From Blood And Ash Series Novels & Stories

had eaten through his flesh down to the bone in a matter of seconds. "I... I can't feel them," Ash whispered, staring at his ruined hands. He looked up at her, and the grey in his eyes was replaced by a flickering, unstable gold. "Rhea... what is happening?" "The blood," Rhea sobbed, the golden light in her skin beginning to swirl violently. "The vision was right. You're the final ingredient. The fire... it’s not letting you near me because it wants you to bleed for it first." Outside the cathedral, the legion of a thousand shadow-beasts let out a collective, rhythmic thrum. It wasn't a growl. It was a cheer.

He then went ahead and rolled him over so that he could see his face, and the driver gasped after he realized who he was. "Is this not Alpha Cameron's son-in-law?" He thought the alcohol in his system draining away in the same instant. After he finally came back to his senses, he flew from that place and didn't even dare to look back. Ash was left laying there all alone, and because he was in a place where no one could easily see him, everyone kept passing, letting him fight for his life since he had already lost so much blood. From where Ash had met with an accident, there was a forest just nearby that was always haunted by wolves. A black Lycan two times bigger than a normal wolf with glow

"The Bloodbound will rise again." The dagger's light flared once, as if answering him. And far above the ruins, in the night sky, a murder of crows took flight - screaming into the dark.

“Wolves who lose themselves. Who let the shift hollow them out instead of strengthen them. Most die. Some don’t.” “And those are…” She gestured weakly to the destruction. “Abominations,” he said. “Drawn to power. To bloodlines like yours.” Her chest tightened. That familiar pull stirred under her ribs again, faint but present. Like something listening. “So it wasn’t after you,” she said softly. Ash met her eyes. “No.” It had been after her. The silence that followed felt heavier than the fight itself. Ash crouched in front of her, his movements slower now, more careful. There was blood on his knuckles — dark, already drying.

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.

“The moon shows you. The light of your blood can’t hide forever. The Master wants what’s his. The legacy… and the vessel.” Liora’s blood ran cold. The vessel, they wanted not just her, but Ash. Because of his link to her, he was her weakness. The hunter dropped to a whisper, more terrifying than a shout. “You can’t win. You have no guide. Your light fades. Give them to us, and maybe some of you will live through the night.” He raised his crossbow, aiming at the sky, not the entrance. He fired a bolt tipped with a sick green glow, it arced high and smashed into the mountain above the entrance.

Asher’s POV “This is a crazy deal.” I said. “You really thought we would just hand him back to you?” Gustavo’s voice carried a mocking ease, like he was savoring the moment, his lips curling into a grin that set every nerve in me on fire “I thought,” I said slowly, my gaze flicking from him to Anna, “that blood would mean something even to you” Anna tilted her head, “Blood is what ruined us, Asher, don’t try to wield it like it’s sacred, you forfeited any claim to it when you tried to erase me in that forest”

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.

I could sense the tension among everyone as soon as the son of the devil walked into the hall with his head raised high. I couldn't hate him more for the fact that he thinks no one can match up to him. My eyes widened in awe the moment I saw Asher walking slowly behind the beast with his body covered in blood. So were Tala and some of their closest friends. I didn't like the way he was covered in blood, and my wolf and I wanted to do something, but there was literally nothing we could do other than gawk in awe.

“We already know the answer to that, don’t we, Xena?” I let him have his moment. For now. And just like that, our world shifted. Not with war. Not with blood. But with a single vow, sealed beneath a Venetian sky.