Nine brothers. One monastery. Power that should never have existed. When Aurelion Driven and the nine young men he calls brothers arrive at the isolated monastery of Vireholt, they are not welcomed as students-but as threats. Each carries a fracture in the world: an unnatural gift capable of reshaping reality or tearing it apart. Vireholt promises control. What it delivers is judgment. As brutal training, ancient forces, and buried truths begin to surface, the bonds between the brothers are tested by fear, ambition, and the cost of restraint. Some will learn to master what lives inside them. Others will be consumed by it. And Aurelion-marked as the most dangerous of them all-must decide whether he is their shield... or the spark that finally breaks the world. Power demands a price. Vireholt always collects. Prompt: The daughter(Son) of the most powerful witch is nothing like her(his) mother. #ONC 2026

For seven years, a cruel curse has plagued the people of Hesperonias: Every evening, they're transformed into agrions, terrifying creatures that thirst after the blood of those born under the sun. But during these dark hours, they aren't merely sniffing out Helioran prey-they're seeking an ancient fruit that could purge them of their blight. ♬𓍢ִ໋♫⋆♪₊˚♬✭❂☽❊☾❂✭♫𓍢ִ໋♪⋆˚♬ ﾟ. Being only weeks away from turning eighteen, the Princess of Heliora fully expects to join in on the Hunt against the merciless agrions that murdered her mom-until her father forbids it. Furious and vengeful, Castelle sneaks out of the castle, only to end up in the midst of the pack of monsters she'd planned to kill. Before she's ripped to shreds, however, the enemy prince rescues her with the sole purpose of preventing her from hindering his people's search for the magical plant. But when he realizes that she might know more about the cure he's been trying to find than anyone else in his kingdom, he convinces her to help him. With a bargain forged under the Tree of Truce, the two young rulers must race against time, embarking on a journey laden with secrets, lies, love and danger, all in the hopes of healing a nation and preventing a war from breaking out between both realms. #ONC2026

Sometimes self-love is not about becoming the best version of yourself but about choosing to be kinder to yourself. Roza Sinclair lost her husband in a gruesome accident. Everyone mourned at his funeral, but her eyes were fixed on the rose garden her husband had nurtured with the love she had always yearned to have. In the quiet months that followed, the twenty-six-year-old widow didn't tend to his roses. Instead, she dedicated herself to a single seed: the one plant her husband had forbidden in his lifetime. To the neighbors, she was a woman wasting her youth in the dirt. But for Roza, that plant was not just a plant. It was a choice. It was a voice. It was healing. Everyone had their own definition of self-love. And this was hers. *** For ONC 2026 Prompt 28 "Self-love often starts small, like planting a single seed. With time, patience, and a bit of light, it will blossom."

On the eve of a board meeting that will make or break the company, a snowstorm forces a CEO and his new personal assistant to spend an evening at the office together. A perfect man and a perfect woman, all alone... only that they aren't, and neither of them is quite what they seem. As the night falls, the office romance turns into something much more sinister, but the real nightmare comes with the light of day. ----- Another of my genre benders -- a sci-fi thriller, a heist, some (say it with me) social commentary, and a billionaire romance (without the romance part, but with a HEA, sort of). With some off-kilter erotica because I swear it looks like I'm contracted to have it always. ----- ONC 2026 story, main prompt 88 (not quoting for spoiler reasons). Also prompts 48, 38 (sort of).

25-year old Lee still hasn't figured out why they could not form any long-lasting relationships, even friendships for that matter. Aside from family members, which they are obligated to talk to, there is no one else Lee had even come close to calling a friend. Well, maybe except for one. -------- Submitted for ONC 2026 @OpenNovellaContest Using the following prompts : 29. You will meet many people in your life. Many will come and go, but some will leave footprints in your heart. 104. While wandering in the woods, you dismiss the rustling behind you as nothing more than wind through the trees until you turn around and realize it isn't the wind at all. 106. After waking at 3AM to a freezing room and a door you're certain you closed, you find wet footprints and melting snow leading from your bedroom into the hall. Realizing someone or something is inside your home, you follow the trail to uncover the truth. All rights reserved by @J. Lee Kennedy, except for images contained in this book. Crayon drawing "Wander XIX" by @Clara Lieu. Copyright of images, including cover art, belong to their rightful owners, and are attributed accordingly, or used in accordance with the rules of Creative Commons licensing as "fair use." Altered, filtered, or edited images are copyrighted by the author in its final form.

She repairs broken memories - but who will repair the truth? ***** Nova Aurion understands how fragile memory can be - she mends it for a living. In a world where memory is currency and abilities define worth, society is divided into Endowments: cognitive classes established to preserve stability. Every three years, the nation hosts 'Project Elite' - a competition honoring minds worthy of leading the future. When Nova, a Memory Diver renowned for restoring fractured minds, is selected to compete - she enters the Arena determined to win. However, survival demands more than mere intellect; it requires strategy, perception and sacrifice. As alliances shift and sparks arise, a forbidden dive into a stranger's memory leaves Nova deeply unsettled, leading to a chilling realisation: the Project might not be studying brilliance at all, but harvesting something far more dangerous. Caught between a charming rival, a skeptical ally, and a system that predicts every move, she must confront a choice that could reshape humanity itself - Is an unpredictable future worth the risk of chaos or is controlled stability the safest path to survival? ************************** ONC prompt: 111: With a single touch, you can slip into someone else's memories. But when a stranger shows you a future crime involving you, you must uncover the truth before it comes to pass.

Rory Hayes was born a gang princess - raised to be protected, promised to a future that was never really hers. After her best friend's death, danger begins circling closer, and the last thing she wants is protection. Especially not from Alexander Cross, the man who appears out of nowhere with a dangerous smile and an interest in her she can't quite resist. He makes her feel safe. Seen. Wanted. Until she discovers everything between them was built on a lie. Now someone is hunting her, the truth about the past refuses to stay buried, and the only man she can't trust might be the only one who can keep her alive. But in a world built on loyalty and blood, betrayal always comes at a price. And this time, it might cost her everything. __________________________ My submission for ONC 2026 using the Prompt #78 - You begin to realise everything is not what it seems. This will be uploaded irregularly but as its a submission for ONC it will be completed by the end of April for judging.

A 1970s family camping trip in the west turns deadly when Zombies appear. Rowan's dreams have always been vivid. This latest dream about Zombies attacking for example. Never in her wildest dreams does she expect a real black cat with an ear missing to show up at her tent. The exact same cat she has dreamed about since young. Seeing him now brings a terror in her soul. Without thinking twice, Rowan rouses her family, shoving clothes and supplies into the station wagon. Then they are racing down the roads driving until the gas gives out. Up to today, her Dad's tone deaf singing is the worse thing she has ever experienced. The best thing turns out to be most surprising. Rowan is immune to Zombie bites which saves her family. But can she do it on a global scale? * Prompts: 43, 98 and 108

Dorian Dallowmarsh is a man on the run. The necromancer thought he'd be safe masquerading as a vacationing professor at a seaside resort, but his attempts to lay low at The Beacon have failed spectacularly. Spirits appear with cryptic messages at the worst possible moments, and Bitzy, an exuberant young widow, has taken a shine to him. She even secures him an invite to an exclusive soiree: a séance featuring the famous medium, Madame Draga. Dorian assumes Draga's a fake. Most self-proclaimed mediums are. But when a ghost delivers a disturbing message, he faces a terrible choice: risk exposure by a medium who may be a bounty hunter in disguise or disappoint his new friend. Either way, Dorian's quiet escape plan is about to get very complicated! Prompt 72: A real necromancer sits in on a fake séance.

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.