A covert government operative sent to surveil a famous footballer accidentally becomes the nanny to his six-year-old son, forcing her to choose between completing the mission that could destroy him or protecting the unexpected family she has begun to love. ◈ ◈ ◈ Grace Anna Sumer has always craved freedom. That hunger is what led her into the shadows, working as a covert field operative for a little-known government agency. Officially, she gathers intelligence. Unofficially, she removes problems. Pulled from a coveted assignment in the Congo, Grace is reassigned to Paris to surveil the family of Hermes Mansi, an international football (soccer) star whose career is tightly controlled by a powerful and corrupt league that profits from obedience. Grace is told to watch him. To observe. To wait. What she does not expect is a twist of fate that places her inside his home, hired accidentally as the nanny to his six-year-old son, Drax. Under the safest cover imaginable, Grace enters Hermes' life with one objective, gather evidence and prepare for a quiet takedown. But the longer she stays, the harder it becomes to remember where the mission ends and her feelings begin. As secrets unravel and loyalties fracture, Grace must choose between completing her assignment or protecting the fragile and unexpected family she has found. ◈ ◈ ◈ This novella was written for the Open Novella Contest 2026, based on Prompt #33: "It doesn't take long before everything in your life spins out of control. One moment you're a secret assassin, and the next you've somehow been hired as a nanny and you're not entirely sure how it happened."

When his fallen comrade's pregnant wife is marked for death, Ibris Mansa, a soldier turned syndicate boss, steps in to protect her. But the child she carries is being hunted for its rare genetic potential. Ibris must uncover the truth before the child is taken and Atlantis silences them both. This story unfolds on the ancient continent of Atlantis, the one of myth and legend. Long before its fall, the civilization is already decaying from within. Nobles flourish, animal human halfbreeds are cast aside as a slave race, and unchecked technology, paired with an A.I. religion, pushes society toward collapse. At the center of it all stands Ibris, a bull halfbreed. Tall, broad shouldered, and horned, he was engineered to serve Atlantis's elite and chose rebellion instead. Brutal in battle and reckless in his vices, he carries his burdens with raw strength as danger, drink, and desire trail close behind. Now, Ibris fights for all genetically engineered halfbreeds, leading a resistance against those who would keep them enslaved as tools for the powerful. "The Halfbreeds of Atlantis" is a science fantasy novel set in The Third World Universe, created by Sunny Ghauri. It is a prequel to dystopian romance novel "The Sky Gods of Atlantis."