°•°•° Aradhya Rajvansh's life shattered the day her own family turned their backs on her, believing lies that landed her in prison. After four years, she walks free-not as the girl she once was, but as a woman forged in pain and silence. With only her younger brother Ansh by her side, she rebuilds her life far away from home, shutting her heart to the world. But destiny has other plans. Her path collides with Rishav Raghuvanshi-a man of quiet strength, protective warmth, and ruthless determination. Thrust into his family through marriage, Aradhya finds herself torn between old wounds and the possibility of a new beginning. While Rishav's unwavering presence starts breaking down her walls, shadows of betrayal and enemies from the past threaten to return. This is a story of heartbreak, resilience, and the slow, tender healing of a warrior's heart.

Neely Lynch wants nothing more than to stay hidden from the spotlight. Raised in the human world, she knows only stories of her true home. A place where dragons rule the skies and wolves prowl in the dark of night. A place where her family name speaks of a terrible and bloody history. A history that no one wants to remember. Fated to be a Dragon Rider, a powerful breed who rule by fire and sword, Neely must learn to hide her heritage in a country which would seek to destroy it. Especially when she is bonded to a breed of dragon that is feared above all and thought to be extinct until then. Demons rise and threaten the fragile peace in Valaxia, forcing Neely to either accept who and what she is, or watch her friends and country fall. (Book One in the Riders Series)

**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

◤ SEMIDEUS SAGA #02 ◢ Elysian Oracle - the oracle of Elysium, the highest oracle of the realms. The Alphas know it isn't over. The Gods are constantly up on their sleeves, giving them missions, perhaps proving the Alphas' loyalty to their deities. What is it with the deities lately? The mortal realm is in for a big surprise after the demigods learn more about the war that has happened. Unfamiliar voices and faces will slowly reveal the truth about what the world will soon become: a battlefield. Our heroes will have to sacrifice something for the sake of their future... or is it a someone?

[COMPLETED] Evangeline Kingston, an 18 year old, knows nothing of the outside world after having been confined to the walls of her home her whole life. All she's ever known is her fathers abuse towards her and her mother. For her, it's normal. Tobias Moretti, 21 year old mafia leader, makes a deal with Evangelines father after realising he's unable to pay his debt off. The deal is that Evangeline is given to Tobias in order to rub away his debt. Without hesitation, her father does so, throwing Evangeline into a crazy world she knows nothing about. Learning about the normal world is hard enough but Evangeline must learn about the mafia world if she wants to take her father and all of his contacts out. Tobias is cold, calculating and a perfect mafia leader. Evangeline is the opposite. She's innocent, kind-hearted and curious. Will his cold heart shut her out for good or open up to her forever? The real question is will Evangeline open up to Tobias about her past and accept the mafia life or will he eventually let her go for good? - "I'd give you the world if you asked for it, darling." "I'm not asking for the world though. I'm asking for ice cream. But it's nice to know what you'd do for me." - "You're really pretty." "Shut up," he grumbled. "You always say that." *Highest Rankings* #1 in trauma #2 in Arrangement #6 in Enemies to Lovers #6 in Mafia Life

A million dollar bounty, underground assassins, torture-it's all in a days work for assassin Jessie Wright. * * * * * * Molded into an assassin by the one who killed her parents, Jessie defies orders and goes rogue. Now with a bounty on her head, her only chance of survival may be with a man who's reputation is worse than her own. Violence, Assault, Swearing.

A pacifist with a war god trapped in her bones must decide between stirring her demons or watching her allies and enemies unite against her. ***** When Queen Nomvula finds herself threatened by a reckless prince, she's cornered into navigating a battle that will devastate the region, and her clan, should it escalate. Worse, someone knows about her deadly secret, and where its bloody trail eventually ends. Staying ahead of her enemies means risking her land, her values, and even her children, all while keeping the war god inside her from takings matters into its own hands.

PUBLISHING PAPERBACK (after writing the final draft, I wrote this 2 years ago.) "I see through those silent lies of yours, Liv." 𝐎𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫, the girl who's known to be mute in school. No one knows why though, and she doesn't want anyone to know either. Only her best friend and this certain boy want to know why. She's so scared, and shattered, but maybe she can be saved before it's too late. 𝐀𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐨𝐧 who's well known and seems to be an asshole, but really he's a sweetheart. He's taken notice of Olivia many times before, not in a stalker way, but only recently gets the courage to try and make his way into her life. They both have secrets they hide, things they both relate to and have gone through. That may be how Adrian catches onto Olivia fairly quickly. But, she tries her hardest to keep him away, even though they both know they're drawn to each other. Will she ever let him in or not? Of course she will, that's how these stories go.

After escaping a stalled elevator into a zombie apocalypse, Emily must learn how to trust people again or risk losing everything in this terrifying world. ***** For Emily, every day of the last two years have been a blur. She keeps her head down, takes her college courses online, and only goes out to work at her mandatory internship. But all that changes on the day the office elevator breaks down, leaving her trapped when the screams begin. And when the doors finally open, revealing a dystopian world ruined by bloody teeth and disease, Emily is launched into a terrifying run for her life, caught between the strangers she's not sure she can trust and the man-eating monsters that hunger for her flesh. Now she must learn not only how to survive in this new and dangerous world, but also how to overcome her own inner demons before they cost her something more precious than her life. [[Wattys' Shortlist]] [[Promoted by AMC]] Content and/or Trigger Warning: The story contains some gore, violence, strong language, and dark themes. [[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]

Born with glowing green eyes. Destined for rotten luck. Peasant girl Meya Hild was 'given' the opportunity to become a Lady. At swordpoint. By mercenaries. Engaged to a dying nobleman. Poisoned with one month to live. Tasked to loot a castle. In a kingdom running out of resources. Little did Meya know this shenanigan would lead her across land and over sea, from a mountain made of sapphire to an island shrouded in spiral clouds, with masquerades, heists, kidnappings, shipwrecks, alchemy, romance, and an unexpected 'bump' along the way. Let the misery begin. 🐉 🎯 PROGRESS: Book One (Chpt. 1 - 65): 100% Book Two (Chpt. 66 - 125): 100% Bingers, YOUR TIME HAS COMETH. Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7iYf3f78K4QInWwpz6z3Mp?si=35Rt2vgkTryCM3vD9eKVXA&pi=cE-JGby3RgeKW 🎨 Cover: @NamtanTangren / Namtan [糖人] https://www.deviantart.com/tangrennamtan 📋 Content Guidelines: Most chapters are safe for work/school. Chapters containing intimate scenes will be marked with ❣️ Although not depicted explicitly, this story touches on mature subject matter such as depression and suicide, drug addiction and overdose, human trafficking, organ harvesting, abortion and rape. It's also loosely based on medieval times, and some scientific misbeliefs (concerning health and pregnancy, etc.) are present. Young readers are urged to use discretion. ⭐ DOs & DON'Ts ⭐ 💖DO: Add LUMINOUS to your library & follow me so you don't miss any updates! 💖DO: Comment away! I love answering them. Please be polite and respectful! 💖DO: If you enjoyed Meya's adventure, spread the word! 🚫DON'T: SKIP THE PROLOGUE! You have been warned by the dragons that be that you will regret it! Why don't I just rename it "Chapter 1"? BECAUSE PROLOGUE SOUNDS COOLER!