When These Walls Come Tumbling Down Novels & Stories

Chapter 16 Alessia's POV The world didn't just shake; it roared. The white marble courtyard, once a symbol of sterile perfection, was splitting open like a dry bone. Dust and the acrid smell of sulfur billowed from the fissures as Catherine’s demolition charges began their rhythmic, terrifying countdown. "Sixty seconds," the intercom droned, Catherine’s voice sounding like a bored goddess presiding over an apocalypse. I looked at the chaos around me. To my left, Massimo was pinned under a fallen marble pillar, his legs trapped, his eyes wide with the realization that the empire he had built was literally crushing him.

Definitely damaged. That didn’t matter. We could worry about that later once Amber was safe and back home with me and our daughter where she belonged. Eden struck again. Concrete cracked further, splintering under the repeated assault. Dust burst outward in thick clouds, coating the air and our lungs. A third blow sent a jagged section collapsing inward with a deafening crash. The wall gave way. Not gracefully or cleanly. It shattered. Chunks of concrete fell at our feet, revealing darkness behind what had seemed solid moments ago. We climbed over the rubble, boots crunching over debris, and stepped into the hidden space beyond.

Bare feet slapping against the pavement, one step at a time. I don’t know where I’m going. I only know I can’t stay. Anger scorches through my veins. Emptiness settles in my soul like a long-term tenant who refuses to leave. Pain detonates in my chest. I always knew the walls might crack one day. I even braced for a ceiling collapse. I just never imagined the entire damn building would cave in at once — concrete, steel, and all — crushing me flat and stealing the air from my lungs.

I try to think of my dad, but I know if he can see me now he will be too heartbroken. Please, God. Please take me. Don't let me go through this. Take me away. Let me go now before this even begins. Please, God, send me to my fath— Something suddenly makes the entire building groan, leaving everyone stumbling in shock. An explosion ripples through the wall. The impact causes the space to vibrate so violently that the entire room seems to lurch. I feel the floor jump beneath me. Concrete dust bursts through the air. For one stunned second, everyone is thrown in disarray. A section of the wall has collapsed inward. The men recoil instinctively.

It was evident no one had lived in this concrete jungle for years, and the buildings showed every bit of the signs of neglect. My memories of my home as a child before the downfall of society were in stark contrast with what remained of my species’ lasting impression on this world, and I wrestled with my emotions as I allowed Gage to lead the way up a long driveway and into a sprawling mansion that was tucked back far away from the street. The house wasn’t nearly as grand with all the crumbling foundations and trashed rooms I spotted, but Gage didn’t pause as he continued bustling through the empty corridors like he owned the place.

His words kindled fire in their hearts, turning fear into steel. Each time the crack widens on the wall, the Tarwwod's soldiers and hunters grip their weapons more tightly. They can feel the walls slowly crumbling down. Anxiety is creeping into their souls, but they won't let it steer them. They thought of the words William gave them and held to that hope.

KEENA Tingles and electricity spread across my skin and I know that I am in the arms of my mate. My eyes flutter open and I see Ward staring down at me with a concerned look on his face. “None of these doors lead to the outside,” I hear someone yell from behind Ward. “Perhaps we need to go to another level.” “There isn’t any time,” Ward yells over his shoulder. “This place is going to fall down around us.” I lift my head up and see the walls around us cracking. The sunlight is beginning to peak through the cracks that are forming in the walls.

Okay, maybe not satisfying enough to be worth dying for. Suddenly, the walls and ceiling began to melt. Heights dripped like glimmering waterfalls. My Charms wailed and writhed in their chains, as droplets fell onto their shoulders, before trailing like tear tracks down their chests. “Son of a bitch…” I snarled.

“Earthquakes. Floods. Collapses. I went into the broken buildings.” He says it without emphasis, which is how Maya has learned to recognize the things that cost him most. “Everyone runs out of a building when it comes down. Somebody has to be built to run in.” Maya says nothing. “Fifteen years going in after people.” His mouth shifts. “Then the world ends, and the apocalypse mostly removes the people part.” He looks again at the mark. “Now I clear rooms with nobody left inside and label them for a team that isn’t coming.” A small shrug. “Some habits are load-bearing. Pull them out, and I’m not entirely sure what’s keeping the rest of the wall standing.”

The Citadel, mighty fortress that it once was, teetered on the brink of collapse. Its grand halls, once full of life, now rang with emptiness, a ghostly quiet shrouding the realm. The walls, which had seen battles countless and spoken the secrets of ages, now quaked with terror. The folk its citizens, its soldiers, and scholars were gone. Vanished into thin air. The roads, which were previously filled with the buzz of everyday existence, were now vacant, ghosted by the remnants of what had been lost.