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Chapter 17 Ember's POV:
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2025-03-29 08:16:57
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Ashes to Desire Chapter 18 Ember's POV:
We reached the rooftop, and there he was, Hail crouched over a woman, his gun pressed tight against her temple. Her dark braid was frayed and matted with blood. She was glaring up at him with a defiance that didn’t match her position.Lena and I skidded to a stop, barely catching our breath.“Who is she?” I whispered, but Hail missed my words. His expression was stormy, focused. The woman didn’t struggle, but something about the way she held herself, calm and calculating, made my skin crawl. Her eyes weren’t panicked or pleading. They were waiting.“Hail, let her go,” I said, my voice low but firm, each word weighted with warning as I took a step forward.But before I could move any closer, Lena’s hand shot out, catching my arm with a grip that was strong and unyielding. Her fingers pressed hard, a silent signal that spoke louder than words.Not yet.I turned to her, my heart pounding against my ribs, but the look in her eyes stopped me. It wasn’t just caution. It was fear.“Look at h
Dernière mise à jour : 2025-03-29Ashes to Desire Chapter 19 Hail's POV:
We crashed through the tunnels like hunted animals, our footfalls echoing off damp concrete walls that seemed to close in with every step. My lungs burned, but not as badly as the mark on my forearm, a constant reminder of debts unpaid and promises broken. Ember's flame-red hair flickered ahead of me in the dim light, a beacon I couldn't afford to lose sight of, not now when Dain's men were breathing down our necks.The tunnel forked ahead. I grabbed Ember's elbow, steering her right without breaking stride. Lena followed, her footsteps nearly silent compared to our desperate scramble. The woman moved like a shadow, something I'd have appreciated if we weren't running for our lives."This way," I hissed, pulling them toward a narrow offshoot I'd spotted. Years of hunting had taught me to map escape routes as instinctively as breathing. "There's an alcove up ahead. We can regroup."Water dripped steadily from rusted pipes overhead, creating a chaotic symphony with our ragged breaths. T
Dernière mise à jour : 2025-04-03Ashes to Desire Chapter 20 Hail's POV:
The footsteps grew louder, echoing off the tunnel walls like the beating of war drums. I pressed myself against the damp concrete, every muscle coiled tight, my hand hovering over the blade strapped to my thigh. Beside me, Ember's breathing quickened, shallow but controlled, the discipline of someone who'd faced death before, even if she couldn't remember it. The mark on my arm pulsed with dark energy, a compass needle pointing straight toward the approaching threat. Toward Dain."Move," I whispered, nudging them toward a narrow side passage I'd spotted moments before. "Quietly."Lena slipped into the darkness without a sound, her movements as fluid as water. Ember hesitated, her amber eyes fixed on my face for a heartbeat too long before following. I brought up the rear, every sense heightened to painful clarity, the distant drip of water, the stale copper tang of old pipes, the smell of wet stone, and something else. Something burned.The side passage narrowed further, barely wide e
Dernière mise à jour : 2025-04-03Ashes to Desire Chapter 21 Hail's POV:
Lena moved first, practical as ever, tugging gently at Ember's elbow. Ember hesitated, one hand still extended toward me, then set her jaw and turned away. I watched them slip farther down the narrow passage, Ember's red hair the last thing to disappear into the darkness, like a flame being extinguished.I exhaled slowly, feeling strangely hollow. Then I turned to face the main tunnel, rolling my shoulders to loosen them. The familiar pre-fight ritual settled me, pushing everything else, Ember's eyes, her words, the touch of her fingers into a compartment I could deal with later. If there was a later.Drawing my second blade, I stepped back into the main tunnel and moved deliberately away from where Ember and Lena had gone. My boots splashed through puddles I'd carefully avoided earlier. The mark burned steadily now, no longer pulsing but emitting a constant, searing pain that told me exactly what I needed to know.Dain was close. Maybe not with the hunting party but directing them. F
Dernière mise à jour : 2025-04-04Ashes to Desire Chapter 22 Ember's POV:
