After the loss of her gradmother; Dahlia is tending to the garden she spent her childhood working in. In this garden, she finds the first flower of spring and to her surprise her gradmother was right. What happens now that she has touched it? Is it everything she was told growing up?

Confused. Hopeless, tired and confused since the first day back from hospital after her recovery, Iara Foster decided to give up on everything that she once had and wasn't certain if she even wanted to build a new life for herself anymore. Numb to everything and everyone around her, she finally discovered something that made her feel differently. It somehow sparked a flicker of hope inside her. A new interest that was never actually new for her body - dancing - the only thing she wanted back from her past self, all because she was drawn to it more than reasonable. But soon after she continued going into the 'Dance & Music Academy', she realised that ballet wasn't the only thing her heartbeat felt rhythmic with. Clarified. Hopeless, tired and clarified since forever, Haiden Walker decided to push himself away from everything that his heart had ever beaten for, because of things that would never stop haunting him. Until, of course, he was forced to play piano again. To complete a song created by two restless kids who never feared the unknown. Except when he realised that they should have. But when she continued coming into the 'Dance & Music Academy', he realized that staying away from his past made living impossible. Because, well obviously, you can't survive without your heartbeat.

All her life, Maeve has found that she's quite intuitive, though she doesn't know why. Following the death of the heir of one of the most notable families alive right after she loses a chance to turn her life around, a message from her elusive father invites her to the student body of an elite private boarding school across the world. She dreads parting with her mother and her quiet life in New York. Lester, Maeve's best friend and an alleged scholarship student at this private boarding school, is not very thrilled to welcome her to the St. Marthe's student body, and she is about to find out why. What she finds there topples her concept of what she thought the world to be altogether. Decked in shades of grey and black, the students of St. Marthe's boast a long history of producing the sons and daughters of the most notable names in the world. However, beneath a world of crisp plaid and privilege lie magical truths and elitist societies threatening to spill fresh blood. Only by uncovering the secret behind the death of Raion Balthazar- her half-brother, and this new world of the elite, will she be able to stay afloat at her new school. She must form risky alliances and grapple against the force of a time splitting ancient artifact in order to save her own blood from being spilt.

Once, he was the Morning Star. Now, he is the Abyss. Betrayed by his own clan and cast into a lightless void, Riven survived by becoming the very darkness that tried to crush him. Transformed into a living Singularity-a creature of dense dark matter and eternal hunger-he is convinced he is a hideous monster beyond redemption. Lyra fell from the sky with no memories and a volatile star, the Regulus Core, burning inside her chest. Protected by Asterion, the flawless and cold Silver High Fae she has grown to love, she lives a life of borrowed safety. But when she stumbles upon a broken, dying creature in a crystal cave, Lyra doesn't see a monster. She offers him her light, saving his life and unknowingly waking the heart of the Abyss. Riven would devour the world to protect her. Yet, believing himself too ugly and broken to stand beside her light-especially when she belongs to Asterion, the very man who once executed him-Riven makes a heartbreaking choice. Unaware that his abyssal metamorphosis has actually forged him into a breathtakingly lethal Prince of Darkness, Riven hides his face behind a silver mask and walks away to claim the throne of the Night Court. In a universe where light and gravity violently collide, can a fallen star ever reclaim the sun that saved him? Or will the shadows consume them both?

Love cannot live where there is no trust. | Taha Kingdom is abuzz with excitement. The most eligible maiden of the realm, Lady Nihina, is set to marry the chief of Dayu. However, on the day that she is to meet her betrothed, an ominous rumor about him reaches her doorstep. Then a curse befalls her, stealing her identity as a beloved socialite and turning her into a mere nomad struggling to traverse the Kalbar Woods. She has to return to Taha and find a way to undo the curse. She believes that her betrothed, a reputable man and renowned warrior, could help her achieve this. But Lahasi, the kind and astute nature spirit she encounters on her journey, thinks otherwise. He senses that not everything is as it seems. And he feels that recklessly breaking a curse meant to save the kingdom might lead to Nihina's very downfall. (Written for prompt 39 of the 2026 Open Novella Contest.)

