From Sand And Ash Novels & Stories

Not lifeless. But hushed. Like this place had been asked—gently but firmly—not to grow. Grass became gravel, then grey stone, then something stranger. The sky dimmed, not from cloud but from expectation. Like it, too, was holding its breath. Then they saw it—the Ashglass Shore. A vast stretch of cracked, gleaming stone. Black glass etched with veins of fire long cooled, but not forgotten. The air shimmered faintly as they walked across it, their reflections bending in ways light shouldn’t allow.

"Something is coming, Run!" abruptly, they all scurried around and ran as fast as they could. The storm did not take long to become visible. A massive billowing wall of sand in the distance charged towards them like a tsunami. Before they could get to safety, it flowed over them. A storm of swirling dust and grains, rocks swaddled them. Large lumber hit Ashely in the back. It would have killed her if she were mere mortals, but it merely banged her dizzy.

He held a small leather pouch in one hand and a glass vial filled with dark ash in the other. “Miss me?” Axel’s voice dripped with arrogance as he tossed the pouch onto the table. “I got what you asked for. Moulton Ash and Grey Sand. Not an easy find, I might add.” Zane stepped forward, his eyes narrowing as he inspected the pouch. “And what do you want in return?”

The ash burned my palm, but I didn't care. "You have to," he said, looking at me one last time with golden eyes that were slowly fading into gray. "For them. For us." The airships opened fire again. A rain of silver bullets chewed up the ground around us. Riven roared, his body exploding into a massive cloud of sentient ash. He flew into the sky, a dark storm hitting the first airship head-on. The metal groaned and snapped as the ash clogged its engines, sending the massive ship spiraling into the cliffs.

When she finally broke through the dirt, heaving for breath, the cool mountain air seared her lungs as she coughed out dirt. Kira sat there for several long minutes, half in and half out of a grave, no one else in sight, the forest surrounding her impossible to see in the dark. “Fuck,” Kira coughed, tiredly shoving at the dirt covering her legs, trying to free them. She brushed dirty fingers against the tear in her neck, wincing at the sting. It was probably a mess of infection right now, but oh well. It would heal. Probably. Kira crawled out of her grave and lay down beside it, staring up at what she could see of the sky through the inky tree branches blotting out most of it.

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.

But you were wrong. No matter what you do, no matter what you say, I will never abandon you. When I get my hands on you, you'll have hell to pay for this deception. But first, I'm going to make sure you're still alive. The sound of hooves thundered in the night as I raced toward the border. The mate bond in my chest was screaming in agony, a pain that told me she was alive, but she was suffering. Hold on, Sienna. I'm coming.

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.

Hope The light is blinding to my sensitive eyes as we emerge from the depths of the cellar. we are hurried along a wide hallway leading to huge wooden double doors. The sound of men shouting as the prisioners huddle together booms in my ears. Blinking to adust to the change of light i look around taking in my surroundings. We are standing in what looks to be a large cathedral. Its beautiful marbel floors lined with gold and giant floor to celling pillars covered in intricate patterens and vines. Lanters line the walls iluminating the large room. Ive never seen anything so beautiful. A large fireplace cut out into the wall burns the chill of winter away. At the end of the room steps climb to

The ash did not settle; it hovered, a suspended grey shroud that tasted of burnt history and dead miracles. Audrey stood at the epicenter of the ruin, her lungs burning with every breath of the soot-choked air. Beside her, Lucas stood with his weight shifted to his heels, his one hand white-knuckled around the hilt of a rusted infantry sword. The silence following the collapse of the World-Oak was not peaceful. It was the heavy, pressurized silence that precedes a landslide.