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by Darien B. Cruté (Author)
What if your soul burned brighter than any spell ever cast?
What if the world wanted to snuff it out?
Born of Ash is the explosive first installment of Echoes of the Wickborne Flame, a genre-bending fantasy series where magic is tied to the soul, and every candlelit spark reveals more than just light-it reveals destiny.
Caelan Thorne is nineteen, unbound by the Arcane Concord, and hunted for the power he never asked for. Raised in a secret monastery after his family's enclave was destroyed, Caelan has spent his life learning to wield the Flame within-a mystical force that fuels all magic in his world. When a deadly attack shatters the fragile peace he's known, Caelan finds himself marked, mourning, and miraculously... changed.
What begins as a mission for survival ignites a deeper mystery: one of soulbonds, shattered treaties, and a candle that refuses to burn alone.
In a hidden tavern called Wick's End, where every soul is marked by its own flickering flame, Caelan's destiny takes a violent turn. His soulcandle burns with not one, but two entwined flames, defying centuries of magical tradition. This rare bond with his familiar, Ashveil, is powerful-and dangerous. Not everyone wants it to survive.
From underground sanctuaries to rooftop battles in New York City, from forbidden spells to whispered conspiracies among the Circle of Thirteen, Born of Ash weaves heart-pounding action, spell-rich worldbuilding, and emotional depth into a story of freedom, grief, and the fire that lives within us all.
Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, V.E. Schwab, and the magical tension of The Witcher, this is a story about what burns beneath the surface-and what it costs to let it rise.
