An assassin breaks her conditioning and unlocks her magic to save her new family. A dark fantasy inspired by D&D, The Last Airbender, and Lord of the Rings. On a mission gone wrong, Nina Pyre is forced to take an innocent life. Her grief ignites a surge of uncontrollable magic and a quest for atonement. A fugitive from the Ember Syndicate, Nina finds solace with her enemy. The Horizon Guard's troubled new recruit fights to contain her past and earn acceptance. The Syndicate will stop at nothing to reclaim their weapon and unlock her devastating power. To protect her new family, Nina must break the Syndicate's hold and turn her wildfire into a flame that lights the way forward. What to expect: - Found family and complex villains - Sentient elements and magitech world - Super slow-burn romance - Dark with a slice of hope This story is exclusively hosted on Royal Road, Wattpad, and Inkitt. Any version seen on other platforms is pirated without my consent. ---- New chapters will release Monday & Thursday. ---- Book 2 is already being posted on Patreon! Check out the link in my bio or search for Sylena Valen.

"𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙛𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙫𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙨, 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙖𝙧, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙙𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝘿𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨." Valerie Tenebris is not human. She never was, and never will be. She is a monster, a nightmare, a killer, who dreams of an ancient battlefield and a different, brutal world where stars fall and dark blood stains the earth. Kye Merran is an Ember, one who wields fire magic. When a childhood friend shows up at his house with a strange girl who is bleeding black blood, he knows that he's getting into something he definitely shouldn't. Especially when the Dark King of Rurik, who may have much more to him than it seems, is looking to conquer another kingdom or two, preferably with a powerful, dark queen at his side. But Kye can't seem to stay away from the mysterious girl with the blood of Darkness. And Val can't stay away from Kye either, no matter how much she claims that she hates him. As Val, Kye, and their friends race to stop the Dark King and his approaching army, what they don't realize is that they are playing a part in an ancient, deadly game, a game between the light and the dark, one years in the making. But it is a game which neither of them can win, for their fates have already been determined by the desperate Gods, written in blood among the stars. Cover picture credit: Laura Sheridan **VIOLENCE, MENTION OF CHILD ABANDONMENT, ALCOHOLISM, RAPE, ASSAULT, DEATH, TORTURE, AND ABUSE** 364K words •HIGHEST RANKING• #1-Wind-1/26/21 #1-lightanddark-3/24/21 #1-magicalpowers-5/4/21 #1-War-5/13/21 #1-stars-8/9/21 #3-Night-4/10/21 #5-swords-4/18/21 #11-Darkness-4/10/21 **There will be a sequel; it will be a duology!