LOGINFor a thousand years, the city of Crescent Falls has survived beneath the shadow of an ancient savior. Each century, a man is chosen as an offering to Sariyah—the being said to have once driven demons from the world. When Bastion, the man Ember loves, is taken after daring to refuse her, Ember’s grief turns into defiance, and she vows to bring him home no matter the cost. Her search forces her into an uneasy alliance with Orion St. James, a dangerously charming immortal with a violent past and secrets tied to Sariyah herself. Bound together by a magic neither of them wants nor understands, Ember and Orion are drawn into a hidden war beneath the city—one involving cultists, monsters, and an ancient order known as the Watchers. As Crescent Falls begins to fracture, Ember experiences unsettling visions that hint her bloodline is far more entangled with Sariyah than anyone ever suspected. Strange new powers awaken within her, blurring the line between protector and destroyer, while enemies gather and old loyalties are tested. With the city on the brink of collapse and unseen forces moving in the shadows, Ember must decide how far she is willing to go to save Bastion—and whether becoming something darker is the only way to stop an evil that has ruled unchallenged for centuries. Because some thrones are not inherited. They are taken.
View MoreOrionThe world is screaming. The hall is chaos. Shards of gold and black magic tear across the floor as the circle collapses, sparks of binding exploding against stone. I see Ember, I feel her body go limp in my arms, and then she’s gone. Not anywhere I can reach. I stumble forward, heart hammering. My hand lifts instinctively, but the threads of magic choke me. My boots scrape obsidian, sparks flying, and I am too late.“Ember!” I scream, but there’s no answer.I know. I know instantly. Lazriel has failed. No. No. I won’t accept that. I pull myself to the edge of the shattered sigil, staring at the air where she disappeared. My shadow pulses violently beneath me, echoing my anger and fear. Every muscle is coiled, screaming. I will find her. I will. But the Gate isn’t here. Not like it was in the ritual. Not tangible. Not something I can reach. The pulse, the pulling, the power, I can feel her. I can feel her blood, her soul, vibrating somewhere beyond the veil, but the threads are s
BastionThe entire world around me goes silent. The kind of silence that comes after something irreversible. I’m still on my knees. The world hasn’t caught up yet. The broken circle smolders in front of me, gold light flickering out in dying pulses. The air smells like burned metal and blood, Ember’s blood. My eyes fixate on the place where she fell. Where he killed her, where Orion drove a blade into her chest like it meant nothing, like she meant nothing. My hands curl slowly into fists.“Noooo.” The screams rips loudly from my chest before I even know it’s coming from me. She was supposed to stand beside me. The ceremony was supposed to bind us. Help me control her, protect her and keep her. Mine for all eternity.“She’s gone.” I growl. No one answers, of course they don’t. They all watched it happen. I rise slowly. My body moves on instinct now, the way it used to on deployment; when hesitation meant death. I begin to assess the targets and threats that are all around me. Lazriel
EmberThe doors close behind me. The sound is soft, but it seals my fate. The grand hall stretches endlessly ahead, obsidian floors polished to a mirror, gold-veined pillars rising like molten trees, chandeliers burning with steady, ritual flame. The air is thick with incense and anticipation.Thousands of eyes turn toward me. They are not meant to be guests, they are witnesses. To triumph, or execution. My bare feet touch the sigil the moment I step forward. It reacts instantly. A low hum vibrates up through my bones, subtle but alive. Gold threads inlaid into the black stone flicker beneath my skin as though they recognize something in me. I walk slowly. The outer skirt of my gown whispers around me, silk disguising steel. The altered embroidery at my bodice tingles faintly as if it can feel the ritual building around it.I don’t look at Orion. If I look at him now, I will run. Bastion waits at the center of the circle. Black coat, gold cuffs, and an expression carved into something
EmberThey burned incense in the fitting chamber to make it smell like roses. It does not hide the scent of fear. The palace hums outside the door, servants rushing, metal clinking, distant laughter rehearsed for a celebration no one believes in. Every corridor feels tighter now, the walls closer, as if the city itself is holding its breath for my binding.Two guards escort me inside, one remains by the door, the other leaves. Indira waits near the window, hands folded, eyes lowered. She does not bow. The door shuts with a heavy click. Silence swells between us. I stand in the center of the room while she circles me, measuring without touching.“You’ve lost weight,” she murmurs.“I’ve lost sleep.”Her mouth almost curves, almost. The dress rests on a mannequin behind her, black silk layered over something deeper. Ember red flickers beneath the outer sheen when the light strikes it. Gold embroidery spills down the bodice in intricate sigils, Sariyah’s chosen crest, altered just enough
EmberAzrael stands at the right hand of the throne. Not beside me. Not behind me. Sariyah’s fingers curl lazily around the armrest, dark metal biting into her skin, and Azrael leans close to murmur something meant only for her. I can’t hear the words, but I see the angle of his mouth, the faint sm
EmberBastion is almost smiling as he leads me through the hallways towards the dungeons. He holds me hand pulling me along as if he cannot wait to get there.“You’ll like this,” he says as we descend into the dungeons, his hand warm around mine, his thumb brushing my knuckles like this is a kindne
EmberPower doesn’t arrive all at once. It seeps in. It comes in whispers from guards who wait for my nod before they move. In servants who flinch when my shadow crosses theirs. In the way the castle has begun to listen to me.Sariyah walks beside me through the inner halls, her hand light on my ar
OrionThe stone is cracking beneath my fists. I don’t remember starting to punch the walls. I just know that my hands are bleeding, and I don’t care.“She’s gone,” I snarl, slamming my forearm into the wall again. Shadow splinters ripple outward, black veins crawling across the dungeon stone. “She’
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