An Ember In The Ashes Audiobook Novels & Stories

(Caelum Ashborne) The ember-flame stretched, sharpening into a rough outline of a man’s face—no clear features, just the impression of strong bone and old scars. Eyes like coals. A crown of shadowed horns made of smoke and memory. Heat radiated off the projection with such intensity that the nearby shadows hissed and shrank back, leaving Caelum momentarily exposed. Arkael Ashborne. Leader of the Emberborn. The man who had taught Caelum to walk on hot stone before he could walk on grass.

My chest burned. Milo. My baby. My joy. My shadow. Gone. I closed my eyes. And wished the sea had taken me, too. But it didn’t. And that meant something. It meant I was still here. Which meant Ethan and Sienna hadn’t finished the job. Which meant I still had something they didn’t expect me to have. Time. And vengeance. Because ashes don’t bleed. But they remember how to burn.

I paused for a moment, then expressionlessly exited the group chat and blocked them all one by one. From now on, I would no longer be Victoria's essence bank, no longer Father and Mother's second daughter, no longer Finn's sister, and definitely no longer Grayson's fiancée. I was Ember Blackwood, and only Ember Blackwood. I turned for one last look at this place I'd lived for over twenty years, then dragged my luggage to the waiting car without looking back.

He looked like he hadn't slept in days. "You're awake," he said, his voice hoarse. I didn't look at him, just stared at the ceiling. "The doctor said you collapsed from exhaustion and psychological trauma," he said carefully. "Elara, we need to talk." "There's nothing to talk about." "Yes, there is." He reached for my hand, but I pulled it away. "Elara, please listen… about Seraphina, I know you won't believe me, but it was an accident. When she grabbed for the gun, I was only trying to—"

he said, a bit confused. I stepped aside, holding the phone to my ear, but all I heard was panic voice of Lyra. “Ember, where are you… You have to get here right now Kai...is he's… he's acting really strange. He’s burning up—no one can touch him!” My heart dropped, oh god, this is not happening, pleasGod...please, “I’ll be there immediately!” I hung up, my eyes stinging as the tears threatened to spill. I turned back to Maverick, fear gripping me.

"You'll stay there until I decide what to do with you. Think of it as... forced meditation. Very character-building." "This is insane," Ash whispers, tears streaming down his face. "We're going to die here." "We're not dying," I say with more confidence than I feel. "We're going to figure out how to escape, get River, and somehow convince this deranged lizard to help us fight demons." "I heard that," Ember calls. "And I'm not deranged. I'm eccentric. There's a difference." Hours pass. Or maybe days. It's hard to tell in the cave with no natural light. Ember continues organizing her hoard with meticulous care, occasionally launching fireballs at imaginary threats and talking to herself about

Pov: Ember. Scene: Raven’s Peak – Morning The kitchen in the Nightshade mansion was unusually quiet. No council aides, no scent of fresh bread or clinking mugs. Just Ember, barefoot in one of Asher’s old shirts, pouring black coffee she wouldn’t drink. Asher entered, hair still wet from his shower, t-shirt clinging to his chest. “You’re up early,” he said. Ember didn’t turn. “I felt something last night. Like a thread went slack.”

Then I looked at our daughter, who opened her eyes and didn't cry and looked at me like she already knew what I was. From the ashes and the fire, something beautiful was born. "Ember," I say. Jolie's breath catches. She knows immediately—I can see her take the shape of it, hold it up to the light, understand everything in it. The element of transformation: coal that becomes fire that becomes something that outlasts both. The thing that stays lit after everything else has burned. The beginning that looks like an end until it doesn't. "Ember Ash Kane," she whispers.

The desperation in her face, evidently seen. I sigh, wishing that I could give her the answer she wants to hear. "I'm sorry Little Bear, but no I haven't." She simply nods her head, and leans in closer to me. I wrap my arms around her in a firm embrace, wishing that I could protect her from the evil in this world. I lean my head down, to rest on hers, breathing in her familiar scent. It's the most unique mix of jasmine, cedar, and amber. It's so warm, sensual, and strong yet somehow soft. I've found myself addicted to it. Just her scent alone calms me down.

Whatever she might have said next was lost under the sudden crash of paramedics through the doorway, a stretcher, hands prying mine gently but firmly off Kai’s shoulder, a voice telling me to step back, sir, please, step back and let us work, and I found myself shoved to the edge of the room watching strangers lift the man who’d thrown his own body over mine without a second’s hesitation, watching his blood soak dark into a white gurney sheet while his eyes searched the room and found me one more time before they wheeled him out. “Elias.” Barely a whisper, almost lost under the noise. “The letter. Your father’s desk. Don’t wait for me.” Then he was gone, out through the ruined door, down the