The Empire's Ruin Novels & Stories

Just saw this and thought of you. Attached was a photo of a stray cat huddled under a bus stop shelter, its fur soaked and spiky, looking thoroughly miserable but defiant. I bit my lip, suppressing a smile. I typed back quickly. Olivia: That cat looks like it's plotting revenge. Jax: 100%. Probably a former navy SEAL. Don't mess with him. Jax: Anyway, how are you? I hesitated. Leo was watching me, his spoon paused halfway to his mouth.

Lucien’s empire had fractured, but its pieces were lethal—and hungry. Roman’s recovery was slow, but steady. He trusted Eden to watch his back; little did he know the shadows had already found their way into her world. Her father’s offer lingered, a doorway to a world Eden both feared and knew she couldn’t avoid forever. The war might be over—for now. But the guidance of ruin is never finished. And Eden was about to learn just how deep the darkness went.

"You're too late! The compression is locked! The abyssal core is at critical mass!" "Then turn it off, Vane," I projected my voice back, my tone completely flat, entirely devoid of the panic he wanted to see. I didn't stop walking toward the massive engine. "The war is over. Your Emperor is dead. If you pull that lever, all you are going to do is blow up the canyon." "I am the empire!" Vane roared, his fanaticism overriding any sense of self-preservation. "And the Iron Crown does not surrender to a man who holds hands with beasts!"

This was an institution expressing itself through movement. "The empire does not allow rebellion," Lyra said, and the words arrived with the weight of something she had worked out in the ruins and had been carrying since then, "not as policy and not as preference but as identity. An empire that has existed long enough to build cities the size of what we found in the ruins has survived because it eliminated every challenge to its coherence at the root, before it could grow large enough to constitute an alternative. We are an alternative. We built something independent and we made it work and we are still standing, and every day we continue to stand, we constitute proof that the empire's frame

My whole body trembled as reality crashed in. Alexander reached for me, pulling me close. “It’s over,” he whispered. I buried my face in his chest, heart pounding so hard it hurt. “Is it?” He held me tighter. “It will be.” Outside, sirens wailed again. The city was awake. The empire had finally crumbled—and in its ruins, maybe we could finally start over.

I opened the note, it read "Since you have decided to push me away for good. I've respected your wish. Good luck Prince Alex." My heart shattered into pieces reading the note. I would never get the chance to tell him how I actually feel. I fell to the floor reeling in shock. I stared at the wall, wishing he would come back.

Doesn’t matter who you are, I’ll ruin you if I have to. “I can do that. In fact when I was on my way I deleted my new blog. If this is going to hurt the people I love, I think it isn’t worth it. I’d rather have my old ordinary life back. Just let me go and you’ll never hear about me ever again. Your son can live his life however he likes and I will remain unbothered.” Mrs. Rylland smiled. “I’m glad to see that we are on the same page.”

“Do you think this life just happened? Do you think I built my empire by playing nice with other businessmen over golf and champagne?” ‎ ‎I watched him unravel before my eyes, the polished façade crumbling to reveal something raw and dangerous underneath. “Then tell me,” I whispered. “Tell me the truth. ‎He stopped pacing, his back to me. When he spoke, his voice was so quiet I had to strain to hear. “The truth is that I made a deal with devils to protect the people I love. The truth is that every thing I own, my empire, is paid for with blood—sometimes other people’s, sometimes my own.”

“Without a clear successor for the Throne, we are all left in chaos. How long will it take the clans to find us a new leader? I can only hope that whoever they choose will push hard against terrorists such as these. “We cannot allow the chaos of fundamentalist forces to undermine our indomitable and glorious empire. Though their strikes have caused deep, lasting wounds on us, they are not enough to completely destroy us. “We shall prevail. “The Emperor is dead. Long live the Empire.” ~ “A toast!” cried Konleth. He was giddy as a schoolchild as he watched the report over ‘Cast. Both he and Gravoss were in their private booth at the Viper Pit. Though they were watching the news report rather t

“You arrogant fool. I bleed with you. That’s what you don’t understand.” Silence. Then — He reached for her. And for the first time in days, she didn’t pull away. His hand cupped her jaw, thumb brushing the small scar near her lip — the one he gave her years ago in that first war. The one she refused to erase. “This empire,” he murmured, voice raw, “it was built on our ruin. I don’t know how to save it without losing you.” “Then lose me,” she whispered. “If that’s what keeps it alive.”