Cinders Ashes Novels & Stories

she confessed, still crying and shaking with fear, and I could feel she was telling the truth. "What can you tell us about the ash?" I asked her, and she bowed her head. "At first, it was meant to cover the atmosphere, but we later found it was feeding off the life of the earth and every living thing. Now they have released new ash that, if inhaled for too long, the victims will turn into those things. It is not only wolves that the Fire and Ash coven is killing, witches too," she said. I stepped away from her and left her crying and shaking on the floor. I looked at Desiree to see if she believed her. Desiree nodded that the girl was being sincere, and I pinched the bridge of my nose out of

CHAPTER 82 – Bonds of Fire Rowan barely has time to breathe after driving the flames away from the civilians. The summit is shaking from the force of the clash below, and Ashborne fire lights up the edges of the mountain like a burning river. Azeriel lands beside her, chest rising fast, eyes blazing. “They’re pushing harder,” he says. “Cindar is directing them from the front. He’s not holding back.” “We can handle him,” Rowan replies even though her arms feel heavier than they should.

“In ways we never imagined.” Ceres opened the urn and let the ashes fall. Not all at once. She released them slowly, reverently, as if the Codex itself deserved a quiet farewell. The ashes kissed the wind, scattered into currents both air- and waterborne. Some drifted onto the surface of the river. Others clung to her fingers like they didn’t want to leave. She wiped them gently into the stream. “Goodbye,” she whispered. And as the last of the ashes left the urn, the wind shifted.

Neon signs cut through the perpetual gray drizzle, casting bleeding smears of cyan and crimson across the wet asphalt. Inside the cabin, the dashboard instrumentation bathed Julian’s chiseled features in an amber glow. His hands rested lightly on the manual steering column, his golden eyes fixed dead ahead on the skyline where the towering glass spires of the corporate syndicate pierced the storm clouds. The broadcasted financial ledgers had crippled their regional operations, but the hydra had more than one head. If they wanted to permanently dismantle the syndicate that had weaponized Elder Torin, they had to strike at the heart of the beast.

Sadness. I glanced down at the letter still clutched in my hand, the paper fragile and crumpled from my grip. Slowly, I allowed a sliver of lightning to dance along its edges, watching as the parchment caught fire. The flames consumed the letter quickly, reducing it to ash in seconds, and I let the remains fall to the table in a blackened heap. Ashes. Just like everything else in this cursed palace. I stormed out of the throne room, my footsteps heavy and my thoughts darker than the night itself. The halls were quiet, too quiet, and every echo of my boots against the stone reminded me of how alone I truly was about to become.

The Order had found us. But I wasn’t the same girl they chased weeks ago. They’d seen me when I was half-awake. Half-broken. Let them see what happens when the Phoenix rises fully. Let them come. This time, I would burn what was left. And I wouldn’t stop until there was nothing left to chase but ash. We ran for what felt like miles, the passage beneath our feet sloping unevenly with every dozen steps. I could hear the echo of our footfalls bouncing ahead into unknown darkness. The smell of mildew, rot, and something older, something sour, coated my tongue.

“Not literally. Encrypted within a set of files your father once protected with his life. Codenamed: Ashes.” Riccardo’s voice crackled through Camilla’s earpiece. “Ashes. That’s on the last line of the Buenos Aires data set. It wasn’t a burn protocol—it was a hidden access point.” Camilla rose to her feet, cold clarity settling into her spine. “If we find the Ashes files, we find the key to unravel Cinder.” “And Voss,” Valentina added. “But be careful. He doesn’t run. He lures.” That evening, Camilla and Riccardo stood in the library of the estate, combing through her father’s archived files. Paper documents, old hard drives, and optical discs stacked in coded layers. Hours passed.

What a pitiful fate--to die alone. Carysse flinched and Chaos had to hold her shoulder to stop her. He knew her stance and temper. Any more mention of Ashki and she will be charging straight without hesitation. ''I'm fine already, Chaos. Thanks.'' She shrugged off his hand and Chaos slightly smiled. ''Then don't forget the plan.'' ''Yeah. Right back at you.'' Both of them stood apart, a gap between them. ''Just what are you---'' The Mahan wasn't able to finish talking because Chaos and Carysse released bombs--the sharp powder named as White Death surrounding and suffocating those around them.

“Well, then, you know.” “I know what I’ve read. In my experience, that isn't necessarily the truth.” “I’ll have to agree with you there. But… it’s probably pretty close. Anyway, Ella Sinders Verona is legally dead, and now I’m Cindy Grimm.” “But you don’t know who Cindy Grimm is.” Fae read her mind. “No, I don’t. And therein lies the problem. How can I be a woman I don’t know?” “And how can you go back to being the woman you used to be, the one you were comfortable with, when she’s gone?”

"Please, Ryan, don't do this. He's your son! Please, don't take this from me!" But Ryan's mind was filled with anger and betrayal. He opened the urn and began to pour the ashes onto the ground. "No!" Sophia wailed, her cries echoing through the cemetery. She lunged forward, her hands clawing at the ashes as they scattered. The gray powder clung to her hair and skin, mixing with her tears as she wept uncontrollably. She pressed her head to the ground, her body trembling with sorrow. "My baby," she sobbed, her voice barely audible. "I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry…"