The tunnel mouth spat us out into blinding daylight, and I blinked away the sting in my eyes. Concrete and steel corpses loomed against a sickly yellow sky, their abandoned frames picked clean by time and desperation. My fingers brushed the cold metal of the cuff on my wrist, the dead weight that severed me from my power, while something else entirely, something warm and aching, stirred in my chest at the memory of Hail's touch."Fuck, I forgot how bright it gets up here," I muttered, shielding my face with my hand. The oppressive silence of the underground gave way to the whisper of wind through empty window frames and the crunch of glass beneath our boots.Lena moved like a ghost beside me, her dark braids catching what little sunlight penetrated the haze. She scanned our surroundings with practiced precision, one hand resting on the knife at her hip."Over there," she said, pointing toward a massive structure half-swallowed by climbing vines. "Library. Might have what we need."I n
Dernière mise à jour : 2025-04-04Ashes to Desire Chapter 23 Ember's POV:
The library's air hung heavy with dust and forgotten words. Each step we took stirred motes that danced in the slanted beams of light filtering through broken windows. I trailed my fingers along the spines of books gone soft with age, feeling the whisper of stories. I couldn't read but somehow knew like my own past lives, glimpses and fragments, never the whole picture. The musty smell triggered something in me, a half-remembered sensation of peace that felt as foreign as it was familiar."Holy shit," I whispered, my voice carrying despite my intention. The main chamber stretched three stories high, with balconies hugging its perimeter; the ceiling above was partially collapsed, revealing patches of sickly sky.Lena nodded, her eyes calculating as she surveyed the space. "Libraries were knowledge repositories. Power, if you know how to use it.""That’s why we're here? For power?"She gave me a sidelong glance. "For answers. Your answers."I knew she was right. Finding Hail meant under
Dernière mise à jour : 2025-04-04Ashes to Desire Chapter 24 Hail's POV:
I ran like hell through the broken remnants of what used to be Fifth Avenue, my boots crunching over shattered glass and crumbling asphalt. The air burned in my lungs, but that was nothing compared to the burning under my skin where the mark pulsed with each heartbeat. Behind me, they moved with unnatural silence, their forms blending with the lengthening shadows of dusk. Not fast enough, never fast enough to catch me, but too damn persistent to lose.The pain in my ribs throbbed in time with my heartbeat. Dain’s last strike had knocked the air out of me, but the tunnel collapse had bought me just enough time to crawl out before the ceiling came down. I hadn’t seen him since. Not sure I wanted to.A rusted-out sedan blocked my path, and I vaulted over its hood, feeling the metal cave slightly beneath my weight. The impact jarred my knees, but I kept moving. Always moving. The moment you stopped in this city, you were dead or worse, caught.I'd spotted them an hour earlier while scouti
Dernière mise à jour : 2025-04-14Ashes to Desire Chapter 25 Hail's POV:
The curse mark pulsed again, angry and insistent. Each beat sent fire through my veins, a reminder of chains I couldn't break, failures I couldn't undo. The face of every person I'd let down or couldn't save flashed through my mind: Dain before the corruption took him, the settlers at Riverview, my own family from a life that seemed like someone else's memory now.I pressed my back against the cool stone of the collapsed wall, feeling the rough texture catch on my coat. The hunters were closing in, their footsteps finally audible as they abandoned stealth for speed. The figure on the roof had disappeared, repositioning, not retreating.My options were limited and shrinking by the second. I could make a stand here, try to take down as many as possible before they overwhelmed me. I could run and try to lead them away from the library, away from Ember. Or I could do what the curse wanted, what it had always pushed me toward: capture her and bring her to Malagar.I flexed my fingers, feel
Dernière mise à jour : 2025-04-14
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Ashes to Desire Chapter 26 Hail's POV:
