Author’s Note
Dear Reader,
What follows is a journey into shadow and flame, a world where desire and devotion intertwine with pain and longing. This chapter introduces you to a sacred chaos—where hearts are laid bare, boundaries tested, and love wears a crown forged from fire.
The story is intimate, intense, and not for the faint of heart. It explores consent, power, and the reverent surrender that can exist in the space between darkness and trust. Approach with an open mind and a willing heart, and let yourself be seen as the characters see each other: raw, unhidden, and wholly human.
Step carefully. Step willingly. Step into the Chapel.
Of Ashes & Reverence
Chapter One
The Chapel
[Gabriel]
The moon was a bruised pearl in the sky, casting its pale rot across the dead hills. The air tasted of rust and ruin, and still—I followed the pull.
It wasn’t a voice that called me. Not really. It was a sensation: a whisper threading through marrow, an ache that bloomed behind my ribs. I walked the crumbling path without hesitation, past the graves half-swallowed by moss, until I saw her.
She stood in the center of the ruined chapel, barefoot on the cold stone floor, surrounded by flickering candles like stars caught mid-fall. Her head tilted back in laughter, the sound low and strange and sacred. Candlelight licked across her skin, dancing over the sharp lines of cheekbones and collarbone, casting shadows like claws.
“You came,” she said. Her voice was not a question—it was a certainty.
I stopped just past the threshold. “I always do,” I said, and in that moment, I didn’t know if I meant it literally or metaphorically. With her, lines blurred.
She moved like wind wrapped in lace—slow, deliberate, a force that didn’t ask permission. She circled me, one finger trailing along my arm, the fabric of my sleeve doing nothing to dull the heat. Down my ribs, up to the base of my neck. A touch that was not gentle, but purposeful. Claiming.
I shivered.
“You’re trembling,” she said, and there was delight in her tone. “Good.”
She stopped in front of me, staring up into my eyes. Hers were obsidian rimmed with starlight—impossible and undeniable. “You want to suffer beautifully, don’t you?”
“Yes,” I whispered.
She didn’t ask for permission after that. She didn’t need to. It was already written in every breath I took in her presence. I was already hers. Willing. Waiting.
Her palm pressed flat against my chest, and with a single push, I sank to my knees—not from force, but from instinct. Gravity bent around her.
She smiled. “There. That’s better.”
Her fingers wove into my hair—not cruelly, but with ownership. Possession. As if my body was the altar, and she the priestess anointing it.
She lowered herself onto my thigh, one knee on either side, the weight of her like a crown I had longed to wear. The leather and lace of her garments rasped against me as she moved, grinding slowly, deliberately, as if painting a sigil of control across my skin.
“You crave the chaos I bring,” she murmured, her lips brushing my ear. “You want to be ruined by me.”
My moan was answer enough.
She laughed again—a low, wicked sound that slipped beneath my skin and stayed there. Her mouth crashed against mine, and it was not a kiss, but an ignition. Her lips were fire. Her teeth were command. She kissed like she meant to leave marks.
When she pressed her fingers to my lips, I opened without hesitation. She fed me her desire like it was sacred wine, and I drank with reverence.
“You are mine when I want you,” she said, her breath a storm. “And I always want you when I’m wicked.”
And I—wept. Not from pain. Not even from pleasure. But from the way it felt to be seen like this: raw, unhidden, and holy.
That night, I became part of her ritual.
Marked by her fire.
Owned by her will.
A moth, finally consumed
by the flame that called me home.
Closing Note
The first chapter has opened the doors to a world of shadow, fire, and sacred surrender. Lilith and Gabriel’s connection is one of reverent intensity—where power, trust, and desire collide in ways that are both beautiful and dangerous.
As you linger in the chapel’s candlelit darkness, remember: what unfolds is not for the faint of heart, but for those willing to witness love in its rawest, most unguarded form. Let the fire linger, and step carefully into what comes next.
—Rowan Evans
Of Ashes & Reverence
Chapter Two | The First Spark
The first sparks of desire ignite between Lilith and Gabriel. A chapter of observation, fascination, and sacred chaos where glances and gestures become incendiary. Step into a world of shadows, fire, and devotion.
Chapter Three | Scorchmarks
Chapter Three of Of Ashes & Reverence leads you into the silence after fire—the place where worship and ruin are inseparable. Lilith and Gabriel step deeper into their sacred chaos, where strength is redefined, and surrender leaves scars that feel like prayer.
Journey into the Hexverse
Coven of Chaos — B.D. Nightshade & Hex Nightshade
Fire and ink collide. Warriors of ruin and witches of reverence rise in a covenant forged in chaos.
Hymn & Heresy — HxNightshade
Feral devotion. Sacred ache. Worship and blasphemy entwined in desire’s dark embrace.
XIII Psalms for the Goddess in My Mouth — HxNightshade
Thirteen psalms of flesh and shadow. Kneel, surrender, and awaken the goddess within your mouth.
Sanguine Serenade — HxNightshade
Craving tastes like blood. Passion flirts with danger. Step into forbidden night, and let the fire consume you.
Feral Cathedral — Hex Nightshade
Chaos and desire entwined. Wolves of want, teeth and pulse as scripture. Worship, collide, and become a cathedral of fire and breath.
… from across the Hexverse…
Litany & Tongue — Rowan Evans
Devotion in breath and tongue, confession in fire. Verse as worship, ache as scripture.
Unapologetically Biased — Rowan Evans
Loyalty to chaos, desire for flaws. Worship the storm that leaves you undone.
The Church of You — B.D. Nightshade
Flesh as scripture. Desire as religion. Kneel in fire, rise in devotion.
Claim Me — B.D. Nightshade
Power, touch, command. Skin as altar, resistance undone, desire the only law.
✦ Poetic Commissions by Rowan Evans ✦
Every word I write is a devotion, a fragment of shadow and light carefully shaped into verse. On my Ko-fi, I offer custom poems, personalized rituals in language, and lyrical messages crafted just for you—or someone you wish to honor, surprise, or remember.
Whether you seek:
A poem for a loved one, friend, or muse
A ritualized or thematic verse for special occasions
A written reflection to say everything you struggle to
…each commission is approached with care, reverence, and the intensity of my signature Neo-Gothic Confessional Romanticism.
✨ Special Offer: Use code NGCR25 at checkout to receive 25% off any commission until the end of the month. Let these words become your keepsake, your offering, your moment of devotion.
Poetry by Rowan Evans 