The Emberbound Heart

Some fires never die. They just wait for someone to remember the spark. Calla Whitlock has fire in her blood-an ancestral gift passed down through silence, shame, and spells half-forgotten. After months in hiding, she's drawn back to the haunted hollows of East Tennessee, where her bloodline began and the land still remembers her name. But something older than magic has awakened beneath the roots. Whispers in the woods. A sigil carved in bone. A girl branded with a mark that shouldn't exist. And a presence stalking the shadows-Elias, a former ally twisted by power and secrecy, who claims she's the key to what's coming next. The Hollow is stirring, and it doesn't want a witch. It wants a voice. As her past and present collide, Calla must decide who she can trust: Julian, the man who taught her fire but buried the truth, or the force inside her that hums with ancient hunger. In a world where magic costs blood, and silence can be a cage, Calla must choose whether to become the weapon her ancestors forged-or break the cycle entirely. Southern Gothic meets dark folklore in this haunting sequel to Hexbound Heart, where fire is both inheritance and curse, and survival means burning brighter than the shadows.