Novel-novel oleh rachelcoyle23

Chapter 13- Ember’s POV The rain had stopped by the time we left the safehouse, but the air was still heavy with the smell of wet stone and rust. The city stretched out around us, quieter now but no less dangerous. Hail walked ahead, his steps deliberate, his gaze scanning every shadow. I followed close behind, clutching the strap of my pack. The fight with the scavengers lingered in my mind, the blood, the violence, the way Hail’s blade moved like an extension of himself. He hadn’t said much since we left, and neither had I. But the silence between us felt different now. Not comfortable, exactly, but less hostile.We moved through the crumbling streets, our footsteps muffled by the wet pavement. Most of the buildings were empty shells, their windows shattered, and their walls covered in graffiti. But as we turned a corner, I spotted something different. It was a small building, tucked between two larger ones. The windows were intact, though grimy, and a faded sign above the door re

Chapter 12-Hail’s POVThe city was a predator. It watched, waited, and pressed its weight on anyone foolish enough to wander into its grasp. Even in the rain—or maybe especially in the rain, the shadows seemed sharper, the danger closer. Ember walked a step behind me, her presence an anchor I couldn’t ignore. She was quiet, but I could feel the tension radiating off her. The fight in the apartment had shaken her, no matter how much she tried to hide it. I didn’t blame her. It had been brutal, the kind of fight that stayed under your skin, the blood stubbornly clinging to your hands no matter how many times you wiped them clean. “You’re slowing down,” I said, glancing over my shoulder. She glared at me, her golden eyes sharp even in the dim light. “I’m keeping up.” Stubborn as ever. I nodded and kept walking, my hand resting on the hilt of my blade. Every instinct I had screamed at me to keep moving, but I forced myself to slow down. She wouldn’t say it, but I knew she was nearing her

Chapter 11- Ember’s POVThe door creaked open, the sound cutting through the damp, suffocating silence.Hail stood in front of me, his blade raised, his body tense and coiled. The firelight flickered against his face, sharpening the already harsh lines of his jaw and the scar cutting across it. The first man stepped into the room; his movements deliberate. He was tall and gaunt, his cheekbones jutting out sharply beneath pale, almost sallow skin. His eyes were hollow, his lips cracked and curled into something that might’ve been a smile in another lifetime. Behind him, two more figures loomed. The second man was shorter and broader, his head shaved to reveal a network of scars. His jacket hung open, revealing a chest crisscrossed with fresh scratches and burns. The third was younger, almost boyish, though his eyes carried none of the innocence his face suggested. His clothes were ragged, layers of mismatched fabric patched together haphazardly, and his fingers twitched near the handl

Chapter 10- Hail’s POVThe rain came harder now, a relentless downpour that drowned out everything but the crackle of the fire. We’d barely escaped the subway alive, and the creatures that had chased us felt closer with every gust of wind. Even here, hidden away in the ruins of a forgotten city, the weight of the hunt pressed against my chest. I glanced at Ember. She sat cross-legged near the fire, her fiery hair casting a faint glow in the flickering light. Her golden eyes darted to the window now and then, her body coiled like she was waiting for something to go wrong. “What are you thinking?” I asked. She didn’t look at me. “That this place feels like a graveyard.” “It is,” I said, my voice low. Her lips quirked into a faint, humorless smile. “Comforting.”I leaned back against the wall, my blade resting on my lap. Ember had been quieter than usual since we’d left the subway. Quieter, but not calm. Her hand rested on the cuff at her wrist, her fingers tracing the glowing runes abs

Chapter 9 Ember’s POV The city pressed in around us, its jagged skyline and broken streets a constant reminder of just how far the world had fallen. Even the air felt hostile, thick with smoke and ash, every breath sharp and grating. It clung to my skin, the taste of ruin sitting heavy on my tongue. Hail moved ahead of me, his steps careful, his hand never straying far from the hilt of his blade. He was always like that, controlled, deliberate. But tonight, there was something else in the way he carried himself. He was nervous. “We should’ve killed him,” I said, breaking the silence. Hail glanced back at me; his expression was flat. “That wasn’t an option.” “Why not? You didn’t seem to have a problem with his men.” “Killing Kade doesn’t solve anything,” he said. “It just brings more of them.” I scoffed, frustration bubbling beneath my skin. “So, what’s the plan? Keep running until we drop dead in some alley?” His silence was answering enough.The streets were darker now, the faint

Chapter 8- Hail’s POVThe city had a pulse. You could feel it the moment you stepped past the outer edges, into the streets where shadows stretched long, and the air reeked of smoke and desperation. It wasn’t alive, not the way cities used to be, but it wasn’t entirely dead either. People clung to it, scavenging what they could from its ruins, surviving on scraps and stolen moments of safety. But survival wasn’t life. It was something colder, emptier. And in a place like this, everything had a price.We found the market near what used to be the city’s main square, its once-pristine fountain now cracked and dry. Vendors lined the edges, their stalls cobbled together from scrap metal and rotting wood. The goods were as pitiful as the vendors themselves: dented cans of food, faded cloth, and rusted tools. And water. Always water. The sight of it made my throat tighten. “Stay close,” I said to Ember, my voice low. Her golden eyes darted around the square, taking in the stalls, the people