Step Into the Vale: A Cinematic Glimpse of Thorns of Ash
Behind me, someone laughs.
Deep. Low. Rough around the edges and hungry.
The kind of laugh that says, try to run. I like a chase.
I risk one glance over my shoulder.
Scarred jaw. Wild golden eyes. A grin sharp enough to ruin a woman’s better judgment.
Darian Ashclaw.
Every story I have ever heard about him comes roaring back at once.
Exile. Enforcer. Killer. Trouble with teeth.
The kind that leaves bodies cooling in alleys and walks away like the night owes him thanks.
I duck into a narrow side alley where the magic hums meaner. A cluster of thieves, kids barely grown, eyes wolf-bright, eye me like fresh meat.
I bare my teeth, flash a blade, and snarl, “Not tonight.”
They scatter.
Smart.
Some scenes demand more than words.
Thorns of Ash begins in a world where forbidden magic has teeth, the Vale is already watching, and danger does not wait politely at the door.
This cinematic glimpse brings the opening darkness of the story to life, with a flash of the moment Azara’s path begins to twist toward Darian Ashclaw, the one man dangerous enough to catch her and reckless enough to enjoy the chase.
A glimpse into Thorns of Ash, Book One in The Vale Series. Forbidden magic wakes. Old shadows stir. And somewhere in the dark, Darian Ashclaw has begun to hunt.