Volume Ember Novels & Stories

I was no longer recognizable, yet I still managed a faint smile at the camera. “Today,” I said, “I buried eighteen skeletons. Exile Island was never some romantic place. It’s a graveyard for boys.” Then, the scene shifted to me sitting beside piles of stark white bones. I wasn’t the only one brought here. There were far too many. At that point, I paused, then raised my hand and waved at the camera. “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.”

Alina stepped forward because everyone expected her to, because her feet remembered what her mind wanted to refuse. Inside, the Crown chamber was circular and close, its walls curving inward like the inside of a shell. Smoke-darkened stone rose to a vaulted ceiling. The floor bore the marks of centuries, worn thin at the center where people had stood and waited and hoped. At the heart of the room, on a low plinth of blackwood, rested the Ember Crown. It looked smaller than Alina remembered. Or perhaps memory had made it heavier. Up close, the metal was darker than iron, threaded with faint ember-red veins that did not glow so much as wait. At its center sat a single stone, dull and opaque, t

“The veil’s thinning. It’s been leaking into the wildwoods, calling to anything dark enough to listen.” “The mouth of what?” I asked. Ember’s eyes burned gold. “Of him. The Hunger. The devourer. The thing beneath this land that was never meant to wake.” Silence dropped like a blade. “What does it want?” Link asked. Ember looked at my stomach. “Her.” The room went still. My arms instinctively wrapped around my belly. The baby kicked once—soft, but pointed, like she knew we were speaking of her. Link’s jaw tightened.

Ember retorted, but before Lume could react, their discussion was interrupted. “I know this is hard for you, Em. So I want to give you something.” He said gently, before he released her and pulled something small out of his pocket. In his hand was a black twine bracelet with a small stone heart, the two ends that tied the bracelet together where both slipped through the hole in the center of the heart and tied on either end of the heart.

My father practically growled, menacingly, while the shadows began to ripple around him, itching to be used. "We all do." Percy added. "I'll get him when I see him next. I'll give him the years of torture he gave us. I'll find a way to weaken his demon and make him feel every second of my torture." I said darkly, my eyes fixed on the darkness in my shadow. "He's part demon?" Ember asked, surprised. "Apparently, he said he's half demon." "I have something that can help with weakening a demon." Ember held her hand out in a fist before her. She slowly opened her it, revealing a little marble-like ice ball. In the center was a swirling bright light. I'd never seen anything so beautiful before.

Ember didn’t know who she would miss more, her twin or her best friend. ‘Emy where are you?’ Ember rolled her eyes at her brothers link, he still called her by her childhood nickname. ‘I’m dropping my stuff off in my room, why? The party doesn’t start for an hour.’ She linked back. ‘Mom wants you to come to my suite, I’m not supposed to tell you it’s for a surprise pre-party with just the family.’

Ember said, linking Jamey. I finally came to my senses and pulled away from him. I could feel the blush in my cheeks as I fixed my suit and my hair. “What’s this?” He asked with a surprised look on his face. “I’m Ember. Chrysalis’s inner being. We can chat more after your meeting. It’s important that you’re both paying attention.” She finished. He just kept staring. He began to speak saying, “But Blake said…” I waved my hand to shush him. “Later.”

I pointed at the glowing firefly-like thing. "Oh, that's Ember. She likes to tell me what to do." Ember zipped around his head and dived at his ear. He swatted her away. She floated closer to me. I held out my hand. She landed in it. She had no form. She was only a ball of light. Despite the orange glow, it felt cool to the touch. There was a presence to her that felt oddly familiar. "It's nice to meet you Ember." Ember danced a circle in my palm, then floated back over to the man's shoulder.

“You forget yourself.” “No,” I said quietly, stepping closer. “I just remember what’s real.” The air between us went heavy, thick with unspoken threats. I didn’t care. Not anymore. I turned before I said something that would start a war and left him to his silence. A noise stopped me. Faint, behind one of the chamber doors—a whisper of fabric, a soft hum. I pushed the door open just enough to see. Ember stood before a mirror, tracing glowing runes along her arms. They pulsed red beneath her skin. Her reflection… moved differently. Half a heartbeat late, like it wasn’t hers.

He kissed me on the forehead and placed his hand on my flat stomach. "I can't believe that we are going to have a baby Freya...I feel like we left that damn nightclub a few weeks ago and now we're here." I gave him a small smile. "Who is Ember? I've never heard that name before." He asked curiously. I nodded quietly. "Just like you have Axel inside you...I recently found out that I have an inner demon called Ember and I think she's the reason I didn't have a miscarriage." Lain wrapped his arms around me.