Embers back to me, leaning over the table. The chemical lantern sat at her elbow, casting harsh blue-white light that made her red hair look like liquid copper flowing down her back. She wore the same practical clothes as always—faded black pants, boots with mismatched laces, a jacket too large for her frame that she refused to replace despite Lena's offers of alternatives.I stayed perfectly still, watching. This wasn't the first time I'd observed her without her knowledge. The curse compelled me to track her, to learn her habits, and to find the perfect moment to complete my assignment. But over time, observation had become something else: a need to understand what made her different, what made her important enough for Malagar to send his best after her.She moved items around on the table, her movements deliberate and controlled. I could see part of the collection now—a dagger with intricate engravings along its blade, a cracked hand mirror with a tarnished silver backing, and what
Ashes to Desire Chapter 25 Hail's POV:
The curse mark pulsed again, angry and insistent. Each beat sent fire through my veins, a reminder of chains I couldn't break, failures I couldn't undo. The face of every person I'd let down or couldn't save flashed through my mind: Dain before the corruption took him, the settlers at Riverview, my own family from a life that seemed like someone else's memory now.I pressed my back against the cool stone of the collapsed wall, feeling the rough texture catch on my coat. The hunters were closing in, their footsteps finally audible as they abandoned stealth for speed. The figure on the roof had disappeared, repositioning, not retreating.My options were limited and shrinking by the second. I could make a stand here, try to take down as many as possible before they overwhelmed me. I could run and try to lead them away from the library, away from Ember. Or I could do what the curse wanted, what it had always pushed me toward: capture her and bring her to Malagar.I flexed my fingers, feel
Ashes to Desire Chapter 24 Hail's POV:
I ran like hell through the broken remnants of what used to be Fifth Avenue, my boots crunching over shattered glass and crumbling asphalt. The air burned in my lungs, but that was nothing compared to the burning under my skin where the mark pulsed with each heartbeat. Behind me, they moved with unnatural silence, their forms blending with the lengthening shadows of dusk. Not fast enough, never fast enough to catch me, but too damn persistent to lose.The pain in my ribs throbbed in time with my heartbeat. Dain’s last strike had knocked the air out of me, but the tunnel collapse had bought me just enough time to crawl out before the ceiling came down. I hadn’t seen him since. Not sure I wanted to.A rusted-out sedan blocked my path, and I vaulted over its hood, feeling the metal cave slightly beneath my weight. The impact jarred my knees, but I kept moving. Always moving. The moment you stopped in this city, you were dead or worse, caught.I'd spotted them an hour earlier while scouti
Ashes to Desire Chapter 23 Ember's POV:
The library's air hung heavy with dust and forgotten words. Each step we took stirred motes that danced in the slanted beams of light filtering through broken windows. I trailed my fingers along the spines of books gone soft with age, feeling the whisper of stories. I couldn't read but somehow knew like my own past lives, glimpses and fragments, never the whole picture. The musty smell triggered something in me, a half-remembered sensation of peace that felt as foreign as it was familiar."Holy shit," I whispered, my voice carrying despite my intention. The main chamber stretched three stories high, with balconies hugging its perimeter; the ceiling above was partially collapsed, revealing patches of sickly sky.Lena nodded, her eyes calculating as she surveyed the space. "Libraries were knowledge repositories. Power, if you know how to use it.""That’s why we're here? For power?"She gave me a sidelong glance. "For answers. Your answers."I knew she was right. Finding Hail meant under
Ashes to Desire Chapter 22 Ember's POV:
The tunnel mouth spat us out into blinding daylight, and I blinked away the sting in my eyes. Concrete and steel corpses loomed against a sickly yellow sky, their abandoned frames picked clean by time and desperation. My fingers brushed the cold metal of the cuff on my wrist, the dead weight that severed me from my power, while something else entirely, something warm and aching, stirred in my chest at the memory of Hail's touch."Fuck, I forgot how bright it gets up here," I muttered, shielding my face with my hand. The oppressive silence of the underground gave way to the whisper of wind through empty window frames and the crunch of glass beneath our boots.Lena moved like a ghost beside me, her dark braids catching what little sunlight penetrated the haze. She scanned our surroundings with practiced precision, one hand resting on the knife at her hip."Over there," she said, pointing toward a massive structure half-swallowed by climbing vines. "Library. Might have what we need."I n
