"I wanted to give this to you in person," Anubis said, taking a step closer to the girl who was evidently petrified. He handed her a crisp white envelope that had his name written in a cursive scrawl. With shaky hands, Zaina took the envelope. Not knowing what to do, she performed an awkward curtsy which was met with a hearty laugh from the god. He lifted her chin with a finger and grinned that heart-stopping grin once more. Anubis trailed the finger up her jaw and laid it beneath her ear. "I'll see you around," he whispered, ghosting his lips over the shell of her ear. He stood up and walked away as though he had not made a long lasting impact on the young girl before him. After taking a few breaths to calm herself, Zaina opened the envelope. ONC 2019 entry ➴ round one qualifier round two qualifier longlisted wattpad featured story

Saoirse's blood dances with iron and trickery, a secret that is no longer sheathed, nor hers to keep. When Saoirse's cunning and charade is torn asunder by her very own hands, she finds herself in a precarious peril, fighting to salvage her life and that of The Alder King, to whom she has unwittingly given her heart. Bastard Daughter of the Spring. Cursed Iron Faery. Ill-fated lover to the Alder King. She goes by many titles, but none reveal that her very life is bound of iron and thorns, still hinged on a vow she made to the Spring Court. Skin stamped with scars, and head held high, Saoirse must learn to navigate this world of malevolent faery trickery, with dangers and ancient secrets abounding, on a perilous journey to wreck havoc on the Spring.

[Wattpad Picks: Editors' Choice] Saoirse's blood dances with iron and trickery, a secret she has managed to sheathe from all faery alike. Until now, that is. When Saoirse's cunning and charade is shredded to bits by the malevolent interfering of faery royalty, Saoirse makes a vow of thorns; edged and prickly, one dangerous enough to cost her the life she invoked it for. To keep her life and the cursed magic that makes her both admired and feared, she must use her prized gifts to cross faery territory and charm her way into the heart of the Alder King's Court at the command of the Spring.

"YOU FOOLISH GIRL, NOT EVEN YOUR STORIES CAN SAVE YOUR BEAUTIFUL THROAT." Khai killed 1000 girls before he got to her. And he would make sure she would die like the others. His beautiful hands demand blood on them. Mazeeda would make sure that she'll be the last girl Khai would ever kill. Her beautiful neck will not be touched by a blood-coated blade. She will take her friends place. If Mazeeda cannot save her own life with trained hands, she will do it with her quick mind and sly mouth. During the night, she weaves stories never told before to Khai; in the morning, she roams the palace to escape. With each tale she tells, the more she realizes these aren't just stories; but something much greater. Something that Khai is keeping from her, things he does not want to be let out. Somewhere a 1000 miles across the sand kept land, three brothers are plotting something that'll end the reign of the monster and save their sister.

❝ 𝓣𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒏, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒏 ❞ During the sixteenth century, Hussam Al-Hakim, the warrior prince of the Qaysi tribe, must rise to the occasion and succeed on the throne as the next Caliph. However, heavy is the head that wears the crown, and duty calls upon him to fulfill the inevitable. The death of the great Qaysi General, Abbas Al-Ghazi, unleashes a chain of events that causes the Kingdom to confront civil unrest. An age-old secret forces Hussam to choose between loyalty, family, and a dead heart. 𝓦𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒇𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆? 𝓞𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒌𝒆?

Prince of Persia meets The Wrath and the Dawn in this epic retelling of the life of the Abbasid Queen Al-Khayzuran. Arabia - Circa 764. Al-Khayzuran's life changes forever when she is kidnapped from her home and sold to a caravan returning from Hajj. An unlikely and altogether fateful series of events leads her face to face with the gates of the capital, a mysterious desert spirit, and a young prince on the verge of rising to the seat of Caliph. Thrust into a world of deception, royalty, intrigue and war, Khayzuran must learn everything she can as fast as she can, or leave her fate in the hands of her enemies.

A dangerous and filthy lie is prevalent throughout the land of Ralium. Nobles and Kings would have their subject believe that the kingdom resting in a time of peace. They say there is no war. No attacks. That there is no death, yet within this supposed peace there is a darkness creeping over the land. Men adorned with gilded snakes for tattoos wander the land in numbers, dragging broken peoples in chains behind them. These men, known as the Venom, serve the Savage King. The leader of Venom and the Royal family were tied by a peace treaty, one that ended a war many years ago. It was how Venom managed to prowl on the land. The people had achieved their peace, while Venom pillaged lesser villages. The people achieved their false peace, while countless lives are ripped from their families. Yes, they achieved their heartless peace, as people were reduced to nothing more than objects. However, the presence of an escaped slave had shattered their peace. By telling them of an emblem that rested on the Savage King's war table. |Book One of the Archives of Ralium trilogy| Special thanks to @pennywithaney for helping me with the blurb and for making the cover!