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Chapter 29 Ember's POV:
Terakhir Diperbarui:
2025-04-20 04:51:35
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Ashes to Desire Chapter 30 Ember's POV:
Stepping through the flame like it was nothing more than irritating mist. Dain Castros, looking exactly as he had in the fragments of memory that had been haunting my dreams. Tall and commanding, with features that might have been handsome if not for the corruption that shadowed his eyes and traced black veins beneath his skin. He wore armor similar to the hunters but more refined, more personal, a general among foot soldiers."Ember," he said, and his voice sent a chill through me despite the fire dancing across my skin. "At last."Beside me, Hail went rigid, his knuckles white around the hilt of his knife. "Dain.""Brother," Dain replied, but the word held no warmth. "Still playing the reluctant servant, I see. How's that working out for you?"Memories hit me like physical blows—Dain's face, younger, uncorrupted, smiling at me across a council table. His hand in mine as we watched a sunset. His back as he walked away. His eyes, cold and empty, as he handed me over to Malagar in exch
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-20Ashes to Desire Chapter 1 Ember’s POV:
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
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-28Ashes to Desire Chapter 2 Hail’s POV:
Chapter 2- Hail’s POV The cave loomed ahead, its jagged mouth glowing faintly from within. The light flickered and pulsed, too steady to be fire, too unnatural to be comforting. I tightened my grip on the hilt of my blade, scanning the shadows for movement. Nothing. Still, I didn’t fucking trust it. You never walked into a place like this without expecting fucking trouble. “Inside,” I said, keeping my voice steady. She didn’t move right away. Her golden eyes narrowed as she stared into the darkness, her expression a mix of defiance and unease. “And what’s in there?” “Answers,” I said, though the word tasted bitter. “And maybe more questions.” She didn’t like that. I could see it in the way her jaw tightened, the way her fingers twitched at her sides like she was imagining all the ways she could fight back if she had her fire. But in the end, she followed. The air inside was colder, and heavier. It carried the metallic tang of old magic, the kind that seeped into your bones and li
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-28Ashes to Desire Chapter 3 Ember’s POV:
Chapter 3- Ember POVThe cold air bit my skin as we stepped out of the cave, the glow of its runes still burning faintly in the back of my mind. The night stretched before us, dark and endless, the trees twisted into jagged silhouettes against the ash-gray sky. I hated how quiet it was. Silence used to mean safety, no footsteps, no voices, no crackle of fire where there shouldn’t be. Now it just made the questions louder, the ones I couldn’t ignore no matter how hard I tried.The cuff on my wrist weighed heavier with every step, a cruel reminder of what I’d lost. I flexed my fingers, trying to summon even a flicker of warmth, but there was nothing. Every time I’m reborn, I tell myself it’ll be different. That I’ll wake up stronger, more in control, less…lost.This time was no different. I glanced down at my hands, pale and unscarred, as if they’d never held power. They didn’t feel like mine. None of this body did. It was like wearing a stranger’s skin, too new and unfamiliar. “How m
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-28Ashes to Desire Chapter 4 Hail’s POV:
Chapter 4- Hail’s POVThe forest smelled wrong. Every step I took was deliberate, my hand never straying far from the hilt of my blade. The voices behind us weren’t rushing anymore. They were methodical, closing the distance at a pace that said they weren’t afraid of losing us. They wanted us to know they were coming. I glanced back at Ember. She kept up, her golden eyes darting to every shadow, her steps quick but steady. She didn’t trust me. She didn’t have to. She just had to keep moving.The ruins came into view just as the voices grew louder. The structure was half-collapsed, its crumbling walls covered in moss and vines, the doorway barely holding onto its frame. “Inside,” I said, not breaking stride. Ember hesitated, her body tense. “And what, wait for them to walk in and kill us?” “If you’ve got a better idea, I’m all ears,” I snapped. Her jaw tightened, but she didn’t argue. I didn’t expect her to. Inside, the air was heavy and damp, the scent of rot clinging to every surfac
