She wakes with missing hours, a burning imprint carved into her shoulder, and no memory of who put it there. Nyxara Blackvein is an assassin who survives by control. Control over her body. Her blades. Her choices. But the mark beneath her skin has a will of its own, pulling her toward Stillreach-a city protected by an impossible shield and a power no one dares to name. Torin Cross was never part of the plan. A half-elf bard with a charming smile and secrets of his own, he's headed in the same direction for reasons that don't quite add up. When violence forces them to fight side by side, trust forms before either of them is ready for it. Whatever waits in Stillreach is already watching. ONC 2026 Prompts used. 32. Two assassins from rival organizations are sent on the same secret mission, only to realize the assignment holds a much bigger truth. 86. A wasteland hides pockets of thriving communities protected by mysterious shields. 99. You wake up with a strange mark on your skin after a late-night encounter you can barely remember, and its meaning grows more unsettling by the hour. If this is posted on any other site, please let me know. I have not given anyone the right to use it.

If you dial the number 4444, no one will pick up. But fall asleep afterwards, and a man will visit you in your dreams. He will introduce himself as an assassin of sorts, and you will tell him your darkest desire. After all, the Dreamwalker can become your enemy's worst nightmare...for a price. Nathan Lee is many things: a slacker, a skeptic, and above all, hopelessly infatuated with the illustrious Aurora Kim. But when he accidentally swaps phones with a stranger, he ends up face-to-face with Cyr, a contract killer who travels through dreams. And his next target is Aurora. Desperate to save Aurora, Nathan takes it upon himself to hunt down Cyr's client. But when the bodies begin piling up, Nathan is forced to question who Aurora Kim really is...and what it will cost to keep her alive. (Prompt #56: After grabbing the wrong phone at a busy deli, you discover the stranger's life is far more tangled with yours than you ever expected.)

Life's a mess. She's a mess. Claire gets fired from her coffee shop job, has her designs called 'trash' by the rude prick who was supposed to sponsor her first fashion collection... And then, her best friend, the love of her life, announces his sudden engagement and wedding next month in Hawaii. And guess who gets to be maid of honor? This is the last fucking straw. This book contains: Cussing & an absolute disaster of a protagonist. You have been warned.

When Brie lands a spot on Cheese Whiz, a cheese-themed cooking competition, the last thing she expects is to run into Colby Jackson, the man who left her heart with more holes than Swiss cheese. ~~~ It was supposed to be simple. Enter the contest, win the prize money, open her own restaurant. Easy peasy, extra cheesy. So of course Colby freaking Jackson and his smug, entirely too sexy face just had to come back into Brie's life like an extra stinky wheel of limburger cheese. Surrounded by fierce competitors and legendary amounts of dairy, Brie and Colby exchange barbs sharper than any cheddar. Yet, as the competition heats up, Brie quickly discovers the mozzarella isn't the only thing melting. Against her better judgment, Colby is once again worming his way into her heart. Will Brie find a whey to make things work between them, or will he leave her feeling bleu? 🧀 Rivals to lovers 🧀 Second chance romance 🧀 All puns are fully intended Using prompts 29 and 89 for ONC 2026! Cover by @-DeeIsDead-

September 1806. The janissaries are advancing towards Istanbul, with an army raised by Rumelia ayans, and are threatening everything Nurcan, a witch serving as the defterdar of the Sihirsizler (non-magical) Irad-i Cedid, has worked for during the past twelve years. Fearing for her life, as the Sultan Selim III is about to sacrifice the Irad-i Cedid for internal peace, she flees to the forests of her native Trabzon Eyalet and leaves behind the Sublime Porte's instabiity. Note: This story is written for the 2026 Open Novella Contest, using the following prompts: 16: "And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul." (quote by John Muir) 78: You begin to realize that nothing is quite what it seems. #1 in administration and taxation (February 8, 2026) #1 in Napoleonic Wars (February 27, 2026) ONC Round 1 qualifier (March 8, 2026) ONC Round 2 qualifier (April 10, 2026) ONC Round 3 qualifier (May 24, 2026) February 2026 30DC Gold

An ordinary woman is torn from her failing modern life when a thief botches an escaping spell, dropping her into the middle of a fight in a world that was never meant to be hers. The Marrowbound clan mistakes her for their long-lost Holy Lord of the Temple of Shadows, but clearing this misunderstanding would result in a tragic death. All she wants to do is to survive long enough in this world to find a way to return home. But as time goes by, strange things happen, leaving her questioning if this is a case of mistaken identity or if she is really their long-lost Holy Lord. Was she pulled into this world by chance, or was she always meant to return?

When her office burns down an editor must work together with the most infuriating man alive or risk the promotion she's been working her entire career for. **** Chielozonam 'Elo' Williams is doing great. All things considered. It doesn't matter that the job she loves as editor at PerfectRomance, the publishing imprint she's been working at for the past five years has started to feel more like a chore these days. It doesn't matter that her judgemental father might be right about her wasting her life away by not using her full potential. What really matters is getting her dream promotion and enjoying the prime years of her youth. That is until the unthinkable happens. After Elo's office building burns down overnight she's forced to share an office with the one person that makes her blood boil: Connor Price. Archenemies since their days at college Connor makes getting under her skin an art form. He's brash and rude and irritates her like nobody else can with his scathing looks and contemptible behavior. It's not long before they're locked in a battle of wits, neither willing to back down or give up. When they have to work together to acquire a potentially lucrative manuscript, they are forced to put aside their long-standing animosity for an adventure that will blur the line between hate and desire until neither of them can tell where the fighting ends and the falling begins. PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION meets ANYONE BUT YOU meets THE HATING GAME in this contemporary rom-com about resilience, self-discovery and two sworn enemies who can't tell the difference between wanting to kiss or kill each other. An ONC 2026 story inspired by prompt 40. THIS NOVEL IS ONLY AVAILABLE ON WATTPAD AND INKITT. IF YOU ARE READING THIS ANYWHERE ELSE, PLEASE INFORM THE AUTHOR VIA WATTPAD, AS YOU MAY BE READING FROM A MIRROR SITE WHERE IT HAS BEEN PLAGIARIZED AND YOUR DEVICE MAY BE SUBJECTED TO A MALWARE ATTACK.

When the crown is stolen and her parents killed, the kingdom of Evertoire descends into tyranny, and Aerythiel, the princess no one knows survived, must expose the truth--or die trying. ❥๑━━ In a kingdom once peaceful, now overthrown by a manipulative and corrupt king, two siblings are bound by blood and survival, forced to protect one another after narrowly escaping death--yet torn by the missions they cannot ignore. Aerythiel, the princess no one knows survived the massacre of her family, must live in secrecy while leading a hidden fight to protect her people and avenge her parents. Luthien, her older brother, has sworn to shield her at all costs, even as he struggles to outrun a past he dares not remember. Neither knows the other's full mission, and if their secrets collide, both their plans-and countless lives--could be destroyed. As the kingdom suffers under the hand of a king manipulated by unseen forces, Aerythiel faces a devastating truth: to achieve justice, she may have to destroy the life of someone she loves. What would you do when the only path to truth demands a choice so painful you might wish you never knew it at all? ❥๑━━ ONC prompts used: 32. Two assassins from rival organizations are sent on the same secret mission, only to realize the assignment hides a much bigger truth. --- 16. And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul. -John Muir 29. You will meet many people in your life. Many will come and go, but some will leave footprints on your heart. 80. Monsters don't live under your bed. They live in the recesses of our minds. 85. You thought you'd burned that letter years ago--the one with the confession no one was ever meant to read. But somehow, it's back in your hands.