A Vow Of Embers Novels & Stories

THE FIRE THAT BLEEDS “The flame will bow not to might, but to the one whose sorrow sets the earth ablaze.” The Springs of Emberflow Deep within a narrow canyon draped in mist and lined with molten stone veins. Moonlight flickers above through gaps in the jagged rock. A natural spring bubbles at the center, glowing faintly. Ceres approaches, cloaked and barefoot, steam rising around her. Ceres (whispering): "Maera said this spring remembers battles… but it feels more like it's remembering me."

So I stood. Raised my spiral marked palm. And whispered the final Keeper’s vow: “Let the fire split. Let the seed speak. I will not bind what seeks to bloom. I will witness it all and remember.”

"It is a flame rekindled. A covenant of fire that cannot be extinguished." Cheers erupted. Arthur looked at her with reverence. Her eyes, once dulled by torment, now blazed with purpose. He stepped forward. "We came from ruin," he said. "But ruins can grow gardens. Ashes can birth oaks. And what we build here today will shelter generations to come. Not with dogma, but with truth. Not with fear, but with love." As the wind stirred the folds of Isabella's robe, she raised a hand to the sky, revealing the Ember Crest—the symbol they had reclaimed from the corrupted Elders. It shimmered like a star reborn.

I looked at him expectantly. “I’d like to say my vows to my wife alone, they’re a little private.” I ignored the oohs and ahhhs in the audience, trying to hide my confusion as to why Christian would want only me to hear his vows. Something smelled fishy, and I didn’t know if I should be scared or not. Then he leaned in, close enough to my ear so that only I could hear him. "My dear Hazel, I vow to make sure you spend all the days of your life in pain. I vow to spend my days making you pay for your crimes against me. I promise to give you a life of pain, so bad that you wish for a death that will never come.”

He looked back at her. “You want us to make a vow?” Ayaan queried. She nodded and they both looked at the sky. “The stars, moon, and the natural flowers are a witness that today, I promise to stick with you till the end. I will be yours till not even death can separate us,” she vowed. “The stars, moon, and natural flowers are a witness that today, I promise to love you, care for you, and stick with you beyond forever. Nothing, not even death can separate us,” he vowed too. “Aameen!”

The flare shifted as it traveled, flashes of deep blue, ash gray, forest green, ember red, obsidian black, and radiant gold. Six colors. Six founders. It pulsed once as the circle closed, then sank into the ground, leaving only a faint shimmer in its place. There would be no visible wall. No towering barrier of fear. Just a heartbeat. A protective echo that recognized, responded to, and remembered us. I called it The Emberbound Circle, because that’s what we were. Bound not by blood or title, but by fire. By the trials we’d survived, the vows we’d made without speaking.

This wolf was larger—wreathed in gold fire, eyes pure white, fangs like forged steel. The Emberborn stepped back. The fire bowed. Kael raised his head to the sky—and howled. A howl that broke the oath. A howl that shattered the flames. A howl that said: I am free. --- The fire died. The pact cracked. And the Emberborn vanished into ash. --- When Kael stepped out of the circle, Selene was waiting. She threw her arms around him—tears falling onto his still-warm skin. “You’re mine,” she whispered.

Don’t—* But something in her remembered another image from the Goddess’ reflections: wolves with embers in their eyes, walking through flame without being consumed. “Not playing,” she whispered. “Learning.” She drew on the ember. It obliged too quickly. Heat flooded her limbs, making her vision blur at the edges. Her palms burned—not with pain, with overfullness, as if light were trying to pour out through skin too thin to hold it. She pushed her hands a little closer to the small fire. “Grow,” she hissed, voice shaking. “Take it. Feed.” The ember spilled. For a heartbeat, the fire *roared*.

I lost the illusion that I could control the terms of my own suffering. And from that moment forward, my vow became real. Not to him. But to myself. I would never let this be my ending.

However, he seemed different to me. I was going to be destroyed by this man. The person who wanted to shatter me was the one who ought to be close to me. I was aware of it. I could feel it in my bones. The priest spoke calmly and clearly as he began the vows, but I could hardly hear what he was saying. Everything seemed surreal to me. And then the words appeared. "Do you consider Kayla Adam to be your legally wedded wife, Dante Cruz?" the priest asked. At last, Dante turned to face me, "To love and cherish, from this day forward, till death do you part?" His hateful gaze met mine.