Page 1 of A Clash of Embers

Prologue

Colette

Centuries Ago

Screeching sounds were deafening as I slowly blinked the ash from my irritated eyes. When my vision finally cleared, I took in one of the most horrifying scenes of my life.

The licks of the fires lashed out at me, blurring the orange and red flames that consumed everything in its path. Anything that existed was being destroyed—the trees, the animals, the humans, and themonsters.Every little thing was being swallowed whole by an inescapable blaze scorching through the battlefield.

I blinked a few more times to regain my focus and composure so that I could process what had happened. We had beenfighting this war for over a century, and it would finally end. It would end whether I lived or not. But itneededto end.

There was no other way to defeat Ishtar. She would take us down with her, just as she had before. She would again trap us here, but this time, we had a plan that she couldn’t touch. Her malicious hands wouldn’t come near it. She would try, and she would fail. We would destroy her from within.

"Colette! Colette! Where are you?"

His voice.

The sweet man who figured me out from the start and still chose to love me. Despite the fact that he wasn't my mate or my equal.

"Colette!"

I didn't want him to be taken down with me. His soul was too precious, too loving. He needed to be safe. He needed to get away.

"Garrick! I'm over here," I yelled at him.

His head snapped around at the sound of my voice, and I watched as his torn features looked over me while he raced to my side.

I knew I had been injured. My leg was nearly torn off of my hip, but I was holding it together, trying to let my body heal on its own.

I felt the touch of his hand on the top of my thigh and the taste of worry in my mouth. It was a rancid taste and a smell full of sourness. It was similar to jealousy but with a hint of roses. The smell of pure love.

"Colette, oh my gods. Your leg is severed...almost off your body!" He screamed at me.

"I'll be okay. I just need some time to heal, and I will be fine," I assured him.

Garrick's eyes were the color of the sea. Bright blue with hints of green speckled throughout. I hoped our bloodline would beblessed with his eye color one day so that others could fall in love with the depth in which they held the truth.

"Clairece was able to get closer to Ishtar, but she is struggling. William told her it would be best to retreat before the curse takes over. We need to be in position for what is to come," he spoke quickly and frantically, searching my eyes for anything. Any emotion or inkling that I wouldn't make it out of this.

"It's going to be okay.Iam going to be okay." I reached up to cup his cheek, and his soft, gray stubble tickled my palm.

He leaned in, placing our foreheads together as I continued my instruction. "Clairece and William know what they must do during the curse. It is inevitable. We can't escape it. Peter Cronos is nowhere to be found. He either escaped or Ishtar sent him to Tetharus. Either way,ourway to get closer to her is now gone. You and I must fulfill the last part of the plan.”

I took a breath.

“You must ensure that Eros is nowhere near this curse when it is cast. Once you do that, grab Leonardo, Phillip, Griffin, and Lucas. Get them. Get themout. If you don't get them out, they will be sucked into this curse alongside everyone else in this gods’ forsaken world."

He nodded with his reply and leaned in to kiss me. One last, searing kiss goodbye.

"When our stars align," he spoke sweetly and stood to walk away from me for the last time. It would be the last time that I'd see Garrick Morgan.

I watched him run into the blaze as I saw the shadows of monsters and men fighting against one another. What we had done here in this world was unforgivable, and we would need to fix it. We couldn't allow one of our own to destroy something so beautiful.

Once she casts the new curse, the time ends for us, but the time for our prophecy will begin.

Chapter 1

Clara

---