From Blood And Ash 3 Novels & Stories

"Kaelen was sick of you a long time ago. He just couldn't break the blood oath until—" I didn't let her finish. The pin plunged deep into her left hand. Blood sprayed across my face. Seraphina’s scream echoed through the parking garage. "My hand! My hand!" she shrieked, clutching her gushing wound. "You psycho bitch!" I pulled the pin out, its dark tip dripping with her blood. "I'll tell Kaelen!" she screamed. "I'll have him rip your heart out! I'll have him execute you in front of the whole pack!"

The ash settled. Mara exhaled shakily. “He’s playing with us.” Ava looked back once. The paw prints had vanished. Only the black tree remained, silent and watching. “We’re coming for him,” she whispered. The path beyond the clearing narrowed into what looked like an old riverbed. The ash had given way to a thin film of red moss that clung to the stones like dried blood. Even the air felt heavier here, tasting of copper and smoke. Mara kept her bow out now, an arrow nocked but not drawn. “This was all green when I came through last year,” she whispered. “He’s poisoned it.”

Chapter 36 – The Resurrection of Bloodheart Valenfort after the third red night no longer had a human figure. The city was now a dark ash field, where blood and mist mixed together into a thick smoke. On top of the collapsed Divine Tower, only a faint halo remained where the black blood flower still smoldered, like an undying heart. A figure walked through the sea of ash. The sound of heels hitting the cold stone, rhythmic and ruthless Long white hair touched the wind, eyes shining with a pale yellow, cold and calculating. On her wrist, the blood tattoo of the old Crimson Pact burned brightly, as if the blood inside was still boiling.

I curled up on the floor, felt a rush of iron in my throat—and coughed up a mouthful of blood. That bright-eyed boy I used to be—the one who still had hope—faded into nothing. After that, I had nothing left to live for. Until just now, when this wretched, drifting life of mine finally ended. Matthew, your big brother is coming to join you. I've finally paid for my sin.

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.

My breath caught as the shard’s pulse merged with my own heartbeat, binding me tighter to the vision that unfolded. I stood on soil not of Dark Hollow, but of an older land where banners dripped in crimson firelight. Before me stretched a kingdom built on stone and blood, its high towers collapsing under waves of flame. Soldiers screamed as their armor melted, and at the center of the inferno stood a woman with my face—Ashara—her eyes molten gold, her hands drenched in fire and blood. I staggered back, heart hammering, yet the vision pulled me closer, commanding me to watch.

Cold, black blood sprayed out, but I was already finished firing my gun which is in my left hand, to another monster before the first corpse fell. The field was thick with beasts, the air alive and hellish with their screams. A shadow darted behind me. I turned just in time to parry the slash of a cleaver. I barely registered my opponent-male, shirtless, whiter than snow and drenched in blood-before counterattacking. I nocked my gun on his head then pull the trigger. The monster fell to the ground with a wet smack. "In coming!" I yelled, but even though I screamed at the top of my lungs, I knew the others hadn't heard.

At that moment, they felt as though they were standing in an endless abyss of blood, with the gaze of the Blood Bane King, ruler of the Blood Specters, piercing through them from the depths. Thud! A soldier hiding behind Ash was so overwhelmed with fear that his legs gave out, rendering him unable to stand. "Hmm? What's happening?" Ash suppressed his apprehension and observed the black shadow. He noticed that it was swiftly consuming the Blood Bane Energy. Countless strands of the energy were converging toward the center of the vortex, being drawn into the black shadow's gaping maw. Brandon, Ash, and the others also witnessed this phenomenon. However, they refrained from intervening, knowing

With renewed determination, they set off together, Alisha taking charge of guiding them to safety and seeking the medical aid that Ashier urgently required. As Blair, Alisha, and Ashier pressed on through the dense forest, Alisha's concern grew more palpable. She realized that Ashier was losing blood at an alarming rate, and the journey back to the kingdom seemed perilously long. Alisha made a quick decision to halt their progress and attend to Ashier's wound before it worsened.

I asked Kade, spinning the hot rod in my hand, ready to carve into his flesh and continue from where Vi had stopped before the engagement ceremony. “I…I swear by the goddess there’s no other way,” he sobbed like his tears would move me. The metal door creaked open and Asher crawled in covered in sweat as his body trembled. Ysara stood behind him, arm folded just watching. “Brother, I need you!” He whizzed as he tried to catch his breath. I could smell the Ashpine in his blood as it ruptured his blood vessels one after the other. A scoff left my lips.