Ashes to Desire Chapter 21 Hail's POV:
Lena moved first, practical as ever, tugging gently at Ember's elbow. Ember hesitated, one hand still extended toward me, then set her jaw and turned away. I watched them slip farther down the narrow passage, Ember's red hair the last thing to disappear into the darkness, like a flame being extinguished.I exhaled slowly, feeling strangely hollow. Then I turned to face the main tunnel, rolling my shoulders to loosen them. The familiar pre-fight ritual settled me, pushing everything else, Ember's eyes, her words, the touch of her fingers into a compartment I could deal with later. If there was a later.Drawing my second blade, I stepped back into the main tunnel and moved deliberately away from where Ember and Lena had gone. My boots splashed through puddles I'd carefully avoided earlier. The mark burned steadily now, no longer pulsing but emitting a constant, searing pain that told me exactly what I needed to know.Dain was close. Maybe not with the hunting party but directing them. F
Ashes to Desire Chapter 20 Hail's POV:
The footsteps grew louder, echoing off the tunnel walls like the beating of war drums. I pressed myself against the damp concrete, every muscle coiled tight, my hand hovering over the blade strapped to my thigh. Beside me, Ember's breathing quickened, shallow but controlled, the discipline of someone who'd faced death before, even if she couldn't remember it. The mark on my arm pulsed with dark energy, a compass needle pointing straight toward the approaching threat. Toward Dain."Move," I whispered, nudging them toward a narrow side passage I'd spotted moments before. "Quietly."Lena slipped into the darkness without a sound, her movements as fluid as water. Ember hesitated, her amber eyes fixed on my face for a heartbeat too long before following. I brought up the rear, every sense heightened to painful clarity, the distant drip of water, the stale copper tang of old pipes, the smell of wet stone, and something else. Something burned.The side passage narrowed further, barely wide e
Ashes to Desire Chapter 19 Hail's POV:
We crashed through the tunnels like hunted animals, our footfalls echoing off damp concrete walls that seemed to close in with every step. My lungs burned, but not as badly as the mark on my forearm, a constant reminder of debts unpaid and promises broken. Ember's flame-red hair flickered ahead of me in the dim light, a beacon I couldn't afford to lose sight of, not now when Dain's men were breathing down our necks.The tunnel forked ahead. I grabbed Ember's elbow, steering her right without breaking stride. Lena followed, her footsteps nearly silent compared to our desperate scramble. The woman moved like a shadow, something I'd have appreciated if we weren't running for our lives."This way," I hissed, pulling them toward a narrow offshoot I'd spotted. Years of hunting had taught me to map escape routes as instinctively as breathing. "There's an alcove up ahead. We can regroup."Water dripped steadily from rusted pipes overhead, creating a chaotic symphony with our ragged breaths. T
Ashes to Desire Chapter 18 Ember's POV:
We reached the rooftop, and there he was, Hail crouched over a woman, his gun pressed tight against her temple. Her dark braid was frayed and matted with blood. She was glaring up at him with a defiance that didn’t match her position.Lena and I skidded to a stop, barely catching our breath.“Who is she?” I whispered, but Hail missed my words. His expression was stormy, focused. The woman didn’t struggle, but something about the way she held herself, calm and calculating, made my skin crawl. Her eyes weren’t panicked or pleading. They were waiting.“Hail, let her go,” I said, my voice low but firm, each word weighted with warning as I took a step forward.But before I could move any closer, Lena’s hand shot out, catching my arm with a grip that was strong and unyielding. Her fingers pressed hard, a silent signal that spoke louder than words.Not yet.I turned to her, my heart pounding against my ribs, but the look in her eyes stopped me. It wasn’t just caution. It was fear.“Look at h
