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 swordsman 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. 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.

#ONC OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2026 📚 #ROUND ONE ONC QUALIFIER ✨ What do you do when your best friend's brother-who just moved into your shared house-turns out not to be entirely human? You scream into your pillow so no one hears. You question your grip on reality. You start double-locking your bedroom door every night. And then-you begin watching him. *** ONC PROMPT 25: You live with four other housemates, but one of them is secretly an alien trying to learn how to act human. PROMPT 105: Your chatting with someone when you suddenly notice the mirror behind them shows everything except their reflection.

Kieran is already dealing with a flirtatious boss, disdainful coworkers and a heavy workload and writhing self-insecurity that gives him a perpetual migraine. Now the cute boy he met as a child had turned out to be a handsome, adorable... werewolf?! Salva opened their wings to their city neighbors in Bellport's greatest time of need, but will the divide between the two cities be greater than the chasm that seperates the them both or can they work together to find the solution to the virus that plagues them both? #ONC2026 Genre: Fantasy-Supernatural, Werewolf Mature (16+): Mention of abuse, Bullying, Profanity, Gore/Violence Copyright© 2025 short_flame

So... Riven kidnapped the magnanimous King of the Aer Folk because a magical book containing the soul of his cheating ex-boyfriend told him to, but that does not make him crazy, not at all. After all he only wants to revive Jesse, so he can kill him again. Where does Vlad land in all of this, you ask? Well he is that poor, kidnapped King who is now curse-bound to a freaking lunatic. But our wonderful King Valadrius is not sad, not at all. And he is definitely not falling in love with his kidnapper, or kissing him, no matter what the curse tells him to do. #ONC2026 Genre: Fantasy-Romance Copyright© 2026 short_flame

If you got anyone to describe Jessie Reynolds-Somber in one word, it would be 'lucky.' She survived childhood leukemia (twice), has the best friend-slash-roommate in the world, and she's studying something she loves at the university she's forever adored. But not even November can describe why she feels so incomplete, as though she's forgotten to do something she'll never get a chance to do. Why she feels like she's failed---no, worse, like she's a failure.

Tris McCoy is having an uneventful summer. It's the summer before eleventh grade, and it's the last summer she has before she has to start worrying about driving, and college, and a career. With her mom being in the hospital and her dad enjoying the title of father out in Australia, she's left to spend the next six weeks alone. Until she (literally) stumbles across a stack of old letters from her pen pal, July Souders. July lives in British Columbia---four provinces away---but Tris knows of a camp she used to attend. Unwilling to spend the summer alone and desperate for any change, no matter the size, Tris sets off for summer camp.

Nicole Brenner has been missing for three years. Sort of. Trapped between worlds and bound to a cabin deep in Pennsylvania's western mountains, Nic has spent every day since keeping an ancient evil locked behind the door at the end of the hall, and trying not to lose her mind. She's got a grimoire she's memorized cover to cover, a weepy cryptid named Pierogi, and exactly two weeks of corporeality per year to shore up defenses against the monsters called to kill her. Then Cal Muir walks through her front door - ex-Navy SEAL, ex-almost-something, and the last person she ever expected to see again. He's here to find out what happened to her; he doesn't know she's standing right behind him; and he's wasted no time dismantling her meager defenses (and she cannot stress enough how much of a problem that is). Now Nic has six days to figure out how to save a man who can't see her, from monsters he doesn't believe in, before Halloween night blows the door open for good - all while reckoning with the fact that the magic she once told him wasn't real might be the only thing that saves them. A second-chance paranormal romance steeped in Penn Dutch folklore, veteran mental health representation, and the kind of magic that challenges both fate and faith.

The Eye has seen-the world will end, unless the apocalypse is properly thwarted. Unfortunately, this task has been handed to the two worst people for the job. Gadowyn Harker is a poison-peddling witch of the Gold City with a curse: if she loves, she will lose her powers-and herself. Beau "The Beautificent" Beguile (not his real name) is a smug necromancer who cons the rich and has a lifelong allergy to love, and all its messy bits. Now they must do the unthinkable: bring a dragon and a future knight-princess-sworn enemy of dragonkind-together, romantically. The world would do well to start praying; the chances of success are slim at best. Meanwhile, the Gold City teeters on the brink of collapse, undead roam the streets (entirely Beau's fault), and the end of the world draws ever closer. Somehow, Gadowyn and Beau must save it all with love-without falling prey to it themselves. First draft written for ONC 2026 | Main Prompts 11 & 98

Catastrophe || An event causing great and usually sudden damage or suffering; a disaster. A chance encounter leads to misadventure when a curious cat and a rebellious young reaper's world collide. The daughter of the Grim Reaper, Eulalie, is nothing like the legendary phenomenon. She's not built for reaping, unlike her older brother, Nemorin. It's hard enough being a teenager without collecting souls. Let alone when an entire council of reapers wants to get rid of you. It's not her fault she doesn't fit in. And reaping doesn't get you out of algebra. After one too many mistakes and a lost heirloom, her father can't protect her any longer. Thirteen Souls. She has until midnight to prove herself. Or else risk losing her powers and returning to Earth to live with her human mother, whom she's never met. CW: Themes of Death. #ONC2026 || Prompt #65 On the way to collect a soul, the Grim Reaper is distracted by a stray puppy. Instead of completing the task, he decides to find the puppy's owner, much to the frustration of his assistant.