In a dying world, people resort to desperate, dark paths to survive. When seventeen-year-old Sam's oldest friend shows him something terrible, he does everything he can to keep trouble away from those he loves. Despite his efforts, another terrible incident shakes the town. With the fear that a monster hides among them, people start turning on each other, and he is on the verge of losing all he loves. The only way to save his loved ones might mean crossing lines and going down a treacherous path. ONC prompt 80.

Born to be a monster, Daemian acts like one - cruel, ruthless, feared by all. But when he saves Lune from a ritual sacrifice, his defiance sparks a rebellion that could topple his mother, the Blood Queen, and rewrite her world built on fear. In a kingdom ruled by prophecy, mercy may be the deadliest power of all.

The creator of a 26th century matchmaker is anti-romantic, but when an analyst challenges her views, she relives painful memories, exposing her technology's flaws and threatening her identity. ｡ ✴︎ ⋆⚛ 🤖 ⚛⋆ ✴︎ ｡ Kayla Lacson believes that love is a biological equation that can be solved. She is the brilliant mind behind Dorothea, the most advanced AI dating application of the 26th-century, designed to calculate compatibility with extraordinary precision. Kayla's world is crafted in data, logic, and predictable outcomes. That is, until Mathew Matel, a Behavioral Analyst whose brilliance matches hers, joins her team and challenges her views. When Dorothea's latest revision loses public trust and corporate pressure mounts, he becomes the catalyst that forces Kayla to confront buried trauma, uncovering the flaws of her creation and fracturing her carefully structured reality. Despite Dorothea's calculation of their incompatibility, Kayla finds herself drawn to Mathew. Flashes of his face begin to haunt her as she tries to unravel his unexplainable familiarity. And when her very identity is threatened by tangled feelings, she must decide whether love is something to manipulate or something to surrender to. ｡ ✴︎ ⋆⚛ 🤖 ⚛⋆ ✴︎ ｡ Written for ONC 2026 ｡ ✴︎ ⋆⚛ 🤖 ⚛⋆ ✴︎ ｡ Genres: Romance SciFi Speculative Fiction Unconventional SciFi Hard SciFi Slow Burn Romance

Bendek was an Olympic fencer before a serious injury changed everything. During his recovery from major surgery-one that could have ended his athletic career-he started playing a rather unremarkable online game. But the people he met there were anything but ordinary. Their different cultures and perspectives brought him unexpected joy during his difficult times, especially one particular woman. Through their sharp, sarcastic minds, they developed a deep connection and strong feelings for each other. Unfortunately, they were separated by culture, religion, age, and the overwhelming question of how to navigate their situation. But one thing was clear to Bendek-his feelings for her were more real than any he had ever known.

There are strange creatures in the water - and TEMPEST RAERIR is tasked with keeping them there. The gods have long since abandoned the Queendom of Khaedel, letting monsters of the deep plague the land with sickness and death. She defends the shores and kills anything that dares to step onto the sand. When one of the queens of Khaedel - Tempest's mentor - falls ill, her duty switches to saving who she cares about most. And she just might be the key to saving everyone. The deeper you go into the Arnstar Ocean, the more powerful the creatures become, and THE WARDEN'S duty is to keep them all in line. For centuries, the magic keeping the most depraved monsters at bay has been waning. Now that cracks have cut through the surface, the Warden faces no choice but to obtain the help of the beings that despise them the most. Tempest and the Warden must band together and venture as far down into the Arnstar Ocean as they can to seal the fissures. Only, getting there might not be as easy as they thought. Can they survive the battles with the leviathans that lurk in the darkness? Or will they prove the gods right that the land is hopeless? ONGOING 2026 © -DeeIsDead-