Valentine never had a lick of magic to his name, but that didn't stop him from becoming high society's darling in the enchanted land of Stellamaris. Until one cunning witch takes it all away... Valentine wakes up five years in the past as a backwater bookseller in Greater Moss-on-the-Wold, stuck in the drab place where he started. Robbed of his status, his looks, and his charmed life, Valentine is determined to find the legendary witch Lilivere and be freed from this horrible curse. Except Lilivere is out of town... and the only witch who can help him now is her taciturn daughter, Luciana. Who doesn't have a single drop of magic. Stoic, brooding Luc couldn't care less about high society, the art of spellcraft, or a sullen has-been cursed to return to his humble past. Outcast and misfit, she lives alone in the woods, preferring solitude to the villagers' scorn. But as they work together to break Valentine's curse and set things right, Luc and Valentine realize there's a greater scheme at play. And that magic, like so many things in life, is never as simple as it seems. Written for the ONC 2026. 39: After being cursed, you go from being the most popular socialite to becoming a nobody. 11: The daughter of the most powerful witch is nothing like her mother. 73. You wake up in a body that isn't yours, living a life almost identical to your own, and soon discover you're bound by an ancient curse forcing you to relive your past until you finally get one thing right. (Slightly modified.)

Aunt Mabel is dead, found lying amongst her daisies in her garden. Two eyes anxiously watch over her. The police arrive, but questions soon crop up. Is it actually Aunt Mabel? And who or what did it? A wild animal? A person? A baby dragon? Something strange is afoot in the Auntie's garden and it's up to Officer Holt Martinez, Estelle, and her cousin Julia, to figure it all out before it's too late. Little does she know that an unplanned trip to the Dragon's Lair Bookshop will upend everything she thought she knew about life, this world, and those beyond. *The Novella Version was a Open Novella Contest ONC 2026 Long List Winner!

She is sent to kill the dragon. Instead, she might become his only salvation. *** In a world swallowed by the Ever-Dark, Iva Vernigora is nothing more than a lowly servant in the house of the cruel Voivode Yakub Ivanov, Duke of Highroot. But when Voivode blackmails her with the lives of her parents, Iva is forced to pretend she's his daughter, as she infiltrates the royal academy of magic - Kolegium. Voivode Yakub's order is absolute: poison the Prince Konstantin Veliki. Prince Konstantin is the heir to the throne, the last of the line of Dragons - a Zmey warrior of light, who was blessed with a dragon-shifting gift. At a first glance, he is nothing but a smug, pompous royal, and everything Iva is supposed to hate. Yet every touch, and every shared lesson at Kolegium blurs the line between the enemy she must kill and the man she is beginning to crave. While Iva stalks her prey as a knife in the dark, waiting for the chance to extinguish Konstantin's light, she discovers that the dragon everyone fears is the only thing standing between humanity and the void. As the Ever-Dark Shades rise, Iva must make an impossible choice. Will she carry out her sinister orders and secure her parents' freedom, or will she stand by the Dragon in the battle for the world's last light? *** The Shades are coming. The Dragons are falling. And the Eternal Spark is waiting for its host. © 2026 EvelynHail Exclusively on Wattpad Based on prompts: 97. "When the world slips into endless darkness, something begins to move in the shadows and you must find a way to survive in a night that never ends." 4. "You discover that the dragon everyone fears is in danger, and you are the only one who can save it from the knight sworn to slay it ."

At seventeen, Chloe is finally invited into the formal gatherings that mark a young shifter's place in society. As a lower-rank wolf, she's learned it's safer to be overlooked. So when a sharp-eyed stranger starts noticing her, she tells herself it means nothing. Only a glance. Only a dance. Until it isn't. Because in a world where rank is everything, the most dangerous question isn't about tradition - it's whether she deserves more than the place she was given.

~Written for The Open Novella Contest 2026~ ~Prompt 16: And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul- John Muir~ When her mother passes away, Lauren Corvus finds a letter from a long-lost relative. Eager to find answers about her family's mysterious heritage, she heads to the family farmstead, deep within the forests of upstate New York. One car accident involving a deer later, Lauren finds herself stranded in the remote countryside, and she makes a discovery that challenges her perception of herself, her family, and the entire universe. Something unlike anything on Earth is living in the woods, and its hungry. And it's coming after Lauren.

In the ancient town of Kosha, a sacred sword waits-silent for centuries, bound by prophecy to choose the worthy. Hundreds of commoners enter the royal tournament, though most believe the blade will answer only to those born with the Light-the Lightborn, tyrant rulers of Kosha. A prophecy Aira Ash intends to shatter. For her, the sword is neither faith nor legend. It is the only path left to vengeance. But fate has other designs, binding her destiny to a Lightborn - the very one she was meant to destroy. And in the shadows of Kosha, a mysterious man moves unseen, seeking not the sword, nor the throne, but the end of everything.

ONC2026 Short Listed! A forgotten amulet. A whisper of fate. A princess it commands, but at what cost? Maela, princess of the Seelie Court, can't sit through court affairs to save her life. To avoid another royal meeting, she takes a new path through the forest, stumbling upon ancient ruins. The secret within their shattered walls sets her on a path she must find the answer to--before it's too late. Main prompt: ~ 93. Buried beneath the ruins lies an artifact that whispers memories of an ancient being. The first memory it reveals is a warning and it's meant for you. Sub prompts: ~ 16. =And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul= Quote by John Muir ~ 11. The daughter of the most powerful witch(changed to Fae) is nothing like her mother. ~ 104. While wandering in the woods, you dismiss the rustling behind you as nothing more that wind through the trees until you turn around and realize it isn't the wind at all.

#ONC2026 | 🏆 Round 3 Winner | 🏅 Round 1 & 3 Ambassador Pick | Speaking to the dead is permitted, but raising the dead is forbidden. After discovering an unlikely copy of The Necrotic Guide, budding necromancer Emelie is both delighted and disgusted by the powers the book promises. Will it be enough to speak to her lost love again?

Born to the immortal, fickle aes sídhe, Lorcán Ó Miach pays little heed to the turning world around him. His only concern is a strange, nagging boredom that follows him like a second shadow. So when a mortal child stumbles upon the home he and his two brothers share, he delights in the chance to learn about the odd girl. But humans are fearful, delicate creatures, and they are not the same. Careless, selfish, and perhaps broken, Lorcán must confront his very nature. The line between good and evil is a blurred one; if he cannot decide which path to walk, he will lose the only thing he holds dear-his family. ☽❇☾ ~ Standalone prequel to The Sun Sídhe (same world, different characters!) ~ ONC 2026 entry | prompt 46 & 80