All Chapters of Where Ashes and Oaths Collide: Chapter 151 - Chapter 160

Luz’s hand moved from Amelia’s shoulder to her cheek, his thumb tracing her jawline. “Good,” she said and kissed him. His worlds narrowed to the point where her lips met his. The kiss was desperate and grounding all at once, a collision of everything they had lost and everything they were still fighting for. His hands moved from her face to her waist, pulling her flush against his armour, as if he could absorb her warmth through the cold steel. A low sound escaped him– something between a groan and a prayer. For a moment, the darkness in his blood went quiet. The corruption, the whispers, the weight of Mestre Escuro’s shadow– it all fell away, leaving only the taste of her and the frantic beating of his own heart. When he finally pulled back, his breathing was ragged.Luz’s eyes were wide, the amber in his left eye glowing with an intensity that seemed to illuminate the twilight around them. He looked at her as if seeing her for

“Orgullo was a king that died a long time ago. His spirit was trapped in the fountain. He waited so long and we were naïve enough to free him,” Estrela said, her fingers curling into fists. “I was naïve enough to free him. Mestre Escuro… he just wanted to stop me. Stop us from burning the witched and uniting everyone under Orgullo’s rule.” Luz’s jaw clamped shut so hard his teeth ached. The world was not turning the way he had been told. He had been operating under a singular, violent truth: Mestre Escuro was the monster, and he was the traitor who had joined him. But Estrela was painting a different picture. A picture where Mestre Escuro was a barrier… a containment.“You are saying Mestre Escuro is not the one who wants to burn the world,” Luz said, his voice dangerously low. “You are saying you were the one who unleashed a dead king.” He looked at her hands– the hands that had supposedly wielded the fire. His left eye flickered, the crimson retreating for an agonizing second to reve

Meanwhile on Mar Desgarrado’s ship, The Sea WraithJust before the sun set over the horizon, Emile went mad. Dark veins spread over her body and she screamed loudly. She lunged at one of the sailors, throwing him overboard and clawed at another sailor’s face. Mar’s world shattered in an instant. “Emile!” his voice tore from his throat, raw and panicked. He lunged toward her, but she was no longer the girl he had held in his arms. She moved with a terrifying unnatural speed, her body contorting in ways that made his stomach turn. The dark veins pulsing beneath her skin looked like living things, crawling across her pale flash like ink dropped in water. The sailor hit the water with a splash, and the second man fell back, clutching his face as blood seeped through his fingers.“Get back! Everyone get back!” Mar roared at his crew, shoving them away from her as he tried to close the distance. He managed to grab Emile from behind.

“Look at them? They are not helping her!” Salvaxe shouted. One of the dock workers turning his head toward them, his neck moving with a slow, mechanical precision. His eyes were glassy, reflecting the sunset like polished stone. Estrella stood by the fountain’s edge, watching the struggle with the same calm, terrifying smile. She did not move to help. She did not even look surprised. “She is just accepting the gift,” Estrela began, but before she could say anything else Salvaxe moved toward the fountain. He moved with precision, stepping into the fountain to lift Emile’s limp body out of the water and places it on the floor before freezing. Salvaxe’s body locked tight, his muscles seizing into a rigid statue. His eyes remained wide, fixed on Emile, who he had just pulled from the water, but they were vacant– the light in them dimming like a candle being smothered. Emile began to cough– a wet, rattling sound&n

Amelia and Estrela descended the narrow wooden stairs from the Sea Wraith’s upper deck, their footsteps sounding softly against the worn planks. The staircase was positioned near the centre of the storage area, its thick wooden steps illuminated by moonlight filtering through the slatted openings overhead. At the bottom, they turned left, carefully making their way around a large, iron-banded chest that sat against the wall. The chest was old and heavily built, its dark wood scratched and weathered from years aboard the ship. Amelia moved first, while Estrela followed close behind, both navigating the cramped space toward the foreground of the room. The storage area was crowded but orderly, with supplies secured wherever space allowed.Several large wooden barrels stood along the left-hand wall; their rounded sides bound with dark metal bands. Smaller crates and chests were stacked nearby, while coils of rope and assorted nautical equipment were tucked beneath benches a