The sun hung low over the crumbled spires of Aetheris, casting long shadows through the skeletal remains of a city that had once pulsed with magic. Kael stood at the edge of the marketplace, his fingers brushing against the cracked…
Lila’s boots crunched over gravel as she stepped off the bus, the weight of her duffel bag digging into her shoulder. The town of Blackthorn sat in a bowl of pines, its rooftops hunched like old men staring at the…
The air reeked of ash and iron as Kael plunged his dagger into the creature’s throat. Blood sprayed across his gauntlets, hot and sticky, mingling with the sweat clinging to his skin. The beast convulsed, its skeletal frame shuddering against…
The salt air clung to Mara’s skin as she stepped off the rusted ferry, her boots crunching over gravel. The lighthouse loomed ahead, its white paint peeling like old skin. She hadn’t set foot in Marrow’s End since her mother’s…
The wind howled through the skeletal trees as Detective Mara Voss stepped off the bus, her boots crunching over frostbitten leaves. The town of Blackmoor clung to the edge of a jagged cliff, its buildings hunched like wary animals. She…
The first time Lila saw the shadow, it was clinging to the wall of her bedroom, writhing like oil in water. She’d been ten, her mother’s voice echoing from the kitchen—*Don’t stare at the wall, Lila. It’s just the light.*…
Jordan found the journal beneath the floorboard of their father’s study, its leather cover cracked like dried mud. The air smelled of mildew and old paper, the kind that clung to your fingers. They didn’t remember the study having a…
## Crimson Threads The air tasted of salt and dust, a perpetual film on Anya’s tongue. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she wrestled the loom, its wooden frame groaning under the strain of vibrant silk threads. Around her, the…