Blood & Burned Roses

Remember Pheonix? Nox and Calder’s younger brother? Well, he’s not just a side character-he has his own story, too. That over-exaggerated humor had to come from somewhere. It had to hide something. . .Coral’s a survivor of a brutal past: trafficked, discarded, and left for dead in a world that never saw her as human. Her body bears the scars of violence, and her mind is a battlefield of flashbacks and fear. The voices flood her mind, desperate to complete their task of ending her-but what if the voices can be stopped?Pheonix Mourningstar is the definition of 'the funny younger brother.' What more could he do? He’s not an Archdemon like his brothers, or someone who controls shadows or vines. . . But he can control something.Coral Moran.No record of her past, no medical documents-it’s almost as if she had never even existed in the first place. Like a ghost.So, what’s stopping him from finding her in the back of a college-ready to end it all? Humans aren’t something the paranormal are supposed to be interested in. All they’re supposed to do is walk amongst them in plain sight and stay hidden.Too bad.Pheonix always liked to disobey the rules, and when he does, all Hell breaks loose. Did the voices really think they could take over her mind when he was there? Wrong. He’s always close, always near, never letting her out of his sight, because if she’s gone, then he might never see her again.Stalk her. Make sure she doesn’t commit. And live.The FuelI am drowning. Not in water, but in the weight of everything that has ever touched me. Bruises fade, scars heal, but the silence...that stays. I thought if I faded enough, if I whispered instead of screamed, maybe the world would let me disappear. But he won’t. Phoenix crashes into my life like fire through dead wood, reckless and unrelenting. He doesn’t understand quiet, doesn’t know how to let go. And worse...he worships me. He’s golden and wild, a creature made for chaos, and he doesn’t care that I’m broken. He just wants me anyway.The FireShe is drowning. But not on my watch. I have burned cities, ruined lives, left destruction in my wake without second thoughts-but her? Coral isn’t something I destroy. She’s something I protect. Something I own. She can run. She can hide. She can whisper all she wants. But no matter how far she goes, I’ll be there, roaring down empty highways, laughing in the face of Hell. She thinks she’s fading, but I’ll make damn sure she never disappears. I would burn the world for her. And if she lets me stay, I’ll turn the ashes into something beautiful.