January Embers Novels & Stories

“You’ve been full of promises, Carson Wills. Now it’s time to prove them.” He smiled, capturing her lips in a slow, deliberate kiss, survival, victory, and unshakable passion flowing between them. Their bodies pressed together, heat and longing mingling, a testament that love had endured even the fire. The ember pulsed faintly beside them, its amber glow reflecting the bond they shared. Justina traced its smooth surface, drawing strength from its warmth. “This ember,” she murmured, “it’s not just fire… it’s hope. And tomorrow, we build from that hope. Together.”

Alpha Cyrus drew his sword from his sheath. My heart was beating, I couldn't die like this. Not now, not here, I had a whole life in front of me. I crawled backward slowly and the guard held me steady. "I find you, Hope Embers, guilty of treason and I hereby sentence you to death by beheading under the full moon in two days time." My heart fell to the pit of my stomach.

At one point Ember was prattling on about something but I couldn’t even understand what she was saying. I had a mate. My mate was in the Dawn Claw pack. My mate was trying to be Gamma. She was smart and stubborn. She had the same love of languages as I did, just maybe not at the same level. Her family had been hurting my little mate for years. She had taken it all for the sake of a home that she held onto so tightly. Her birthday wasn’t until December. That was two months away. “Do we tell her, even when I do go back?”

But she's unavailable to me even in battle. I sighed softly and collapsed in my tiny bed of hay in my cell, not the best idea if the horrifying thud was any indication, but I fell asleep right away so it didn't matter. In the morning, I was woken up with the announcement of visitors. I smiled as I sat up, scooting closer to the cells as all the young pups of the pack raced over with birthday cards, Moonwell cards, and Get better soon cards, all reading some version of 'we miss you' in children's handwriting. "Awe, you pups are the best. Did you all make these? Who paid for them?" I gathered the cards up and read each one happily. "Mr. Wells paid for them!" One of my pups yipped happily.

"Then we will live it. One day at a time. One flower at a time. One witness at a time." --- The winter came, and the garden was warm. The gold flowers glowed through the snow, their light steady and sure. The witnesses gathered around the stone bench for lessons, their faces lit by the blooms. Mira taught the anchor ability, Elara spoke the names, and the old magic was practiced in silence. A new witness arrived at the garden gate in the depths of winter. She was young, barely sixteen, with dark skin and eyes that seemed to hold the memory of fire. Her name was Ember, and she had traveled from the burned lands in the far south, where the gold flowers grew through the ash.

Prologue II: Pyre, 3113 Pyre Av 5, 3113 Stephan Caliphus, King Everything was on fire the night he finished the book in the back room of a borrowed house. He laid his glasses down on the desk in front of him and rubbed his tired eyes. The crackling of flames could be heard as the city burned all around them. The blood curdling screams of the men in the streets where they died was enough to make the blood of the fiercest warrior run cold, but he was a man of empathy and it hurt him more than it did the others.

She insisted “I will take you home” Drake volunteered “Steph the party is over shut it down” “Ok” *** It was 11:58pm all the workers at the Vanpett’s house including the Vanpett’s gathered at the garden just outside the house. The fireworks were about to start so all eyes were on the sky. The countdown to the new year started; “10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… HAPPY NEWYEAR” Everybody yelled as they crossed over to the new year.

They are led to the throne room where the queen of the witches sits. A woman steps forward and approaches the group. “Hello Rex, welcome back and who are they? So I can introduce them to the queen? " asks the woman. “I am Hector. Nice to meet you,” says Hector. “I am Ash. Lovely to meet you,.” says Ash. “I am Ruby, beautiful dress, .” says Ruby. The woman smiles and steps back. “My queen: Rex, Hector, Ash and Ruby from Ember City,” says the woman. The queen motions them forward. Hector and Rex come forward. Ash and Ruby stay back a few feet. All bow lightly out of respect for the queen.

But Ember had her reasons for being here, her own secrets hidden beneath the bruises on her lips. Her once vibrant and lively eyes now reflected a deep sadness, carrying the weight of untold stories. They no longer sparkled with the hope and innocence of youth but held a glimmer of resilience and strength, buried beneath the surface. Ember had experienced hardships that had chipped away at her spirit, yet she refused to let them consume her completely.

The crackling fire in the hearth added to the romantic ambiance, heightening her immersion in the story's embrace. Just as she reached a particularly exhilarating chapter, the sound of a distant scuffle interrupted the tranquility of her evening. The muffled noise of growls and a clash of steel echoed through the walls, filling the air with an unsettling energy. Confusion and concern etched on Kara's delicate features, she gently closed the book and rose from the comfort of the reading nook. Approaching the window with careful steps, Kara peered outside into the moonlit night, where shadows danced amidst the chaos just beyond her doorstep. Flickering torches illuminated brief bursts of movem