Roots of Darkness

An Ashen Series Standalone

De: Demi Winters

Narrado por: Islay Jacobs

Join Hekla and the remnants of the Bloodaxe Crew as they battle the evil, poisonous mist threatening the citizens of Istré—and perhaps all of Íseldur—in a novella following the events of Kingdom of Claw.

Traveling the Road of Bones was only the start of Hekla's troubles.

The Bloodaxe Crew has arrived at the village of Istré—beleaguered and missing three of their members. They might be down in numbers, but Hekla "Rib Smasher" is determined that they'll complete their job all the same: defeat the monstrous, sentient mist and keep the citizens of Istré safe. What she didn't expect was for Istré's bullheaded chieftain to block her every move.

Exasperated, Hekla throws caution to the wind for a single passion-filled night. But to her horror, the mysterious red-cloaked warrior to whom she's spilled her deepest secrets is the Bloodaxe Crew's new temporary leader and ally—Eyvind Hakonsson.

Hekla must now learn to play by Eyvind's rules while guarding her heart. But when it becomes clear that his plans align with the chieftain's, Hekla takes matters into her own hands.

Nothing will stop her from keeping the innocent people of Istré safe—not even the man who haunts her thoughts.

Contains mature content. A complete list of content warnings can be found on the author's website.

©2025 Demi Winters (P)2026 Podium Audio

Love Heckler. Great short story.

I thought about skipping this, but glad I didn’t. It was a great short story, with a bit of smut sprinkled in.

Good side story.

This was a great side story of people in books 1&2. Read after 2 but before 3! Sooo worth it.

So good!

Love the narrator and Heckla, it was a fun story filled with action and a little steam!

Can’t get enough of this series

Oh Heckla you are by far one of my favorite side characters of all time. The narration was wonderful and engaging.

Loved this novella

I wish this had been made into a full length book for the series, but I get it, that cannot always be the case. The characters are great, the story is fast paced, and interesting… and I liked it. Could it have kept going, absolutely, but keeping us wanting more is a very good thing too.