January Embers Novels & Stories

The lock clicked, loud in the silence. The shower water burned, a desperate attempt to wash away the night. Ava scrubbed her skin red, but his scent lingered. She stared at her flushed face and wide, scared eyes in the steamy mirror. What did I do? Dressed, she avoided her reflection. The room felt charged, heavy with unspoken words. She couldn't face him yet. She needed time, space. Sunlight, sharp and bright, hit Lucas's face. Ava gasped, a tiny sound. "Damn," she whispered, rushing to the window, fumbling with the heavy drapes. She pulled them shut, making the room dim again.

Startlingly different. Ember glowed brighter than any child before. Ember's light was not gentle. Not soft. Not quiet. Ember's light was blazing. Intense. Powerful. And Ember spoke. Immediately. From birth. Before learning. Before growing. Before developing. Ember's first words shocked everyone.

And so Eira and her family entered Embermoon. The cold hit differently here. Sharper. Cleaner somehow. Snow covered the roads in pale layers while northern winds swept down from the mountain ridges carrying the smell of pine smoke, iron and frost. It was evening by the time they passed the inner gates. Lanterns glowed across the streets in long amber lines while people moved bundled beneath thick coats and fur lined shawls. Embermoon had changed. The last time Eira saw it, parts of the pack still looked rough from old territorial conflicts and northern winters.

“Hi, Agnes. Long time no see. I wonder, by the time you see this video, will I already be dead? But even if I am, my body will stay here, just like these bones. So, Agnes, don’t forget to come and collect my corpse.” The air fell into a heavy silence. Even breathing seemed stifled. Then, the crowd erupted again, louder than before. “Don’t say that, Jacob! We’re sending people to look for you right now!” The video kept playing. I looked straight into the camera, speaking each word clearly. “I’ll record everything on Exile Island in my own way—to record how I walked toward my death and to record how the Yule family walks toward destruction. This video might never make it out, but I’ll find a w

Leo asked. I thought about the fire that had broken through my binding, the ancient fury that had opened its eyes inside me and refused to be extinguished. I thought about Marcus, out there somewhere, still burning with whatever twisted rage drove him, and about how different that kind of fire was from what I wanted to build here. "Ember House," I said slowly, testing the words. "Because an ember isn't the destructive part of a fire. It's what's left after everything burns down — small, but still warm. Still alive. Still capable of starting something new if you're patient with it."

Then I looked at our daughter, who opened her eyes and didn't cry and looked at me like she already knew what I was. From the ashes and the fire, something beautiful was born. "Ember," I say. Jolie's breath catches. She knows immediately—I can see her take the shape of it, hold it up to the light, understand everything in it. The element of transformation: coal that becomes fire that becomes something that outlasts both. The thing that stays lit after everything else has burned. The beginning that looks like an end until it doesn't. "Ember Ash Kane," she whispers.

About Ember. The air itself seemed alive with laughter, clinking cups, and the hum of voices weaving together like music. My nose twitched as wave after wave of aromas reached me—roasted meats, fresh bread, honeyed fruits, and spiced wine. Ember stirred within me at once, pressing against my consciousness, her excitement flooding me like sparks dancing along my skin. Meat, she purred, her hunger mixing with mine until I almost laughed aloud.

It was a video, grainy, like it had been recorded in haste. Ember stared into the lens. Her face was bruised, but her eyes burned bright. “My name is Ember. I was created by Ash Phoenix as his final weapon. But I am not him. I don’t want war. I don’t want destruction. I want truth. I want family.” She paused. “Alma Sterling if you’re watching this, I need your help.” Ezra exchanged a look with Alma. “This could be bait.” Roman agreed. “Or a trap.”

“We fight.” In the Shadows Ignis stood in the dark. Watching through fire. He had seen everything. Lycan’s death. Zuri’s grief. Daisy’s pain. He smiled. “Let them gather. Let them burn with hope.” He turned to the white-haired girl—**Ember**. “Soon,” he said. “The child will come to me. And when she does… she will burn this world to ash.” Rosa’s POV They told me Lycan was gone.

In that case, all bets would be off. . . . . . THE END . . . . . Ember Casey is a USA Today bestselling author who writes books about wicked billionaires, Hollywood bad boys, playboy princes, and rugged adventurers. The other stories in her bestselling Fontaines of Hollywood series include The Lies Between the Lines (Luca's story!), The Secret to Seduction, The Mystery of You, and the Thrill of Temptation.