Kingdom of Ash and Blood
Kingdom of Ash and Blood
Book one of the Sicilian Ruin Series
She was the fire he thought he had extinguished.
He was the ruin she barely escaped.
Three years ago Amara Varela vanished without a trace --- betrayed, broken, and hunted by the man who once owned her heart. Now she's back in Sicily, not as the naive girl he left behind, but as a woman forged by survival and secrets. She has a score to settle and Luca Moretti is at the top of her list
Luca, the heir to the brutal Moretti empire, never forgives himself for losing her. When he finally finds her alive, everything he buried erupts --- lust, rage, obsession. But the Kingdom he now rules is built on blood, and his bride-to-be is not the one who haunts his dreams.
Torn between a crown he never wanted and a woman who could destroy it all, Luca must choose loyalty or desire, power or love.
In a world of violent cartels, arranged alliances, and ruthless vendettas, Amara and Luca's reunion is anything but tender. It's a war. And their passion? It could burn Sicily to the ground.
Dark. Obsessive. Addictive.
This is not a love story.
This is a Sicilian ruin.
Baca
Chapter: Chapter One Hundred and FourThere was a kind of silence after betrayal — not peace, not shock — just a burning hum in the chest that echoed with every breath. Amara felt it now. The letter from Isabel lay in pieces on her bed. Her hands were stained with ink and ash. Do not kill her out of rage. Kill her out of love. The Red Widow wasn’t just a threat. She was the ghost of Isabel’s mistakes. And she had to die. The Origin of the Widow The next morning, Luca found Amara on the rooftop, overlooking the rose gardens below. The air smelled like thunder and wine. “She was born as Leticia,” he said quietly. Amara didn’t turn around. “She was trafficked through Eastern Europe at nine. Sold twice. Found by Isabel in a Turkish brothel when she was barely fourteen.” Amara’s jaw tightened. “Isabel trained her,” Luca continued. “Gave her purpose. But the girl wanted more than vengeance — she wanted to become what the world feared. Isabel tried to pull her back.” “She failed.” “No. She spared her. That was the
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-09-23
Chapter: Chapter One Hundred and ThreeThe Nero estate shimmered beneath candlelight and storm clouds. Tonight was no ordinary gathering. It was a masquerade hosted in honor of Mikhail’s blood pact — a strategic performance designed to smoke out threats and introduce allies. But beneath the opulence, every step whispered danger. Amara stood before the mirror, her mask a delicate filigree of onyx and red garnet, forged in the shape of a spider’s web. Fitting. Tonight, she would face the woman called The Red Widow. She had been mentioned only in code — seen in photographs, never in person. But Amara felt it in her gut. Tonight, the enemy would walk among them. And she'd be ready. The Masquerade Begins The grand ballroom swelled with music and murmurs. Chandeliers reflected off the marble, casting fractured light across silk gowns and masked faces. Luca appeared beside her like a phantom — dressed in tailored black, mask carved with Sicilian silver. His presence burned beside hers. “Can you feel it?” she murmured.
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-09-23
Chapter: Chapter One Hundred and TwoThe moon sat like a blade in the sky.Amara stood on the edge of the Blood Courtyard, the crimson-tiled grounds whispering with the footsteps of men who had died for thrones. Tonight, she wasn’t here for war.She was here for something colder.Mikhail’s pact ceremony.Dozens of cloaked figures lined the courtyard, heads bowed beneath the sigil of the Ouroboros — the serpent consuming itself. The symbol of Nero’s new world. A kingdom of blood, ruled not by cartels, but by legacy.And now, she was being asked to become part of it.Mikhail stood beneath the black marble archway, dressed in ceremonial Nero black, a long dagger in hand.“You can walk away, Amara,” he said as she stepped closer. “But if you step into this circle, you swear by blood.”“I don’t kneel,” she said flatly.“You won’t have to. This isn’t about subservience.”“Then what is it about?”Mikhail tilted his head. “An oath — to never let what happened to our mother happen again.”The words struck like a whip. Isabel. Eve
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-09-23
Chapter: Chapter One Hundred and OneBarcelona, Spain — The Black CitadelThe private jet touched down just before dusk.Barcelona was painted in blood-orange light, its Gothic skyline clawing the sky like fangs. Amara stood at the window of the black SUV waiting on the tarmac, her jaw tight, heart cold. This wasn’t just another city.This was his city.Mikhail Nero.The man who was her brother by blood.Her rival by birthright.Luca sat beside her, silent. Ever since the video message, he hadn’t spoken much. But the tension between them crackled like dry firewood. And beneath it all, jealousy smoldered.They weren’t just driving into enemy territory.They were driving into family.The Black CitadelThe gates of the estate were tall enough to drown the sun. Black iron. Coiled in serpentine detail. The guards didn’t frisk her. Didn’t scan her.They bowed.The doors opened with a hiss.The entrance hall was cathedral-like. Silver mosaics inlaid with the Varela symbol—altered. Instead of a crown, it bore the Ouroboros. The
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-09-21
Chapter: Chapter One-Hundred Madrid breathed differently at night — thick with heat and secrets.From the balcony of her hotel suite, Amara watched the veins of city light snake through the dark. It wasn’t Sicily, but it pulsed with the same kind of rot beneath all its gold.The letter had pointed her here — to Crimson Vault, an underground club known for laundering secrets more than money.“Your brother was born in blood,” the letter had said.“And he remembers what you forgot.”She hadn’t told Luca everything. Not yet. The name signed on the envelope wasn’t just Milo.It was Matteo Nero — her mother’s captor.The ApproachLuca stepped beside her, slipping his holster beneath his jacket. “You sure you want to walk into this alone?”“I’m not walking. I’m hunting.”“Still doesn’t answer the question.”She didn’t reply. Her eyes were locked on the address in her hand. Crimson Vault was five blocks away, buried beneath a defunct opera house. It didn’t take walk-ins. It took blood codes.And she had one.From Matteo’
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-09-21
Chapter: Chapter Ninety-NineThe wind off the Sicilian coast had the taste of salt and ghosts.Amara stepped out of the armored car, her boots sinking into the gravel of what was once the courtyard of the Varela estate. Only the gates remained intact — wrought iron, flaking gold, the family crest still tarnished but standing. The mansion beyond was gutted, scorched from the siege that ended her father’s empire.“I thought I’d never come back here,” she muttered.Beside her, Luca scanned the ruins with dead eyes. “We don’t come back. We haunt.”The sun was setting behind the hills, bleeding orange across the rubble. Nico stood by the main doors, holding a map drawn in Matteo’s own hand — a hidden passage leading beneath the ruins. A wine cellar that hadn’t been marked in any of the estate's official blueprints.“It’s not on the Council’s files,” Nico said. “This was personal.”Amara took the flashlight, flicked it on. “Then let’s make it personal.”The DescentDust and silence ruled the underground. The stairs cre
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-09-21
Masuk
