All Chapters of The Crown Of Ash and Silver: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The palace gleamed once more.By evening, the halls were filled with laughter, the air sweet with roses and wine. The same musicians played, the same nobles gathered, the same candles flickered against crystal and gold. Everything unfolded exactly as it had before, yet Seraphina felt like a ghost walking through memory.She stood before the mirror in her chambers, adjusting her gown of white silk trimmed in gold. Her reflection was perfect: calm, radiant, untouched. Only she knew that beneath the ribbon hiding her hair, silver strands shimmered faintly under the light.It was strange, standing in this moment she had already lived. Every gesture, every word of the servants, every rustle of fabric was familiar. The only difference was her heartbeat, steady and deliberate, no longer filled with fear.When she stepped into the ballroom, the crowd turned as one. Applause rippled through the hall.Prince Adrian waited near the throne dais, handsome and composed, the very image of royal grac

Morning light washed the city clean. The palace roofs shone like coins, and the courtyards smelled of wet stone and trimmed cedar. Servants crossed the corridors with baskets and ledgers. No one looked twice at Seraphina as she walked, head bowed, a veil pinned over her hair.She had slept only a little. Frost still clung to the edge of her window from the night before. The mark in her palm pulsed softly, a faint hum when she breathed. She pressed her gloves tighter to hide it and kept moving.Her goal was the Royal Archives.The archives sat beyond the inner gardens, behind a bronze door carved with vines and stars. Few nobles came here unless they wanted a historian to praise their bloodline. Most days, only clerks and scholars passed through.A guard at the door glanced up as she approached. He was young, with steady eyes and a sword that had seen real use.“Lady Seraphina,” he said, surprised. “Do you need an escort?”“No. I will not be long.” She gave him a calm smile. “I am look

Morning broke in muted gold, its warmth unable to reach the stone walls of the palace.The great hall was filled with ceremony. Nobles whispered along the marble aisles, their jewels glittering like frost. At the head of the chamber, Crown Prince Adrian stood beside Elysia, their hands clasped as a priest murmured blessings over them.Seraphina stood a few steps behind, veiled and silent. The sunlight from the stained-glass windows painted shifting colors over her pale gown, but she felt none of it. Her pulse thudded in her ears, the mark on her palm tingling like a warning.The doors opened with a heavy groan.A figure entered, tall, cloaked in black, the seal of the Church embroidered in white over his chest. His presence pulled the air taut. Every murmur died.The man’s face was long and angular, his eyes pale gray beneath a hood that cast deep shadows. His steps echoed softly as he approached the dais, bowing with mechanical grace.“Your Highness,” he said. His voice was even, smo

The palace was quieter at night than it had ever been.Seraphina could hear the soft rhythm of the guards’ boots echoing far down the corridors, the rustle of silk banners in the faint breeze, the creak of wood settling. Beneath it all, the faint hum of her power whispered like breath.She sat before her mirror, the same one that had once reflected a frightened girl the night before her death. Now, that girl was gone. Her reflection stared back at her with steady eyes and hair that shimmered faintly in the lamplight.She removed her gloves. The mark on her palm glowed faintly, like an ember that refused to die.The relic’s reaction still replayed in her mind, the shock on the priests’ faces, Lucien’s unflinching gaze, Adrian’s hesitation. The silver light. The frost creeping outward like living veins.“Judgment,” she whispered. “Not blessing.”The words tasted strange. Powerful.She reached out and touched the surface of the mirror. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the glass rippl