The ashen crown
In a kingdom fractured by ancient war and poisoned magic, Elira is known only as the cursed girl. Branded with a mark of ruin from childhood and burdened by a mysterious affliction that scorches the land around her, she is feared, hunted, and shunned. Her presence is said to awaken dead soil and call forth spirits best left forgotten. But when a dying seer whispers of a flame that can either consume or cleanse, Elira sets out on a desperate quest not to save the world, but to rid herself of the power eating her alive.
Her journey leads her into the heart of the forgotten wilds, where she meets Kael, a former knight exiled for treason and hiding scars both visible and buried. Though wary of each other, the two form a reluctant alliance. Kael seeks redemption. Elira seeks freedom. But the path they walk is steeped in secrets that will unravel everything they thought they knew about magic, history, and the very nature of curses.
As they face corrupted beasts, forgotten gods, and the last remnants of a shattered empire, Elira begins to suspect that her curse is not a punishment, but a legacy. She carries a fragment of the Eternal Flame,an ancient force that once held the world in balance. Now it stirs again, awakened by her blood, and it offers a choice. Burn the world clean, or rekindle its dying heart.
But the flame is not without cost. Each time Elira uses it to heal, it consumes part of her soul. As her power grows, so does the question: how much of herself is she willing to lose to restore what was broken? And will the man walking beside her choose to stop her when the flame threatens to destroy her from within?
In a climax that spans the ruins of empires and the birth of something new, Elira must make a final decision. To wear the Ashen Crown and become the vessel of the flame or pass it on, and let the world heal itself.
The Ashen Crown is a full-length, emotionally intense fantasy romance about power, redemption, and the kind of love that does not save you but walks beside you as you save yourself.