Novels by MaryRose

The dust from the fallen guardian hadn’t even settled when a mocking voice echoed across the ruins.“Well, that was impressive,” it drawled. “And here I thought the guardians would crush you into paste.”Steel hissed as Lyra drew her blade instantly, pivoting toward the broken colonnade. Figures emerged from the shadows,dozens of them, clad in dark robes stitched with crimson runes. Their faces were hidden, but their eyes glowed faintly with a sickly light.“The cult,” Arden whispered, staff rising. His voice trembled with both dread and fury.The leader stepped forward, tall and lean, twin curved daggers glinting in his hands. His mask was bone-white, a serpent carved into the cheek.Mordaine’s fire surged reflexively at the sight. “You again,” he growled.The man tilted his head. “Ah… the Emberborn speaks. To stand where even guardians bow to you truly fitting. The ember sings louder now, doesn’t it?”Selene’s voice was sharp. “You won’t have him.”The cult leader laughed, twirling

The dawn came late in the ravine. By the time the first pale light crawled over the rocks, no one had slept.“We move,” Arden said grimly, rolling up his scrolls with a sharp snap. His face was drawn, his eyes shadowed. “The longer we linger, the more he will press.”Kaelen yawned exaggeratedly, twirling a dagger. “Lovely. I do so enjoy morning walks after a night of death whispers.”Lyra ignored him, offering Mordaine her waterskin. “Drink. You need your strength.”Mordaine hesitated, then took it. His hands were steady now, but the ember burned beneath his skin, restless. Guardian or executioner. The words hadn’t left his head all night.By midday, the ravine widened into a forest of towering oaks, their roots cracking stone pathways that hadn’t been walked in centuries. Broken columns jutted through the moss like bones.Selene slowed, her fingers brushing faintly glowing runes carved into a fallen arch. “This is no ordinary ruin. Thal Caranor… once a city of binding magic. They say

The fire they had built was nearly out, but no one moved to feed it. The smoke from Mordaine’s blaze still lingered in the ravine, acrid and sharp, curling like ghosts between the rocks.Kaelen leaned back against the wall, tossing a dagger from hand to hand. “Well, that was fun. Nightmares crawling out of the dirt, voices whispering doom, our precious ember-boy nearly cracking in two.” He smirked without humor. “I’d say it’s been a productive evening.”“Shut it,” Lyra snapped, glaring at him. “You saw what it did to him. Mocking won’t help.”Kaelen tilted his head lazily toward Mordaine. “Maybe not. But pretending he’s fine won’t either.”Mordaine sat apart from them, knees drawn up, flames still twitching at his fingertips like restless serpents. He didn’t meet their eyes. “They weren’t just voices. They knew things… about me, about what I am.”Arden rubbed his temple, his usually steady hands trembling. “That’s what worries me. Whispers like that don’t come from chance echoes. Some

The ravine was colder than the forest. Wind howled through the jagged rocks, carrying mist from a narrow river below. The group huddled against a stone ledge, their breath visible in the pale moonlight.For the first time since the chase began, there was silence save for their ragged breathing.Kaelen broke it with a laugh that was far too sharp. “Well. That was cozy. Anyone else want to compliment the boy for nearly getting us killed?”“Shut up,” Lyra snapped, her sword resting across her knees. Blood still streaked her arm, but her eyes burned fiercely. “If he hadn’t fought back, we’d be corpses.”“Correction,” Kaelen said, wiping sweat from his brow. “He would be a corpse. We would’ve had a fighting chance if we weren’t tethered to the world’s biggest torch.” He jerked his chin toward Mordaine. “That thing isn’t chasing us,it’s chasing him.”Mordaine sat apart from them, slumped against the rock, his hands still glowing faintly with heat. His chest rose and fell unevenly, but he fo

The night swallowed everything.Branches clawed at their arms and faces as the four of them tore through the forest, every breath ragged, every step thunderous in the silence between roars. The Harbinger was behind them,its shriek a sound so deep it rattled bones and curdled blood. The earth quaked with each step it took, shadows writhing at its heels.Kaelen’s voice cut through the chaos first, low and sharp. “Faster. Don’t look back.”“Don’t tell me what I already know!” Lyra snapped, her silver hair slick with sweat and blood. Her blade caught moonlight as she hacked through a tangle of underbrush. Despite the gash on her arm, she pressed forward, refusing to falter.Arden stumbled, clutching at his side, his breath shallow. Mordaine caught him by the sleeve and yanked him upright. “You’re not falling here,” Mordaine growled. His voice cracked with exhaustion, but determination burned in his eyes.Behind them, the Harbinger roared again. The sound wasn’t just noise,it was force. Th

The night pressed heavy on the clearing. The fire had died too suddenly, leaving the group in a hush broken only by their own breathing.Kaelen broke the silence first, his voice sharp. “What did you mean by that, Mordaine? Something’s hunting you? You say it like you know.”Mordaine clenched his fists. The mark on his wrist burned hotter now, each pulse beating with an echo not his own. “Because I do know. I felt it. Like a chain pulling across my chest.”Lyra crouched beside him, searching his face. In the dim light her silver hair caught faint moonlight, a pale halo. “Is it connected to your fire again? The same force that burned the cultist’s hand?”Before Mordaine could answer, Arden stirred from the edge of the camp. The healer’s usually calm eyes were narrowed, scanning the treeline. “The forest is wrong. Listen.”They all held still.No insects. No rustle of leaves. No distant cry of night birds.Nothing.It was as though the world itself had been muted.Kaelen spat into the d