In a world where magical beings are hunted to extinction, Ember is the last known Phoenix gifted with the power of rebirth and fire, she’s a force of legend feared by many and coveted by those in power. After her latest rebirth, she wakes disoriented, with no memory of her past life’s, in the ruins of a burned out city. Hail, a dangerous bounty hunter bound by a cursed contract finds her. He’s been tasked with delivering her to a shadowy organization that tends to use her powers or destroy her. But as they journey together, he begins to question his mission. Drawn to her fiery spirit even as he battles his own demons.
더 보기Chapter 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
Chapter 7- Ember’s POV The forest thinned as we walked, giving way to the jagged outline of a city on the horizon. It wasn’t much of a city anymore. Just a cluster of crumbling buildings jutting up against the gray sky like broken teeth. Smoke curled in the distance, rising from fires that never seemed to die. I tightened my grip on the strap of my pack. “This is your big plan. Walk straight into a place like that?” Hail glanced back at me, his expression unreadable. “We don’t have a choice.” “There’s always a choice,” I muttered. “Not this time,” he said, his tone flat.The closer we got, the worse it looked. The roads were cracked and overgrown with weeds, the remains of old cars rusting where they’d been abandoned. Broken windows stared out like empty eyes, and graffiti-covered nearly every surface. Most of it wasn’t art. KEEP OUT. NO SAFE HAVEN HERE. DEATH AWAITS. “Charming,” I muttered under my breath.Hail didn’t respond. He was too busy scanning the shadows, his hand restin
Chapter 5- Ember’s POVThe night felt endless, the forest pressing in on all sides. I stumbled after Hail, my breath coming in shallow gasps. The ridiculous cuff on my wrist throbbed in time with my heartbeat, each pulse a reminder of what I’d lost. It wasn’t just my fire, it was my strength, my freedom, everything that made me… fucking me. The ground beneath my boots felt like it was tilting, the trees blurring together into a dark haze. I wanted to stop. I wanted to rip the damn cuff off, scream, burn everything around me to ash, but I couldn’t. Not yet.Hail didn’t speak as we moved, his steps quick and purposeful. His blade was still out, the edge catching the faint light of the moon, and his shoulders were tense, ready for another attack. I hated how calm he looked. Like this was all just another job for him, another night spent running from the people who wanted him dead. But it wasn’t just his fight anymore. Now, they wanted me too.“Stop,” I said, my voice sharper than I int
Chapter 5- Ember’s POVThe night felt endless, the forest pressing in on all sides. I stumbled after Hail, my breath coming in shallow gasps. The ridiculous cuff on my wrist throbbed in time with my heartbeat, each pulse a reminder of what I’d lost. It wasn’t just my fire, it was my strength, my freedom, everything that made me… fucking me. The ground beneath my boots felt like it was tilting, the trees blurring together into a dark haze. I wanted to stop. I wanted to rip the damn cuff off, scream, burn everything around me to ash, but I couldn’t. Not yet.Hail didn’t speak as we moved, his steps quick and purposeful. His blade was still out, the edge catching the faint light of the moon, and his shoulders were tense, ready for another attack. I hated how calm he looked. Like this was all just another job for him, another night spent running from the people who wanted him dead. But it wasn’t just his fight anymore. Now, they wanted me too.“Stop,” I said, my voice sharper than I int
Chapter 1- Ember’s POVThe world smelled of smoke and death. I pushed myself up, my hands sinking into the crumbling earth, fingers brushing embers that still glow faintly. My chest heaved as I sucked in air, each breath tasting of ash and fire. Fuck, everything hurt, my bones, my muscles, even my soul if there is such a thing. This was the price of rebirth. A laugh escaped me, sharp and bitter. How many times have I done this now? Ten? Twenty? More? It didn’t matter. The pain never changed, and neither did the emptiness that followed. I glanced down at my hands. Different. Pale, unscarred, trembling like the hands of someone who hadn’t yet fought for their life. My hair fell forward, streaked with fiery red, and I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the puddle of charred water nearby.Another face. Another version of me. “How many more of these do I have left?” I whispered, my voice hoarse. The puddle didn’t answer. It never did. The air was still, the kind of silence that felt...
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