Novel & Cerita A Shadow In The Ember

The edges of the corridor blurred, torchfire thinning at the margins as if unwilling to touch whatever his darkness became when fully invited. Before she could fully process what he was doing, the corridor’s firelight thinned around her vision. Coolness slid over her skin. Not icy cold. Not empty chill. Something dense. The world did not simply disappear. It dimmed. His shadow rose behind her and folded forward, not a cloak, not exactly, but a second skin of darkness that pressed close without suffocating. The edges of her form blurred at the periphery, her outline dissolving into his until even the pale shimmer beneath her skin dulled to near-invisible Emberlight. It felt like stepping bene

Light swallowed everything. Not fire, not storm, not ember, something older. It surged through the clearing, so bright the roots shrieked and shriveled back into the dirt. My chest split open, ember blazing wild, tethered to the shadow's core by a burning thread. I couldn't breathe. Couldn't move. The chains wrapped around the shadow writhed, hissing as if alive. Their silver gleam turned black where the ember struck, but instead of breaking, they tightened, biting deeper into the figure's form.

“I’m sorry, I wish I could have stopped her” She tells me as I break the lock open, as I do I’m forced back as a force of nature bursts free from the cage, the black walls and floors crystallising and spreading, changing colour to light blue, as it changes so does the atmosphere around us, it’s easier to breath, To see, to feel. “Damn that feels better” Emberly whispers looking around then she points to the dark spot at the back of her mind, it’s seems to be where the darkness was coming from

Like a heartbeat that wasn’t mine. “She sees through the veil,” Ember continued. “She’s speaking to the other side.” I blinked. “What does that mean?” Link stepped behind me, wrapping an arm around my waist protectively. Logan stood near the edge of the circle, watching the trees. Always watching. “It means she’s reaching beyond what even Logan touched,” Ember whispered. “Fire can burn. But shadow? Shadow remembers.” Link I wanted to burn the entire forest down just to give her light. This darkness—it wasn’t natural. It moved like it had intention. Like it breathed.

They are led to the throne room where the queen of the witches sits. A woman steps forward and approaches the group. “Hello Rex, welcome back and who are they? So I can introduce them to the queen? " asks the woman. “I am Hector. Nice to meet you,” says Hector. “I am Ash. Lovely to meet you,.” says Ash. “I am Ruby, beautiful dress, .” says Ruby. The woman smiles and steps back. “My queen: Rex, Hector, Ash and Ruby from Ember City,” says the woman. The queen motions them forward. Hector and Rex come forward. Ash and Ruby stay back a few feet. All bow lightly out of respect for the queen.

But as I walked away visibly emotionless, I couldn’t shake the image of the woman in the scarf, sitting in the shadows, watching me like she already knew me. And I had no idea that she was about to change everything.

We stopped a few feet away from them and then the old men spoke those damn words. “Ombra di morte.” (Shadow of death.) The old man said as I took the hood off. I knew what his plan was the moment he wanted me to suddenly assist him with training. never did that at home, why here. The woman looked surprised and the men, well they looked displeased, irritated, aggravated and enraged . Because again they expected the shadow of death to be a man and not a woman. “Liyah.” The old man called out to me.

Only shadows, thick and oppressive. Then the shadows shifted. Ember watched, paralysed by the scene unfolding before her. Isla’s eyes widened in alarm as she realised she was being followed—watched, hunted. The air shimmered with a heat that felt wrong, a bitterness that clawed at the edges of Ember’s consciousness. It was hungry, feral. A figure stepped forward from the shadows—towering and cloaked in swirling smoke, his features obscured by darkness. Ember’s heart raced as she felt the presence; the aura of the rival clan’s alpha was unmistakable.

Sorry, Perc, I promise I’m trying. “Why don’t you go play with the others now. I can see Nova waving at you to come over.” I told him. “Okay.” He let his shadow swallow up the book. He liked keeping things in the shadow realm, just like me. We often hang out in there together. He likes watching others, and observing them through their shadow doors, just like I did. “They are all getting so big!” Ember’s voice snapped my attention. “They really are.” I sighed. “You okay?” She sensed my sadness.

I felt the corner of my lips tug up as I saw her name. Ember: How is it you always seem to know when something's wrong? She gave me an inquisitive emoji beside it. Me: I have my ways. Tell me what's going on. I want to help with whatever it is. Ember: It broke… I'm certain Ash's barrier broke. I don't know how to help him. I've spent most of my evening in the library in my kingdom. I haven't found anything to extract dark magic. I thought of doing what my mom did and sucking the magic from him. If I did that though he wouldn't have any magic and I would be the one consumed by the darkness.