One must lead. One must teach. One must transform. And all must decide: will they rise to the occasion, or let the world crumble?... Domi, a young thief abandoned at birth, just wants to save his dying foster mother. But first, he must commit the most dangerous heist of his life, snatch an artifact with miraculous healing powers from under the noses of the most powerful sorcerers in the land, and survive the awakening of his own magic. Daedalus, a young royal, just wants time to mourn his mother, who died two days ago. But first, he must ascend the Throne of Solitude she left behind, don the Onyx Crown she once wore, and become the next Princeps Worldholder, Keeper of Heaven and Earth. Valens, a seasoned sorcerer, just wants to return to the borderlands and battle rogue magic. But first, he must escape the twin burdens of taking a wife and an apprentice-duties that threaten to trap him in the city and tether him to a life he's spent decades avoiding. As the fates of these three strangers intertwine, the sorcery holding the world together begins to unravel. And beyond the planet's weakening magical protections, an ancient threat waits...

BOOK ONE Demitri Inou is an assassin of the new government, molded and manicured into the perfect pet. Obedient and submissive, he'll do anything the Con Rồng tells him to because he knows the consequences of disobeying them, but even through years of torture and instilled fear, he remains somewhat defiant towards his handlers. Though he's lost all humanity, virtue, and hope of being free, he refuses to completely succumb to them, and uses his hatred towards them to fuel each assassination. Being the skilled killer he is, it isn't at all surprising when the leader of the Con Rồng sends him on a mission that could either end the new government or boost their following and power. A mission to eliminate the leader of the Phoenix Rebellion, Phoniks Vidroh. At first it seems like just another mission, another simple assassination, but things go terribly wrong, and Demitri finds himself smack in the middle of the rebellion, fighting against the strings that tie him to the Con Rồng, and the hope of freedom and safety with a childhood friend he'd always assumed to be dead. "... and even as the world is consumed in the flames of evil, the strong will continue to rise from the ashes." ((rated M, will contain explicit content, sexual themes, rape, blood, violence, & mature language.)) **cover art by ChiyoPurr on DA: https://www.deviantart.com/chiyopurr**

A stubborn prince joins forces with the beautiful son of his enemy to save his kingdom and his life. --- Prince Toom has never questioned the safety and power of his family - until he meets Niako, the cunning, arrogant, and unnervingly beautiful son of the enemy Rakim chief. In Rakim, Toom discovers heinous traditions beyond his imagination, such as Claiming enemies as personal slaves. When Toom returns to Rakim ten years later, Niako proves more enigmatic than ever, and Toom grapples with conflicting feelings and an unsettling attraction. With the throne and his own family's lives at stake, Toom attempts to seduce Niako to unveil Rakim's plots. Niako reveals little but offers foreboding advice: flee Rakim and never return. As political machinations and cruel appetites overtake the land, Toom must work together with Niako to save the nation. To protect those he loves. And to survive. Set forty-four years after "The Claimed: Rashika's Resistance" (also works as a stand-alone novel) |2022 Wattys Shortlist| Trigger warning: This story contains descriptions of abuse and references to sexual assault

Life in the slums comes with one simple message: you are weak, you are alone, and nobody cares enough to save you. To survive, nameless children are forced to steal what they can, learn what they can and pray to whatever gods will take them that luck is on their side as they dream of a life beyond the walls. Massive thanks to reddit user u/sweethoneybeez for the cover art.

************************************************************************************** An outcast rogue must break a curse put on his fate, or die on his nineteenth birthday. To survive, he'll need the sword of a maiden, the aid of an immortal, and the power of forbidden magic that could cost him the only girl he ever loved. ************************************************************************************ *** THE JACK OF SOULS won a Silver IPPY this year! *** THE JACK OF SOULS won 1st place in the PNWA Competition in Fantasy! * *** THE JACK OF SOULS won 1st place in the Southwest Writers competition! * *** A "Featured Book" on Wattpad! * *** Now a "Staff Pick" on Kickstarter! * *** Available on Amazon in paper, hardback, and ebook ! * *** My contract with Kindle Select won't allow me to post more than 3 chapters here, but... *** Sign up for my newsletter on stephenmerlino.com for alerts when it's free on Amazon! * MY INSPIRATION I wrote this out of pure love of trickster rogues; I love the wit over brawn motif -- Odysseus over Achilles, Raven over Eagle -- so I like to play with it in my stories. In JOS I set the rogue and con-artist Harric against a foil of warriors in a land threatened by magic and civil war. Whenever possible I turn familiar tropes on their heads: instead of a handsome young Lancelot, I cast a broken-down ex-champion addicted to pain-killing herbs; instead of a dashing Squire Brian, the old knight reluctantly takes an ambitious young woman as squire. Similarly, I re-imagine the standard medieval milieu by infusing aspects of two of my favorite historical periods, Elizabethan England, and The American Frontier. Both eras boast a kind of nationalistic arrogance that borders on hubris, and a magnificent spirit of resourcefulness and re-invention that is fun to play with. SERIES The Jack of Souls is first in a series. I am posting parts of the sequel here now (The Knave of Souls), to help me refine the story.

