Ashes & Embers

In the Kingdom of Valenhall where the Orthodox Church's iron grip crushes all who dare practice magic, Ember Thorne's carefully hidden life shatters in a single night. When cathedral bells toll the discovery of a witch who's killed 2 witch hunters in self-defense, the young healer must flee the only home she's ever known.

Racing north toward the Starfall Reache, where magic itself grows cold. Ember follows the Shadow Trail; a secret network helping witches escape persecution. But the Church has dispatched its most ruthless hunter to track her: Able Caine, whose cold efficiency has sent dozens of women to the flames.

Her only ally is Marcus Blackwood, a mysterious empath with shadows in his past and pain in his eyes. As they journey through hostile territory, fighting bounty hunters and assassins, an unexpected bond forms between them. But Marcus harbors a devastating secret that could destroy everything growing between them.

As Ember's magic transforms in the northern lands, evolving from simple healing into something far more dangerous, she must confront terrible truths about her heritage. Her grandmother's journal reveals she possesses the rarest and most feared gift: soul magic, capable of miracles and atrocities. The power to burn away a person's very essence beckons, tempting her with easy vengeance against those who would see her dead.

With Caine closing in and her magic growing beyond her control, Ember faces an impossible choice. Can she forgive the man she loves for his blood-soaked past? Can she master her terrifying abilities without becoming the monster the Church claims all witches are? And when hunters finally corner them, will she choose mercy or unleash the forbidden fire that could consume her soul?