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Evelyn Ashford seemed to have it all: a loving family, a promising future and a love that lasted forever. But in one night, it was all torn apart. Framed for treason by the man she loved and the stepmother she trusted, Evie is plunged into darkness, her name unsullied and her soul in tatters. Left to rot in a berserk branch of a Neapolitan prison cell, she curses the world that turned its back on her, swearing vengeance as her life drains from her. But death is not the end. Revived in a forbidden ceremony, Evie wakes with dark powers beyond her control and a heart hardened by betrayal. Along the way, the mysterious sorceress Liora guides her as she embarks on a dangerous path to reclaim her life and kill those who had wronged her. But the more Evie learns, the more she realizes that the line separating justice from vengeance is razor thin and the price of the power she has gained may be her very soul. Friends become foes and foes become friends as Evie navigates the assassin underbelly of a magical world she was never meant to be a part of. But as she gets closer to her revenge, she also risks losing herself in the darkness. In a world where love and betrayal are two sides of a single coin, what will Evie be a savior or a monster? Ashes of Betrayal is a dark fantasy story about love, loss, and a burning desire for revenge. If you enjoyed The Shadows Between Us, The Cruel Prince, Red Queen, then you can't miss this latest from Carla de Guzman, which will leave you breathless to the last page.
Chapter 1 The Last Night
The air was heavy with the smell of roses and wine in the grand hall, but all Evelyn Ashford could do was choke. The chandeliers overhead shone like stars, bathing the crowd of nobles who had come to celebrate her engagement in a warming light. At the middle of it, in her ivory gown that sparkled under the lights, she was at the center of it all; but her grin felt like a mask she'd grown out of, couldn't bare to put on anymore.
Beside her stood her betrothed, Kael Ardent, his hand lingering lightly at the small of her back. He was everything the bards sang of heroes - tall and broad-shouldered with storm-cloud-colored eyes and a smile that could melt the frost off a mountain. But tonight, his touch felt far away, his laughter empty. Evie told herself it was only her nerves, that she was imagining the way his gaze flickered toward the shadows, where her stepmother, Lady Seraphine, was watching them like a hawk.
"You're quiet tonight," Kael said, his voice low and warm, but there was an edge in it that made her shiver.
"Just overwhelmed," Evie said, mustering another grin. "It's not every day that a girl has to become the future queen."
Kael's lips curled, though he didn't look at her. "You'll be a lovely queen," he said, though it sounded practiced, as if he'd said it a hundred times before.
Evie's chest tightened. She wanted to believe him, to believe in the future they had dreamed of together; but something was wrong. The whispers in the court, the way her stepmother's lips would curl wryly at the corners whenever she thought no one was paying attention - it all penetrated her like a splinter she couldn't dig out.
"Evie," Kael said, suddenly breaking into her thoughts. "I have something I need to tell you."
Her heart skipped a beat. "What is it?"
Before he could respond, the great doors of the hall flew open, and a dozen guards strode in, shining like a dozen stars in the light. The music stopped and silence reigned as the captain of the guard stepped up, his face somber.
"Evelyn Ashford," he called, his voice ringing in the hall, "you are under arrest for treason against the crown."
The words struck her like a blow and for a second she thought she had misheard. But then the guards were closing around her, hands calloused as they snatched her arms. The nobles gasped and began whispering amongst themselves as the room erupted into chaos, but Evie just barely noticed, instead struggling to comprehend what had just happened.
"Kael!" she wept, looking at him, but he didn't shift. His skeletal face was a mask of ice, and his stormy gaze was cold without a hint of the warmth that she had grown accustomed to. "Kael, what is this? Tell them they're mistaken!"
"I'm sorry, Evie," he said, toneless. "But the evidence is inescapable."
"Evidence?" she said again, her voice shaking. "What evidence?"
Lady Seraphine moved forward then, her red gown flowing behind her like blood on the ground. She carried a sealed letter, stamped with the crest of the kingdom. "This," she said, her tone thick with feigned sympathy. "A letter describing your plan to depose the king and put your lover on the throne."
Evie's blood ran cold. "That's a lie! I would never"
"Enough," Kael said, cutting him off, his tone curt. "You've done this to yourself, Evie."
The guards pulled her away, her pleas for mercy ignoring. She caught sight of her step siblings in the crowd, Cassian smirking, Isolde refusing to look at Feb, and Lucien staring at her with wide, terrified eyes. But no one spoke up for her. No one came to her defense.
As they dragged her through the palace hallways, her treachery weighed down on her like a cloak. Kael's cold eyes, Seraphine's triumphant smile, the silence of the court all replayed in her mind, a nightmare from which she couldn't wake.
They dumped her into a dark, damp cell, the iron door clang shut behind her with a finality that brought her knees to the floor. Her dress was rent and marred and her heart was breaking into a thousand pieces. As the darkness closed in around her, the last thing she saw was the moon glimmering faintly through the empty window grating, a cruel reminder of the life she had lost.
And then, as the cold chilled her bones and the tears dried on her cheeks, one thought planted itself in her fertile mind, growing stronger with every passing minute:
When I get out of here, I will make them pay.
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Chapter 1 The Last Night
13/02/2025
Chapter 2 The Dark Ritual
13/02/2025
Chapter 3 The First Flame
13/02/2025
Chapter 4 Shadows Of The Past
13/02/2025
Chapter 5 The Path To Redemption
14/02/2025
Chapter 6 The Shadow's Edge
14/02/2025
Chapter 7 Heart Of Blackthorn
14/02/2025
Chapter 8 The Raven's Warning
15/02/2025
Chapter 9 The Gloom Of Encounter
15/02/2025
Chapter 10 The Shattered Agreement
15/02/2025
Chapter 11 The Lost Order
15/02/2025
Chapter 12 The Shield Of Night
15/02/2025
Chapter 13 Burden Of Sacrifice
22/02/2025
Chapter 14 An Inquiry
22/02/2025
Chapter 15 The Whispering Shadows
22/02/2025
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