Dess X Asriel Novels & Stories

Chapter Thirteen: Sister of Ash The sky had turned a deep, smoky gray, as though the heavens themselves mourned what was awakening beneath the soil. Seren stood at the edge of the crater, surrounded by the wreckage of her birthright and the screams of the cursed tree that once marked Black Hollow’s sacred heart. Her robes—dark blue with silver embroidery—fluttered with energy. She hadn’t aged past her early twenties, her presence defying time, her expression carved from stone.

We really needed Ashina. She was not the kind to entirely rely on a man. No damsel in distress, just a knight! She was blessed by our Moon Goddess and I was very well aware that she would be a powerful werewolf one day. How I had wished that she would be Boris’ Luna. Together they could conquer and rule. “Your Highness, here comes the raven,” Craig gestured to me. The raven was one of us. He had been working for my bloodline. “The situation is deteriorating. Alpha Boris need more assistance, urgently.”

He was looking at her seductively. “I know you’re thirsty, love. Come here, I’ll quench your thirst.” She immediately obeyed him. He pointed his lap so she sat there. They were facing each other, few inches separated their faces. “But, before that,” he began while poking their noses with each other. “Let me introduce myself,” he added. Right. She thought. “I’m Avissar Desaix. The one and only, Avissar.” Using his vampire’s strength, he lifted her. He placed her beneath him. He was like looking in his prey, ready to savor. He traced her face using the tip of his nose and then licked her lips.

The acrid scent of ozone and burnt copper hung heavy in the air, thick enough to coat the back of the throat. Sparks continued to spit from the fried control panel, casting a flickering, electric blue strobe across the damp stone walls of the west wing transit gallery. Beneath the half-open iron security gate, Julian’s fingers locked around Elder Torin’s throat with terrifying, crushing precision. The elder’s heels scraped desperately against the flagstones, his breath catching in a dry, rattling gasp as he was hoisted inches off the ground by raw, unadulterated Alpha fury.

It wanted to fall into place. I forced my breath steady, the way my mother taught me, the way you steady your hands before stitching a wound. Then I spoke the only words that had ever worked. “ASH.” Black cinders rose off the floor, spiraling around the circle. The runes flared, resisting, but the ash didn’t care. It tightened, thickened, becoming a wall—around Dax’s ankles, around the etched lines, smothering the glow. For one heartbeat, the pull on him eased.

ALESSIA I couldn’t even organize my thoughts. I didn’t know whether I was angry or jealous—angry that they had moved on so quickly to Ashira or jealous that she was the one they called their mate. My emotions were a tangled mess. I didn’t even understand my own feelings. “Doctor, Azriel has been sick since the day you stopped showing up. His heart has been beating so slowly,” Axel’s voice cut through my thoughts. His tone carried that fake, annoying, pitiful expression. He was lying. I knew he was.

For a moment, I thought I was losing it forever, and I don't think I have felt worse in my entire life. (...) I feel something stir next to me and it makes me wake up. As soon as I open my eyes, I see Azael asleep with a baby face and I want to kiss him until we are out of breath, but I hold back because he has lost too much blood and needs to rest.

She had thrown me away, so why did she care? "Stella, let's go home." Hudson came up behind her and pulled at her sleeve. She knocked his hand off. "You go. I have something to do." He stumbled. The color drained from his face, hurt and resentment flashing through his eyes. He shot one last look at me and Cassia, then walked off into the crowd. Stella waited for him to disappear. Then she came down the steps and walked straight toward us. "Damon." I turned. She stood a few steps away, her face dark.

Dax’s voice came low, right beside my ear, and I felt his grip tighten just a little, not enough to hurt, just enough to remind me exactly where I was. I chuckled, the tension easing off my shoulders a little. The absurdity of the whole situation suddenly felt almost funny. “I don’t know, I think Asher was… sweet. In a completely psychotic way. He's... weird.” Dax didn’t respond and that was already a bad sign. “Cute, though,” I added without thinking. That was an even worse one. The air shifted instantly, his body going still behind me, and I didn’t need to look to know his expression had changed.

“You think you’re hiding. You’re in the center of the storm.” Outside, another boom shook the stones. The runes below were failing. Silas straightened. “This dais is an anchor,” he said. “If we can awaken it fully, it might shield the tower. Buy us more than minutes.” “Or blow us all to pieces,” Lyra said grimly. Ava looked at the glowing spirals, her heart pounding. She felt the pull again, stronger this time, like a thread from her palm to the stone. “I think it’s already awake,” she whispered.