Digging her heels into the floor, she searched for a way to suck the air out of the hall.

As she pulled the oxygen around them toward her, the fire calmed, but not enough to stop the spread. It continued onward, inching towards her feet until Lea was forced to take a step back, the heat too much. She wiped her brow with her sleeve, sweat dripping into her eyes and her hair sticking to the back of her neck. Gritting her teeth, she pulled more oxygen from the air, her lungs burning as she struggled to breathe, but it was worth it.

With the final pull of oxygen, the flames finally receded enough for Lea to move deeper into the hallway to search for the cause of the fire. She forced a bubble of air around herself, taking several quick, deep breaths, but the further she got into the hallway, the harder breathing became.

“Lea!” Gray called from behind her. The world went hazy, her vision dotted with black spots, and her chest ached. She sucked in several breaths, coughing on the smoke. Her lungs burned and her head swam, and she dropped to her knees. The sword clattered to the ground with a resounding clank. She scrambled for the weapon, but it was too late. The moment the sword left her hand, the magic she had been wielding through it snapped. Instantly, the fire surged, long tendrils reaching toward Lea as if trying to boil the very blood in her veins.

Gray darted forward, scooping her up and running as fast as he could to escape the fire coming for them. Shadows branched out around them,suffocating what they could of the fire, until they were far enough down the hallway to take a breath. Lea’s tunnel vision lessened, her lungs finally filling with oxygen, still burning from where the smoke had seared their insides. She sent healing energy down her throat, healing herself from within.

“What do we do?” Lea asked, her eyes frantic.

“We can’t fight this.” He gestured to the hall behind them where the fire was quickly spreading up the walls and ceiling, creeping further toward them. “We need to get outside. Make sure everyone is accounted for.”

Lea wanted to argue, desperately. The castle couldn’t go up in flames. They had just arrived here. Just set up Auropera as their army’s camp, but Gray was right.

This fire was unnatural. Magical. And she didn’t know how to fight it without putting them in unnecessary danger. Lea nodded, turning to follow Gray out, but paused when she heard the click of heels coming toward them. Lea’s heart thundered as the footsteps approached, and she coiled her magic tightly in her chest, ready to explode it outward at the first sign of danger.Who would be approaching rather than fleeing, if not whoever created the fire?

Destroy.

Destroy.

Destroy.

Her primary magic was shouting now, but she forced herself to hold back.

Through the smoke, the scarred witch stepped forward—her birth mother, Evangeline—hair blowing around her as her body glowed a deep purple.

A haze of black surrounded her thin frame, the darkness far more dense than Lea's own shadows. They seemed to buzz rather than slither and writhe—far less wild than the ones emanating from Lea's own body. With graceful, controlled movements, Evangeline lifted her hands in front of her, her darkness funneling from her fingers and consuming the fire like a drop of water in the ocean.

As if her shadows were a thick blanket, they suffocated the flames in an instant, filling the hallway until it was so dark Lea couldn't see her own fingers.

But she did not feel afraid. The darkness welcomed her like an old friend, and her magic surged. The smoke grew thicker, and Lea called on her own magic, sending a gust of air to blow the smoke away. The change in heat was instant, the flames no longer even embers.

“The god of the sun,” Evangeline said, her arms still outstretched. “He is angry. This will not be his last warning.” Evangeline shook her arms, tilting her head side to side, a grimace of pain spreading across her face for a brief moment before she wiped it clean.

Lea had the feeling that had she been able to see her eyes, they would have been black—as dark as the shadows now gently floating back up the hallway as they returned to Evangeline's body. Jealousy coiled in Lea’s stomach at Evangeline’s ability to command her darkness rather than let it taunt and consume her. But as quickly as her envy had appeared, fury replaced it—fiery hot anger that she was jealous of a woman who had abandoned her to help the Black King.

As the last of the flames disappeared, Evangeline dropped her arms and hung her head, her breaths ragged and irregular. She turned, her hand finding Lea’s cheek. Lea couldn’t move. Couldn't even breathe. She wanted to fight her. To demand answers. To tell her to go away and never return, but her curiosity got the better of her.

“How did you stop it?” Lea asked, her voice hoarse from the smoke, but Evangeline ignored her question.

“Are you the one I've heard of? The Daughter of the Sun and Stars?” Evangeline’s voice was soft and melodic, familiar and breathless.

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