House.of Ashes Chapters Novels & Stories

I didn't know if I'd ever ever truly get James, but one thing was certain—I was glad to attempt it. --- Ashley's POV As soon as we stepped inside the mansion, I felt the weight of it all bearing down on me like a storm cloud on the verge of release. My head was a whirlwind, a chaotic mess that would not quiet no matter how hard I pushed it aside. My heart was still pounding from what had happened at the hospital, and my hands still shook, no matter how tightly I clenched them into fists. Unbeknownst to me, I followed Steven to his room, my legs pumping involuntarily as my mind remained stuck in a vicious cycle of disbelief. The walls of the mansion started to close in on me, the air becoming

I close my eyes. I don't sleep. I think about Cael in an underground room, holding something back for thirteen years, waiting. I think: I'm coming. Not out loud. She can't hear me. But Ash can. And Ash — for the first time in thirty chapters — speaks without being spoken to. *She knows.*

"I could see it in your eyes that you were desperate to find the real killer." "Thank you, Detective Taylor." One month later, Aidan was executed. He died in prison. I submitted my resignation to Ravenshire State Medical Center. Then I returned to Ashford Hollow, held a funeral for Aidan, and buried his ashes. After I went back to Ravenshire, I threw everything in my house that belonged to my mother into the trash. Once everything was cleared out, I sold the house. Then I left the country and began a new life. The following spring, I received an email from Detective Taylor. Attached was a letter my mother had written in prison. Her handwriting was neater than I expected.

“I made the mistake of believing in something that wasn't real.” He did not look back. He did not stop. The chapter ends with me, the Queen of Nothing, watching the King of Ashes disappear, his back as cold and final as the tomb he was rebuilding around his heart, a tomb I had just helped him build.

I grab my bag and walk out, my heartbeat steady now, grounded in something new. Something certain. I’m going home. To tell my husband that everything just changed. That the next chapter has already begun— without either of us realizing when it started

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.

Sophie coughed as the smoke hit her, stepping back a few paces with a furrowed brow. Hunter casually sat on the couch, carelessly crossing his legs. He looked Sophie up and down. "Did you call me over to rekindle something?" Peering at Hunter disdainfully, Sophie wondered how she could have such bad taste in the past. She got straight to the point. "I'm pregnant with your child." "What?" Hunter's dark eyes widened, and he stopped smoking. He suddenly coughed as he stared at Sophie, both surprised and excited. "It's mine? You're not lying to me?"

"Do you know, Jaxon, you're selfish, hypocritical, and you're just as much a killer of Nessa as anyone. You don't deserve to be a father." I wrapped my arms around him, pretending to console his anger, and with the knife I had hidden, I plunged it deep, leaving only the handle exposed. Nessa, just one more to go. Mom would make them pay for you. … "Bed 1214, the female patient, she's dead. And it was a horrible death." "I heard she tore the sheets into strips and hung herself in some weird position." "Is she the crazy woman who stabbed her husband to death?"

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.

Your enthusiasm and encouragement have inspired me every step of the way, and for that, I am eternally grateful. Now, I have a little secret to share with you about Book Two. Brace yourselves, for there will be even more plot twists and turns, secrets unraveling, and unexpected alliances forming. And, oh yes, a little spoiler for you - Ashley, our fearless heroine, will find herself facing a daunting punishment, but amidst it all, she will discover the unimaginable - she will fall pregnant. The tangled web of love, loyalty, and danger will grow even more complex, leaving you on the edge of your seat.