A Vow Of Embers Novels & Stories

He was the one who took our food and our hope. I took the dagger. The metal was cold. "If I do this," I said, looking him in the eye, "you send Leo home. Not in a week. Not in a month. Today." “Deal,” the voice said. I sliced a thin line across my palm. It stung, and red blood began to pool in my hand. Alaric did the same to his human hand. He reached out and pressed his palm against mine. The world exploded in light. It wasn't just magic. I felt his emotions. I felt a mountain of pain. I felt the weight of a thousand years of silence. I felt his fear of being trapped in a body that wouldn't move. But deeper than that, I felt something dark.

The red emergency light swept across his face, casting deep, sharp shadows across his high cheekbones and the hard, unyielding line of his jaw. "It is a brittle-point calculation, Clara," he murmured, his voice incredibly soft, yet carrying an absolute, terrifying conviction. "We either accept the risk of the vacuum, or we allow them to dismantle the vault we have built. I do not intend to let them take you. And I do not intend to let them touch your brother." Clara stared into his charcoal eyes. There was no fear in them. No hesitation. He was a man who had spent his life commanding stone, steel, and human beings, and he looked at this deadly, explosive physical reaction with the same seren

“Those Volkov bastards. I’ll kill every last one of them for touching my daughter. Slowly. Tell me and I’ll end this tonight. No mercy for any of them.” The words should have been music to my ears. This was the rage I’d craved, the full force of the DeLorenzo empire unleashed on Luciano and his clan. Revenge for my mother, for everything. But with the Swan out there, an unknown shadow orchestrating massacres and leaving black feathers like calling cards, it felt dangerously shortsighted. We needed every resource, every uneasy alliance, to face a villain we knew nothing about. Starting a full-scale war now would only play into the enemy’s hands.

"I am taking it slow." "You are not." "I am." "Same thing." I almost smiled and the expression felt foreign on my face. I looked around the room and the candles were burning low and the fire was crackling and the window showed the frozen gardens. Ember was curled at the foot of the bed and her purr was soft and steady. Madame Voss was standing in the corner and her ancient eyes were sharp and her hands were steady. "How are you feeling?" Voss asked. "Like I was in a fire."

EMBER Ember’s breath came in sharp, uneven bursts as heat flooded through her skin, making the tangled sheets around her feel suffocatingly tight against her flushed body. The loft lay shrouded in darkness, save for the neon glow that bled through the rain-streaked windows, casting erratic shadows across the walls. Outside, the city thrummed with its restless insomnia, the buzz of distant signs, the hiss of traffic slicing through wet streets, and faint music leaking from some apartment three floors below, yet none of it pierced the intimate bubble enveloping her. In that moment, all that existed was him: Ghost, his body hovering over hers like a broad, solid wall of quiet strength, pressing

“By fire’s light and heart’s conviction, we dedicate this Ember Circle anew.” Isabelle followed, voice resonant. “Here, we pledge to share our discoveries openly, to foster creativity and inquiry, and to honor every voice seen and unseen that has shaped our path.” She tipped the ember into the brazier; it glowed, harmonizing with votive flames lit by each member. A hush of reverence filled the hall as the flames flickered in unison. The assembled members spoke their own vows of service, scholarship, and mutual respect binding themselves not by threat, but by shared purpose.

"Go take a bath. I've already prepared hot water for you." Blushing, I slowly made my way to the bathroom. The lights suddenly went out halfway through my bath. I gasped as I stood up in the darkness, when Quinn appeared holding a candle. He paused in the doorway, his expression briefly stunned. His voice was husky as he spoke. "My wife… is full of surprises." What followed felt natural, like it was inevitable. His passionate embrace made me melt like water in his arms. In the peak of bliss, when I felt like I might faint, the lights abruptly came back on. Quinn's deep, dark eyes locked onto mine as if I were his entire world.

“The Goddess granted me a mate. A miracle. Werewolves know not to go against the Goddess. Only foul souls would reject her gift. I’ve said before that I am not certain if you can feel the same bond that I do yet, but that will change after I mark you. It’s rare, but I’ve known of other mates that have found their other half were not from their own kind. Those pairings have all had unique gifts when together. The Goddess sees into our souls before our birth and binds together those that are worthy. Matches that fit perfectly and complement the other. I didn’t concern myself with finding my mate because I figured if it was supposed to happen it would. I know I’m a good Alpha. I care about my p

My embarrassment knew no bounds. “Are you kidding me? Who the hell does he think he is?” I thundered, my angry voice echoing through the almost empty hall. Heat rose to my face, my pupils dilating. I refuse to let anyone turn me into an object of mockery. My palms balled into fists by my sides, trembling slightly with suppressed rage as I fought with my inner self, resisting the urge to disfigure his pretty face. Suddenly, I felt a hand hold my wrist.

Ember's POV When the fire stopped, I thought I’d died. But death wouldn’t feel like this. Death wouldn’t burn. I floated somewhere between breath and ash, my skin humming with a power that didn’t belong to me. The ground below me was scorched black, pulsing with heat every time I breathed. My veins glowed faintly beneath my skin, gold at first, then darker—black fire threading through me like veins of molten glass. When I tried to move, my body didn’t obey. My reflection shimmered in the air before me, split down the center—one side mine, the other smiling with the Witch’s mouth.