A forsaken God in exile, seeking to find his purpose. A soldier with a questionable past. Destiny picks the two most unlikely pieces upon the board and brings them together, when the end of the world seems to loom over the horizon. Their paths cross in Midaelia, a kingdom facing threat of war, where enemies beyond the walls are as deadly as the traitors within. The dead stir to life as a dark force gathers in the heart of the enemy kindom, Drisia. What fate awaits them in end? ══════⊹⊱❖⊰⊹══════ Word count: 279K ➳|| 11X Featured || @highfantasy @WattpadMilitaryFiction @FreeTheLGBT @WattpadDarkFantasy @NA in ongoing reads @Fantasy @mythandlegend @StoriesUndiscovered @magic @SpeculativeFiction @WattpadFriendsandFamily ➳|| 11X Award Winning || ➥Ranked #1 in lgbtfantasy (24.07.2022) ➥Ranked #1 in tactics (20.08.2021) ➥Ranked #2 in femalewarrior (24.09.2021) ➥1st Place Winner in 2022 Rose Gold Awards for Best Protagonist ➥1st Place Winner in The Winter 2021 Awards ➥1st Place Winner in The 3AM Awards ➥1st Place Winner in The Mystique Circle Awards ➥1st Place Winner in The Vibez Era Awards ➥1st Place Winner in The Winter Solstice Awards ➥2nd Place Winner in The Diamonds Awards ➥2nd Place Winner in The Fly Awards ➥3rd Place Winner in The Critics Choice Awards for Best Prologue ➥3rd Place Winner in The Seasonal Contests: Fantasy Genre ➥Honorable mention in The Lavender Awards: Fantasy 🏳️‍🌈Includes LGBTQ+ characters. ⚠️ Mature for violence and strong language. Started on : April 6, 2021 Finished on : May 15, 2022

After waking up from a coma, Haiden could not remember anything from his previous life. A mysterious man, only interested in his powerful wielding abilities, helps our hero remember an important fragment of what happened, promising that if he agrees to join The Empire as a wielder, Haiden will surely regain his memories. We follow a journey of self-discovery filled with loss, betrayal and bittersweet romance, and witness the hardships of creating new bonds while trying to find one's place in the dangerous world of E'a, where bloodthirsty creatures dominate every corner untouched by man. I will be uploading by chapter!

[THIS STORY WILL BECOME FREE ON MAY 27, 2021] Ammas Mourthia is a cursewright: an outlawed magician sworn to break curses. Contracted by the Emperor's daughter, he's pursuing a curse he may never break. ***** Ammas Mourthia is a cursewright -- an outlaw magician who casts and breaks curses. Practicing his trade in the bustling city of Munazyr, he is hired by the last person he ever expected: Princess Carala, the daughter of the Emperor who murdered his family. Bound by his oaths, Ammas delivers the cure to Carala ... only for it to fail. Confronted with a sickness he cannot treat, pursued by werewolves who want Carala for their own purposes, and forced to return to a nation where he is a wanted criminal, Ammas must find a real cure. But there are forces at play he cannot control, and dark secrets waiting to be revealed. Fulfilling his vows might be the last thing Ammas Mourthia ever does. [[Wattys 2018 Winner: "The Heroes"]] [[1st Place, Rebel Wars @Rebel_Town]] Trigger warning: Graphic violence, sexual situations, strong language. [[word count: 300,000-350,000 words]]

Growing up on the streets of Zianna made Finn very good at a lot of things - pick pocketing, gambling, and generally sneaking around. He didn't mean to befriend Tannix, one of the richest young lords in the Kingdom. He certainly didn't mean to discover a plot to kill the King. Luckily his unique skill set, if not very law-abiding, might be exactly what is needed. Unfortunately, Tannix isn't entirely thrilled with his methods, and for some reason Finn actually cares about his opinion. Is there more to their friendship than he realizes? Greatest Thief Series book 1 Available for purchase at friesenpress.com

In the realm of Hesian there is Stavros, a detective who has made a name for himself as a dangerous, short-fused cambion; a child of an incubus and a human. Stavros neither wants nor needs a partner, but when the option is taken from him he is left with Elion, a young, cocky elf that knows exactly how to get under his skin. Exhausted with the butting heads and heated exchanges between the two detectives, the Warden of the Force, Mikhail, takes matters into his own hands; leaving Stavros and Elion bound through magic until their lesson is learned. With mounting pressures,egos, and jaded pasts hindering them, the two seemingly opposite partners come to realize that maybe the fire that burns between them isn't solely fueled by disdain, but by something more powerful than anything they will be forced to overcome.