Rain of Ash and Regret
By @john1208
Tashvi just wanted to nap. A lazy prodigy of the Xaatari kinetic arts, she preferred sleeping to dueling her fierce rival, Rhasan. But her apathy shatters during a brutal frontline skirmish when she trips over Rhasan’s bloodied, memory-wiped body. Stripped of his powers, the vulnerable amnesiac clings to her. Despite their bitter history, Tashvi becomes his fierce protector, fighting through hordes of beasts and assassins, slowly falling for the broken man in her arms. Then, the trap springs. Once she brings him to the safety of the Spire's apex, Rhasan strikes. His amnesia was a multi-year scheme to avenge his sister’s suicide. He shatters Tashvi’s kinetic defenses and coldly kicks her out into the freezing, toxic monsoons of the lower city. But as the heavy vault doors close, Rhasan uncovers a horrifying truth hidden by their wise mentor, Sage-Lord Vamud: Tashvi was completely innocent, and Vamud orchestrated the suicide to weaponize Rhasan. Now, his victory is a hollow, agonizing hell. Tashvi has vanished into the lethal slums without her powers. Can Rhasan carve a bloody path through the empire he just conquered to save the woman he broke, or will the freezing rain claim her first?
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