Novel & Cerita From Ashes,i Rise

The atmosphere was peaceful, yet powerful, as strangers became a community, bound together by their shared concern for one person as they sang along to ‘Rise up’, by Andra day. “You’re broken down and tired of living life on a merry go-round…” “And you can’t find the fighter, but I see it in you, so we're gonna walk it out…” “Move… mountain, we're gonna walk it out…” “Move… mountain…” “And I’ll rise up, I’ll rise like the day, I’ll rise up, I’ll rise unafraid, I’ll rise up, and I’ll do it a thousand times again…” “And I’ll rise up, high like the waves, I’ll rise up, in spite of the ache, I’ll rise up, and do it a thousand times again…”

My hands trembled as I reached out—not for the shard, but for clarity, for something that could anchor me in the storm. Ashara’s golden eyes softened, almost pitying. “You cannot escape me, child. You are the continuation of what I began, the vessel through which my fire lives again. Deny it, and you will be ash. Accept it, and you will be me.” Her words dripped like molten iron, branding themselves across my soul. The fire twisted, coiling tighter, until every beat of my heart echoed with hers.

As if she had already chosen the world she wanted to live in. I rose. My knees left prints in the mud, half filled by the river’s edge. When I stood, the cold air pulled me back into myself. The moon trembled across the surface, broken by current. The ash began to move downstream, slow and gleaming, as if the river itself was carrying the dead toward whatever waited for them. I turned away and followed the sound of fire rising in the distance. Kael (POV) The ash came first.

Light and dark. Something inside me is uncurling.Something ancient stretching awake. And it whispers one thing, just one... Finally, The world tilts.Snow rushes up to meet me. Darkness takes everything.

The questions chase me into sleep, where I dream of storm-blue eyes and a voice saying Careful. Too late, I think. I'm already lost. But maybe...maybe...Lila is right. Maybe one small step is enough to start with. Maybe tomorrow, I'll take one. And the day after, another. Until eventually, I'm not just a ghost haunting the edges of my own life. Until eventually, I'm someone again. Someone Julian Voss can't destroy.

I snapped, pushing past her to open the window wider. “Asphyxia. That's the medical term that covers the entire…concept of suffocation. Just so you know, you know. But it's not like I was trying to kill you, or me. We're too young, and I'm incapable of murder, you know that. I've only ever killed geckos since I was born…” She rambled, trailing off when she saw my death stare. I admit, I was more pissed at the fact that her charred whatever woke me up from my dream. I wished I heard everything my father had to say, but unfortunately, I got woken up abruptly.

Let everything go back to normal. Normal. The word tasted like ash. I turned the water off and stood dripping in the quiet. Steam swirled around me thick and heavy. But I didn’t want normal, all I want is her. And that scared me more than any slap Ethan could throw.

As Charles was pushed into the incinerator, Logan filmed the entire process and put it up on my social media page. However, there was no response. Logan’s patience ran thin. He spammed me with voice messages. “Coral, if you don’t show up now, I’ll dump your father’s ashes straight into the sewer. “You’ll never find him again. “This is your final chance to show yourself to me.” Logan had never sent me so many messages since Elise came into our lives. However, his attempts to communicate were met with silence. Time went by. Slumping against his bench, Logan clenched the phone in his hand.

They were the same shards from the champagne flute I had crouched down to pick up for Ingrid at the banquet that day. He had somehow found that trash and treasured it like a priceless heirloom. Wayne called out to me excitedly, "I picked them back up, Hillary! I got them back for you!" The glass shards had sliced his hands open until they were bloodied, but he still refused to let go. As he looked at me, his eyes were filled with utter despair and obsessive longing. "Take me with you! Or just kill me! Just don't leave me alone in this world!" he cried.

The rest of the group follows as we make our way closer to the fire. She reaches for an a piece of ember bark that sits in a bowl near the fire. Lyra takes a deep breath, and throws the ember bark into the fire. "I'm afraid I will never be enough." she says so softly I almost don't hear her. The ember bark burns so brightly I have to look away. My gaze collides with Callan who has a blonde sitting comfortably on his lap. Something ugly burns in my stomach. I force myself to look away, and direct my attention back to the fire. My thoughts begin to spin as I try to settle on what fear I'm going to give up.