Fantasy
The Gravedancer’s Waltz Part - 1
The forest grew too still. Even the wind held its breath as the trio stepped beyond the last line of trees and beheld the forgotten ruin of Valemire Estate. Moonlight glazed the crumbling spires, and the ivy-strangled balconies jutted like bones from a rotted corpse. The manor stood silent on a hill of frost-hardened grass, its many windows aglow with flickering gold light that could not, should not, exist.
By Richard Bailey10 months ago in Chapters
The Secret Drawer
Growing up, there was one rule in our house I never dared to break: Don’t touch the drawer in Dad’s study. It was an ordinary drawer in an old wooden desk — scratched, dusty, the handle barely hanging on. But to me, it might as well have been a vault. Dad’s tone made it clear — that drawer was off-limits.
By Straylight10 months ago in Chapters
The Ember and the Crown - Part 5
The false Queen's body hadn’t yet cooled when the first birdsong of dawn touched the cracked windows of the throne hall. The scent of sorcery, ozone, blood, scorched vellum, still clung to the air like a storm that refused to pass. Light broke through fractured glass high above, casting shards of gold and red across the ruined marble floor, where Elira knelt with her fingers brushing the ashes of the broken glamour sigil.
By Richard Bailey10 months ago in Chapters
The Ember and the Crown - Part 4
Rain traced silver rivers down the glasswork spires of Drevril’s upper court, the storm cloaking the palace in a veil of soft thunder and distant lightning. Below, within the East Gildhall, laughter spilled through stained crystal like wine from an overfilled goblet—fragrant, rich, and sharp with something spoiled beneath.
By Richard Bailey10 months ago in Chapters
