Ashes and Embers

In the decaying sprawl of Ash City, where magic leaks through crumbling walls and forgotten ley lines pulse beneath graffiti-covered streets, Emery Vale wields her spray cans like weapons against entropy. What the city doesn't know is that her vibrant murals are more than art—they're desperate spells keeping the neighborhood's heart beating.

When her latest creation accidentally shatters an ancient stone prison, Emery unleashes Caelum—a phoenix reborn in breathtakingly human form, with eyes that burn like twin suns and skin that radiates intoxicating heat. His volatile magic responds to her touch like flame to oxygen, igniting desires neither can contain.

Each clandestine encounter leaves scorched walls and smoldering sheets in their wake. Against the backdrop of a city slowly surrendering to magical decay, they explore each other's bodies with an urgency that defies the Ember Law—the ancient curse forbidding their union. With every passionate clash, Caelum's unstable power grows more difficult to control, leaving evidence of their forbidden affair blazing across the cityscape.

As the shadowy Hollow Court closes in, hunting Caelum to harvest his essence, Emery must choose between the city she's fought to preserve and the fiery being who has branded himself upon her soul. Their connection could either restore the failing ley lines or reduce everything to cinders.

In a world where magic burns brightest in the darkest places, Emery and Caelum must discover if what rises from the ashes of their union will be destruction—or rebirth.