Seraphine Vale knows monsters can bleed-she's watched their crimson essence seep between her fingers, felt their pulse flutter and fade beneath her touch. A chimera wolf hybrid with silver-flecked eyes and claws that extend like obsidian daggers, Seraphine haunts the rain-slick shadows of a city where her kind are flayed for trophies or drained for elixirs. When she kneels beside a stranger drowning in his own blood, her healing magic crawls like luminescent spiders across his torn flesh-a beacon that ignites the hunger of predators who've been stalking her scent for years. Lucien Morcant, the vampire whose marble-cold skin and blood-ruby eyes once promised protection, now watches her from rooftops with possessive hunger, his immortal heart a hollow chamber echoing only her name. Kael Draven, scales rippling beneath his skin like molten gold, returns trailing smoke and cinder, the dragon-wolf's burning amber gaze melting the ice Seraphine built around herself. One tastes of grave soil and ancient wine. One of wildfire and raw, primal heat. Both leave bruises when they touch her-and neither will release their claim. As crossbow bolts whistle through fog and silver chains rattle in hunters' fists, Seraphine stands where moonlight splits the cobblestones, her veins electric with power that makes shadows writhe. Loving creatures of twilight and dawn is her torment. Choosing between them may crack the city's foundations. Because Seraphine isn't just another monster worth mounting on a wall- she's the darkness that makes even demons pray for morning. #ONC2026 Prompt #82: You're in love with someone living and someone long dead. Neither one is willing to let you go.

Prompt 36- Your told to choose a weapon before battle, but when you approach the table the only options laid out are musical instruments. Final Wordcount: 24798 words The war was never supposed to find him this soon. Wren is nothing more than a poor boy from the forest-armed with a bamboo flute and a stubborn will to survive. When he arrives at the academy to train as a knight, he expects discipline, hardship... time. Instead, after a single demonstration, he is cast out. Sent to the front. At his side is Kai-his rival, his opposite, a noble-born prodigy wielding a weapon as sharp as his arrogance. Bound by circumstance and clashing at every turn, the two are forced into an uneasy alliance as they journey toward Holliester-the heart of a war no one fully understands. But the battlefield is not what they expected. When whispers from the dead begin to stir within Wren, and shadows take shape in the storm, it becomes clear this war is far older-and far darker-than either of them imagined. Something is calling. Something buried beneath death itself. And it knows Wren's name. As snow falls without end and music becomes a weapon of survival, Wren must uncover the truth behind his growing power... before it consumes him. Because in a world where sound can shape reality- Silence may be the deadliest force of all. Perfect for fans of: Epic fantasy, wuxia-inspired storytelling, rival dynamics, slow-burn character bonds, and dark, atmospheric worlds where magic sings-and death listens.

You're never too old to go on an adventure. ------------ Every year in the kingdom of Asledia, a handful of eighteen-year-olds are chosen by the gods to complete a quest. If they are successful, a grand reward awaits. Gwyneira Fowler is pushing forty and content with her role as both a spinster and an assistant manager at her parents' flower farm. When a cat-sized dragon appears in one of the family hothouses and declares that she has been chosen, Gwyneira's quiet, predictable life is upended. Within days, she finds herself on the back of a strong, steady mule, headed gods-know-where in search of a sacred garden. And the little dragon? She's coming, too, much to Gwyneira's chagrin. Stepping outside of one's comfort zone can be difficult. Sometimes all you need is a little push. And a muzzle for the dragon. ONC '26 Prompt #3: You don't expect much excitement in your quiet garden until the day a dragon suddenly appears among the flowers.

Let's go back in time!! if you watched nickelodeon as a child, let's travel back in time 😙🤭❤️❤️❤️