How Does 'Stars And Smoke' End?

She gave him seven years of love, sacrifice, and a body broken by hope, yet never a child. Ava, Luna of the Nightfall Pack, spent her marriage desperately trying to conceive for Alpha Lucas Dan, enduring treatments, rituals, and silent humiliation as her body failed him over and over again. But what shattered her more than infertility was the truth she was never meant to hear, Lucas had never wanted a child with her at all. When a devastating fire takes everything, Ava dies… only to open her eyes back in the past. Seven years earlier. On the very night everything began to fall apart. This time, she watches Lucas choose another woman without hesitation, saving his long-lost love while leaving Ava behind in the flames. And in that moment, she understands that he has also been reborn, and this time he chose differently. So she lets go. But fate is not done with her yet. When a cold, mysterious firefighter pulls her from the fire, something inside her awakens, something stronger than heartbreak, stronger than betrayal. Because in this life, Ava will no longer be the woman who begs to be chosen. She will be the one who chooses herself. And maybe… the one who finally discovers what true fate feels like.

After their biological son returned, my parents sent me away to Exile Island. Once one set foot on that island, one would become prey for the wealthy. Yet, they ignored my pleas, allowing those rich men who arrived on the island to take turns tormenting me. In just a few days, photos of what I had suffered on the island were sent straight to my fiancée, the heiress of an elite family from the capital. She didn’t speak up for me. Instead, she turned around and publicly announced her engagement to the true heir. During an interview, someone asked her about me. Her whole body trembled with anger as she snapped, “Him? I never expected he’d turn out like that, running wild overseas, sleeping around like some kind of degenerate. It’s disgusting.” My parents put on a show of heartbreak. “We sent him abroad to study out of kindness. Who knew he’d behave so disgracefully? From now on, the Yule family has no such son.” After I was tortured to death on that island by those so-called rich people, my fiancée and the true heir held a wedding worth tens of millions. It was broadcast live across the internet, drawing unprecedented attention. However, even more spectacular than their wedding was the wedding gift I had sent them.

Maeve Thalorien spent five years in a cell for a crime she doesn't remember committing. They called her parents traitors. Said they betrayed the kingdom. And then they erased them. On the day she turns twenty, Maeve is released-not as a free woman, but as a weapon. Sent straight into Aetherion Academy, where bonded beasts choose their riders and the kingdom's deadliest heirs are forged. Some bond with phoenixes. Some with wolves. Some with creatures powerful enough to burn cities to ash. But the most dangerous bonds were the ones that vanished after the war. Maeve was taught they turned on humanity. That they were lost. Uncontrollable. Evil. She was taught a lot of things. And the sky has a habit of remembering what people try to forget. The moment Maeve steps into the academy, the lies begin to crack. Whispers follow her name. The Viremont heir watches her like a problem he can't solve. And something ancient stirs beneath the world-something that should not exist anymore. Because when the bonding ceremony begins... the sky remembers her. And so does what it was never meant to give back. Some bonds are chosen. Some are forced. And some were never supposed to return at all.

Love. Duty. Valor. Secrets & Betrayals *** In the Kingdom of Vakythia, power cleaves the populace into two distinct classes: the Blessed, wielding gifts granted by the Ember, and the ordinary citizens, devoid of such divine favor. Arwyn Balchor, a rebellious girl and a blessed healer, finds her life intertwined with that of Thrystan Gaelen, the Fire Prince and future king of Vakythia— propelling her from the shantytown of Wyrm to the opulent palace. But blending in is a fragile thing, especially with a watchful enemy lurking in the shadows, poised to sabotage her every move. And as if that weren't enough, she unwittingly captures the attention of the Prince Thrystan Gaelan. Amidst swirling palace politics and brewing tensions, Arwyn begins to experience haunting visions linked to the plague ravaging a part of the Kingdom and a mysterious woman. As the kingdom prepares for the grand annual Sun Festival, an insidious threat looms closer, with the plague creeping ever nearer to the Capital.

The once-glorious empire is in ruins, its capital buried beneath ash, following a bloody uprising. A competent scavenger who has been hardened by grief, Zara endures in the broken world, plagued by memories of the empire's devastation, particularly the ruthless purge that claimed her family's lives. She discovers a secret amid the rubble: a wounded man named Kael who says he is the final heir to the crumbling empire. Zara reluctantly consents to assist him, viewing his survival as a way to make amends. But Kael isn't interested in bringing back the empire he was born into. Rather, he is dangerously knowledgeable about a weapon that could upset the delicate balance of power in the world. An unforeseen attachment forms between Zara and Kael, complicating their objective as they create an uneasy alliance to traverse the lethal world of bounty hunters, imperial loyalists, and rebels. Zara is compelled to face her own troubled past—including the potential that her long-lost brother is still alive and fighting for one of the factions—as they delve deeper into the empire's hidden secrets. After the rebels kidnap Kael and torture him to find the weapon, Zara must decide whether to risk everything to save him or let him perish. Zara and Kael are pushed to the limit by their increasing love and the burden of their common past as they work against the clock to destroy the weapon and keep it out of the wrong hands. Will the fires of their decisions consume them or will they find salvation in a world of ashes?

“Flame burns brighter than love, but when the spotlight fades, only the scars remain… and sometimes, the heart chooses the very flame that destroys it.” . . . . . Evanya Martel never imagined her life would entwine with Ryan Williams - the dazzling movie star, adored singer, and every girl’s dream. Yet fate, manipulation, and betrayal pulled her into his orbit, binding her to a marriage that was never meant to be. What should have been a fairytale quickly turned into a battlefield of chaos, misunderstandings, and heartbreak. Between Ryan’s intoxicating charm and destructive flaws, Evanya is forced to confront not only the cracks in their marriage but the shadows of her own fears. As friendships fracture, scandals erupt, and love is tested against fame’s cruel spotlight, Evanya must decide: will she remain the meek woman everyone underestimates, or rise into the strong, independent soul she was always meant to be? In a world where desire collides with betrayal, and hope flickers even in the darkest corners, her journey will leave you breathless. A story of resilience, passion, and the courage to reclaim one’s destiny, **Kiss of a Fallen Star** is a gripping tale that will captivate your heart. *Book 2 in the spin-off series of Kiss of His Betrayal.*