Burning Bridges Book Novels & Stories

Every so often, a crow cawed overhead — like a reminder that life was already reclaiming what war had tried to erase. And still, the mark pulsed. It didn’t stop until we reached the river crossing. The water there was murky, running faster than usual, carrying the remnants of the last storm. I stopped on the bank and crouched down, dipping my fingers into it. The instant the cold hit my skin, something flashed behind my eyes — a vision, sharp and sudden. Fire. Blood. And a voice — the Luna’s again — whispering: “The bridge is not a path. It is a wound.”

She extended her hand empty and in the way she offered it I understood that this was never about a single match or a single gun or even a single man. It was about who learned to burn with a map, and who learned to build after the fire. “Then take it,” she whispered. I had one heart and the machine had another. The bridge thrummed under our feet, and behind us the city waited with an appetite sharp as a blade. I stepped forward.

Nadia's POV. “Stay where you are!” his voice broke out. She tried, but the stone beneath her cracked again. The bridge was dying, piece by piece, swallowed by the fire below. Nadia surged to her feet, her hands burning with firelight. The bond inside her bloomed. The smoke in the air cleared just enough for her to see the Seer standing on the far edge of the bridge, untouched by the destruction. Her white cloak rippled like smoke, her silver eyes glowing brighter.

“Please Hades don’t burn me. Please. I have done nothing wrong. Please don’t hurt me” He did not give a reply. “Sas parakaloúme” (Please) This time a kiss came onto my lips slowly and gently. I did not give in because a moment later something really hot was on the inside of my finger. It burned my flesh. A new round of tears leaked as I tried to remove my hand. He didn’t let this happen. He kissed my neck. But nothing could keep me from crying as something burned my finger. The faint smell of flesh burning entered my nostrils. I groaned from the pain and my head collided with the railing as I threw it back.

Julian didn’t look up. He fed another twig into the fire, watching it catch. “We need to stay sharp,” he murmured. “Lazarus wasn’t exactly sure what happens on the bridge.” He sat back on his heels, eyes narrowing at the thought. “Said not many have made it across… and if they did, they didn’t come back.” A pause. “The bridge is hexed. Designed to keep people from traveling further. To protect what’s beyond. To trap what’s already crossed.”

It turned out to be too easy. With one last glance at the back of her, she stepped out into the night. The antique church was deserted, as were beautiful stained-glass windows now blanketed in the dirt. The air was thick with the heady scent of damp wood and forgotten prayers. Jenny stepped internally cautious, her palms trembling. The best mild got here from the broken roof, in which the moon cast long shadows across the empty pews. A parent emerged from the darkness. Jenny’s breath stuck in her throat.

But just as they thought they might break free, the center of the gravitational pull shifted direction, aligning with their path. In an instant, the force became irresistible, and they were both absorbed into the gateway, vanishing into its mysterious depths. The world around them twisted and turned, the red light engulfing their senses as they were pulled into an unknown realm, leaving the Mountains of Purity behind. The sensation of weightlessness and the overwhelming force of the gateway consumed them, and they braced themselves for whatever lay on the other side. **Chapter 9: The Other Side** "Zack, where are you?" Petra called out as she struggled to her feet, her head spinning from the

It was too little, too late, and too worthless. Finally, after I once again took the flowers, threw them down, and stomped on them, he dropped the act. "Vivian! Just because I'm playing nice, it doesn't mean you can push your luck! Didn't you leave the car with me to avoid cutting off all ties with me, so that I'd come and see you? Why are you pretending to be above it all now? You disgust me!"

He crushed the cigarette into the back of my hand. I couldn't fight. The silver had me paralyzed. My wolf howled in agony, but my consciousness slipped. This house—once filled with memories—now stank of blood and burnt flesh. I collapsed. Jack's voice followed me into the dark, cold and final. "Now I can be with Alice. Forever." I screamed inside, calling out to the Moon Goddess, begging for a reason—any reason—for why this was my fate. And then— I died. Drowned in betrayal.

Her lungs burned. Visions came. Her mother’s voice. Her daughter’s laughter. Xander’s hands cradling life. Then shadow—rivers of night, howling wolves, an ancient door splintering in silence. Voices echoed from the flames. You are the bridge. Suffer, and be remade. Her knees buckled. The earth trembled. But she stayed standing. When the fire finally parted, Aria knelt in the ash, gasping. Rowan approached and knelt with her. “Look,” he said.