- A slow-burn romantasy with fae courts, false identities, and dangerous choices - "I was taken from my world to replace a girl who was already dead. They dressed me in white, gave me her name, and promised me safety if I stayed silent. I was meant to be a bride. A symbol. A lie. But the prince I was promised to doesn't see me the way he should. And the man who brought me here is watching, waiting for me to break. I am not the girl they think I am. And if the truth comes out, it will destroy us all." #fantasy #fae #fairies #romance #slowburn #enemiestolovers #royalty #forcedmarriage #fakeidentity #darkfantasy #forbiddenlove Note: This story is taking part in the Open Novella Contest 2026 #ONC #OpenNovellaContest

🏆 ONC 2026 ENTRY Main Prompt: 52 ⋆♱✮♱⋆⋆♱✮♱⋆⋆♱✮♱⋆⋆♱✮♱⋆⋆♱✮♱⋆⋆♱✮♱⋆⋆♱✮♱⋆ After Dark is supposed to be just another dating app. For Amelia, a museum curator exhausted by one bad date after another, it feels like a final attempt before she gives up on romance entirely. For Alexei, it's never been about dating at all; he's been sent to get close to her because of an artefact tied to something old and dangerous. But as their meetings turn strange and violent, Amelia realises the city she thought she knew is hiding secrets far darker than a failed love life. And somewhere in between, Alexei finds himself losing control of the one thing he was meant to keep in check: His distance from her. ⋆♱✮♱⋆⋆♱✮♱⋆⋆♱✮♱⋆⋆♱✮♱⋆⋆♱✮♱⋆⋆♱✮♱⋆⋆♱✮♱⋆ Tropes: Paranormal Adventure, Slow-Burn Romance, Forced Proximity, Are they or Are They Not Together?, Morally Grey MMC 💋, 1/3 Body Horror, 1/3 Gore and 1/3 Sexually Explicit Inspirations: DMC, JJK, BB, Dante's Inferno COVER DONE BY CANVA PRO, ARTWORK BY PINTEREST © 2026 by eleeyjs (EJ Chow). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means-including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods-without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations used in critical reviews or scholarly work.

Prompt #100, Prompt #78, and Prompt #80 are used! #onc2026 Molly stares at her reflection, horror seeping into her expression as her skin begins to crack as if she was made from porcelain. Suddenly, it seems like she doesn't exist anymore and her reflection begins to take over. "Come on, Molly. You know what to do," her reflection starts to speak while Molly's expression just remains open-mouthed horror. Then, her reflection gives her a grin displaying razor-sharp teeth. "Do it and be afraid. I'll be with you, feeding on your fear." Her reflection says then unhinges its jaw and licks its lips. - A demon has taken over Molly's mind. As their will becomes apparent, Molly has to suffer the consequences of being possessed. Molly is a sensitive introvert with a penchant for research. She can get lost in a book for days and get extremely excited when she discovers something new in her research. To others, she's a "crybaby" and "overly emotional", so she prefers the type of solitude that cannot hurt her feelings. Molly is an archaeologist that specializes in tombs, religion, and history. Upon uncovering a tomb in Siberia, Russia, she suddenly starts to perceive things differently as her mind grows to accommodate the two souls. During her exploration, she uncovers the death mask of a Russian conqueror, Dmitri Igor. His skin was frozen and cracked under the mask and his mouth was chapped, blue, and ajar. Dmitri has committed mass atrocities to the Asian Russian population and the Middle-Eastern population in a trek to acquire land. Molly has never killed anyone. With the memories of a military dictator floating through her head, how will she be able to cope with her bloodthirsty urges while trying to upkeep a healthy work-life balance? Stay tuned to find out!