The Cinders of Dezu

Dezu is a world where average people become legends. But it is haunted by a story that turns legends into ashes.

Cairo and Julian just graduated and they've got their whole life ahead of them. But before college and all that adulting they have to do, it's time for a vacation. Fortunately, Cairo's Uncle Devin is a rich movie star with his own private island where they can cast off the cares of the world for the summer.

However, things take a turn when Raina, Devin's daughter and the cousin Cairo cares for like a sister, finds a glowing red stone in the ocean. The three of them find themselves displaced from their carefree tropical vacation to a dark woodland, overrun with unnatural beasts.

After getting separated from Raina, the boys realize too late that they are on a hit list. The xenophobic King Orion of Dezu wants humans wiped out from his domain, and he'll stop at nothing to hunt them down. As the boys try to track down Cairo's cousin, they seek out the help of other people from Earth; fellow humans hiding out under the king's oppressive regime. In the meantime, a kidnapped Raina gets to know a different side of the kingdom's murderous ruler.

(Audiobook version for each chapter on YouTube. Links at the start of each chapter.)
Also available on SPOTIFY