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-28Ashes to Desire Chapter 5 Ember’s POV:
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
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-28Ashes to Desire Chapter 6 Hail’s POV:
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
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-28Ashes to Desire Chapter 7 Ember’s POV:
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
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-28
Bab terbaru
Ashes to Desire Chapter 30 Ember's POV:
Stepping through the flame like it was nothing more than irritating mist. Dain Castros, looking exactly as he had in the fragments of memory that had been haunting my dreams. Tall and commanding, with features that might have been handsome if not for the corruption that shadowed his eyes and traced black veins beneath his skin. He wore armor similar to the hunters but more refined, more personal, a general among foot soldiers."Ember," he said, and his voice sent a chill through me despite the fire dancing across my skin. "At last."Beside me, Hail went rigid, his knuckles white around the hilt of his knife. "Dain.""Brother," Dain replied, but the word held no warmth. "Still playing the reluctant servant, I see. How's that working out for you?"Memories hit me like physical blows—Dain's face, younger, uncorrupted, smiling at me across a council table. His hand in mine as we watched a sunset. His back as he walked away. His eyes, cold and empty, as he handed me over to Malagar in exch
Ashes to Desire Chapter 29 Ember's POV:
As if summoned by my words, the chamber's far wall exploded inward. Three figures stepped through the debris, moving with an unnatural coordination that made my skin crawl. They wore black tactical gear with no insignia, their faces concealed behind sleek masks that reflected the room like dark mirrors. But I didn't need to see their faces to know what they were: corrupted souls bound to Malagar's service, just like Hail had been once. Just like he still was."Well, shit," Kade muttered, his men immediately taking defensive positions. "Looks like negotiation time is over."Everything happened at once. Kade's forces opened fire on the hunters. The hunters, unnaturally fast, closed the distance with terrifying speed. Hail shoved me behind him and loosed a bolt from his crossbow, catching the nearest hunter in the shoulder, a shot that should have been lethal but merely made the creature stumble.Lena fired precise shots from her position, each bullet finding its mark but doing minimal d
Ashes to Desire Chapter 28 Ember's POV:
Lena tactfully busied herself with packing up the texts, moving to the far side of the small chamber. The moment felt strangely private, charged with things neither of us was saying.My hand moved of its own accord, reaching up to touch the scar that ran along Hail's jaw. His skin was warm beneath my fingertips, and he went very still, like prey caught in a predator's gaze, though which of us was which, I couldn't have said."I think I trusted you once," I whispered. "In another life. I think maybe I even…”The rest of the sentence died on my lips as memories flashed behind my eyes—flames, a battlefield, Hail's face younger and unmarked by scars, his hand reaching for mine as the world burned around us.I gasped and stumbled backward, the force of the memory making me dizzy. Hail caught my elbow, steadying me."What did you see?" he asked urgently."Us," I said simply. "I saw us."The look that passed between us then was worth a thousand words neither of us knew how to say. A promise,
Ashes to Desire Chapter 27 Ember's POV:
The ancient murals watched us from the walls, phoenix figures trapped in eternal cycles of burning and rebirth. Just like me. I traced my fingers over the faded paint, and my skin hummed with recognition, a ghost of memory that belonged to someone I used to be. The cuff around my wrist felt heavier than usual, its cold metal pressing into my flesh like a reminder of everything I'd lost. But something was different today. As I stood in this cramped, hidden chamber beneath the library, my hands wouldn't stop shaking, and the cuff, the fucking thing that had locked away my power had developed the tiniest of cracks."You feel it too, don't you?" Hail's voice slid through the dusty air. He leaned against a wall covered in symbols I almost recognized, his shoulders a rigid line beneath his worn jacket. His eyes never left me, that piercing blue tracking my every movement like I might combust at any second. Maybe I would."It's like..." I struggled to find words for the electricity racing th
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
