All Chapters of Ashes to Desire : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

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

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

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

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,

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