"I don't want to exist, I want to live. I want even the darkest pieces inside her. I want to kiss the sorrow off her skin. Isn't that what love is? Isn't that what this beautifully constructed torture feels like? But I want the same from her. The power-hungry part of me wants something in return. I want her to love even the most monstrous parts of me. I want her to love me for the madman I am."

Emily Valentine is an ordinary twenty-three year old girl that still lives with her dear parents. They love her so much that they won't let her out of their sight. Literally. That's why she's still living with them at the age of twenty-three. Emily thinks she's the luckiest girl in the world. She has parents that love her so, a sister to lean on, and a fiancé that would do anything for her. Everything was perfect for her and she thought nothing could ruin it for her. But she didn't think that everything could be ruined by just a visit from an old friend.

**A Blue Beard retelling** Based on Charles Perrault's fairytale, this YA Historical Fantasy short story set in Victorian England mixes romance, magic and mystery. After agreeing to an arranged marriage to escape her greedy relatives, 18-year-old heiress Amelia moves into her husband's manor determined to start a new life. But the gothic mansion's forbidding surroundings, the servants' strange demeanour and her husband's mysterious past soon awaken her suspicions. If Amelia truly wants to become the lady of the house, she'll have to discover what secrets lie beyond closed doors and unravel the mystery of the old house's forbidden room. But sometimes secrets are kept for a good reason... HIGHEST RANKING IN HISTORICAL FICTION # 44 Copyright © 2017. All works posted here are the property of EM Castellan. Please do not use without permission. Any duplication or reproduction of all or part of the work without explicit permission by the author is illegal. Cover artist: @seventhstar

"Macbeth" tells the story of a brave Scottish general named Macbeth who receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia, and he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler as he is forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion. The bloodbath and consequent civil war swiftly take Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into the realms of arrogance, madness, and death. Cover by @newsies-

Life couldn't be more mundane for sweet, kind, and naïve Kiara Reeves, who has been bussing tables to make ends meet. Until she unexpectedly finds herself in the arms of a handsome billionaire. Blue-eyed, dark-haired, and enigmatic, Jasper Lockhart comes from a world of wealth, power, and sophistication. Despite being worlds apart, Kiara is drawn to him, enthralled by his presence. And soon, their friendship blossomed into something more. But fate has other plans for them... ...and now Kiara is knee-deep in trouble. And like a knight in shining armor, Jasper comes to her rescue. But little does Kiara know that Jasper's help comes with a price THIS IS THE REWRITTEN VERSION. NOW PUBLISHED ON AMAZON and Radish fiction Copyright © 2019 by Kashmira Kamat * * * NOTE*: THIS IS NOT A CLICHE BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE. CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE, AND A PSYCHOTIC MALE PROTAGONIST. THIS IS AN UNCONVENTIONAL ROMANCE, NOT EVERYONES CUP OF TEA.

"The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1843. It is relayed by an unnamed narrator who endeavors to convince the reader of his sanity while simultaneously describing a murder he committed. The victim was an old man with a filmy "vulture-eye", as the narrator calls it. The narrator emphasizes the careful calculation of the murder, and he hides the body by dismembering it, and hiding it under the floorboards. Ultimately, the narrator's feelings of guilt, or a mental disturbance, result in him hearing a thumping sound, which he interprets as the dead man's beating heart. Cover by the lovely @FayLane.

Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, "Dracula" tells the story of Dracula's attempt to move from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing.

A Christmas Carol tells the story of bitter and miserly Ebenezer Scrooge and his ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation resulting from supernatural visits by Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come.