Dying Embers Novels & Stories

"I ain't lettin' you do this alone. Those... things... they were werewolves once, just like me. I'd like to help put them out of their misery too." Emerald nods solemnly. "I want to help as well. It's the right thing to do." I swallow hard and nod, touched by their loyalty despite the horror we're about to face. "Emerald," I say softly, "could you burn these corpses, please?" She nods and extends her hands. The corpses ignite in flames that consume only the pile of remains, leaving the surrounding forest untouched. I take one final look at the burning pyre before turning away. "Let's go."

Leaving Erica's office, I felt agitated and on edge. I was used to controlling my emotions and my actions but at this moment I felt like I would explode. I had begun to pry open the safe that I kept locked in my mind and feelings were beginning to seep out while I desperately tried to push them back in. On my way home, I called my husband and told him that I needed a break, and asked if he could watch the children so that I could spend the night at the casino alone. Usually, you would have a good time staying at a casino, but I was more interested in the free room that they give you for gambling there in the past. I needed that free room right now. I do not want to put this burden on my fami

“We fight.” In the Shadows Ignis stood in the dark. Watching through fire. He had seen everything. Lycan’s death. Zuri’s grief. Daisy’s pain. He smiled. “Let them gather. Let them burn with hope.” He turned to the white-haired girl—**Ember**. “Soon,” he said. “The child will come to me. And when she does… she will burn this world to ash.” Rosa’s POV They told me Lycan was gone.

The first rays of dawn bled over the horizon, pale and uncertain, yet filled with a warmth Ember Hollow hadn’t known in centuries. Smoke still lingered in the air, drifting from charred altars and shattered sanctuaries, but even that felt different now—like the final breath of an old curse.

“I figured as much.” I turned away, motioning for him to follow. “Come on, then. Let’s see how well you play with cursed people.” And for the first time in a long while, I felt like we might have a shot at surviving this. If only because we’d just added one more weapon to the war. I found Ember where I always did lately, leaning against the cracked edge of the fountain, bathed in firelight. The light didn’t come from her. It came from the horizon. Another blaze in the lower district. The fourth one in as many nights.

Carla and Travis watched from the sidelines, hands clasped. “We did it,” Carla said, her voice steady. Travis nodded. “And we’re just getting started.” The scars remained, but they were no longer wounds. Dave, Carla, and the other victims were healing, not just surviving but thriving, their journeys a testament to resilience, love, and the unyielding power of talent reclaimed. ----- This marks the end of the Burning Embers: Scorching Tales of Desire. Compiled short story arcs now made their way to their ends.

And if that blade was unsheathed too quickly, without guidance, without grounding It would cut through everything. Even those she loved. Even herself. - Ember rose, continuing through the ghost paths old wolves once used, past trees marked with moon sigils, past the place where Ariya had fallen. A broken altar under a weeping cedar, its sap dripping like slow tears. Ember crouched, pressing her palm to the frozen earth, breathing in the cold. “Come back whole,” she whispered, letting her breath warm the frost. “Come back not as fury alone, but as the Queen we lost.

Carl pulled her into his arms and said, "Don't cry, Pheebs. Everyone has their own destiny." What bullshit! I didn't believe in that rubbish, yet my fate had played such a huge prank on me. It had turned me into such a harbinger of misfortune. I saw the slight smile on Carl's face. He seemed to be pleased that I was dead. He and the rest of them surrounded my body. Silence descended upon them as they looked at my photo and urn. Gary said grimly, "Holly called me this afternoon and told me she was going to die. She wanted us to have one last meal with her."

"I saw cities burn. A child alone in the middle of a war with flames that obeyed her crying. Not a weapon… a judge." Vera shook her head, whispering, "You're speaking about Eltharia's lineage. but it was wiped out." "No." Emereah's voice fractured. "Buried. And buried things don't die—they take hold." Silence filled the room, thick and suffocating. The only sound was the distant crackle of fire in the brazier, throwing wild shadows across the stone walls like specters listening. And then there was the knock. Not gentle. Not courteous.