"Foolish Assassin, not even your tears can wash the stains of your sins." Scarlett Faye's youth was mercilessly torn from her the night of her parents' murder. For a young lady of noble background, there was nowhere to turn in a world of false promises and fabricated smiles. Bruised and battered, her innocence pouring red, the only way out was to follow a path of blood and shadows. And so she followed, walking as an apprentice in the bloodstained footsteps of the man who had rescued her that night, Badel's infamous King's Assassin, Dante Walker. Bound to the King of Badel, the two carry out his various assignments, eliminating threats that dared lurk about the Kingdom. When Thalan, a Kingdom to the North, begins its abhorrent and murderous ascent to power, seizing the rather valuable Elguvanose Islands, the Badel King resolves to dispatch Scarlett and Dante to stop them. For Scarlett, it was supposed to be just another mission, just another throat to slit, but Fate sought to play a dangerous game. And the first move has already been made. Cover credits to @mahana258 !!

|| ONC 2021 HONORABLE MENTION || ONC 2021 ROUND TWO FIRST PLACE WINNER || Three friends. One secret. Thoughts of a summery vacation in the middle of winter sounded fantastic until all plans to enjoy the Caribbean sights were thwarted by an unexpected tropical storm, keeping everyone inside. Normally spare time without current-day distractions would be beneficial to a group of long-time friends always too busy to spend time together otherwise, but this is one trip down memory lane they're going to wish they never took... ---------- Entered into the Open Novella Contest 2021 Mystery & Thriller - Prompt #55 ONC Round One Qualifier - 03.23.2021 ONC Round Two Qualifier - 04.20.2021 ONC Round Two First Place Winner - 04.24.2021 ONC Round Three Qualifier (Longlist) - 05.21.2021 ONC Shortlist - 05.30.2021 ONC Honorable Mention - 06.29.2021 ©2021 M.Dalto Published to Wattpad 02.01.2021 Draft Completed 05.02.2021

|| Sequel to CUT TO THE BONE || Alisa Rousseau always knew she was born for greater things. She just didn't know how great... Eighteen years after the War of the Rift, Alisa Rousseau lives a life too far removed from the bustle of the Parish. Not until her brother's unique and rare Clerical gifts are discovered is she finally allowed to travel with him and begin her own training as a Venandi. But her Initiation into the sacred order goes unexpectedly, horribly wrong and Alisa is running for her life to the last place she'd ever consider a safe haven- The Rift to Hell. Through trials both mental and physical, Alisa must discover the truth about her past while determining her own worth as a Venandi if she's to survive the challenges presented to her by the Princes of Hell... but at what cost? ---------- Cover by Tina Glasneck ©2021 M.Dalto Published to Wattpad 04.01.2021 Camp NaNoWriMo April 2021 Initial draft ongoing - last updated 04.24.2021

Forced into an engagement with a man she doesn't love, Reyna must ignore her bond with her father's general in order to avoid a war and save her throne. ***** As the first female heir to one of the great Northern Kingdoms, Reyna panics when her claim to the throne is threatened by the discovery that her father's general is her soulbound partner. She forces herself to ignore their connection, determined to be more than a general's wife, only for her father to manipulate her into a political engagement with a man she could never love. So to forge her own path forward, keep her throne, and confront her feelings for the general who owns her heart, Reyna must find a way to refuse this arranged marriage without destroying her kingdom in the process. [[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]] ---------- Cover designed by Ren Tachibana

Alera lost her mother early in life and was raised by a strict king for a father and the many nursemaids who crossed themselves before touching her. It wasn't until she was of marrying age that she learned why the people feared her. She was canny... like her forest mother. Canny and feared to be fae. The only person besides her father who didn't seem to fear her was the handsome stable boy. He knew what she was and didn't cross himself before letting his hands touch hers longer than needed for helping her to her mount. And on her 18th birthday, neither could deny the bond that dragged them together. But her father had her sold off to make an advantageous match with the neighboring king's sullen and cruel son. Even a kingdom over, the whispers of the canny princess the people feared as fae reached royal ears. But they thought to use her to their advantage...to put fear in their own people's hearts and make them bend the knee. Now with the kingdom at war with the prince she would have married, Alera must save the people who feared her from an unspeakable fate brought to their door by the sullen prince wielding a dark unknown power. -------------------- Cover by Tina Glasneck ©2022 M.Dalto Published to Wattpad 06.01.2022 Completed 03/30/2023

Welcome to the Empire. Where the Prophecy is law, and betrayal is the only way to survive it. ***** Two thousand years ago, the Prophecy of Fire and Light foretold the coming of the Queen Empress who would lead the Empire into a time of peace and tranquility. But instead of the coming of a prosperous world, a forbidden love for the Empress waged a war that ravaged the land, creating a chasm between the factions, raising the death toll of innocent lives until the final, bloody battle. Centuries later, Alexandra, a twenty-two-year-old barista living in Boston, is taken to an unfamiliar realm of mystery and magic where her life is threatened by Reylor, its banished Lord Steward. She crosses paths with Treyan, the arrogant and seductive Crown Prince of the Empire, and together they discover how their lives, and their love, are so intricately intertwined by a Prophecy set in motion so many years ago. Alex, now the predestined Queen Empress Alexstrayna, whose arrival was foretold by the Annals of the Empire, controls the fate of her new home as war rages between the Crown Prince and Lord Steward. Either choice could tear her world apart as she attempts to keep the Empire's torrid history from repeating itself. In a realm where betrayal and revenge will be as crucial to her survival as love and honor, Alex must discover whether it is her choice - or her fate - that determines how she survives the Empire's rising conflicts. [[ 2016 WATTYS WINNER ]] ------------------- BOOK ONE OF THE EMPIRE SAGA This is a FREE STORY with PAID BONUS CONTENT ------------------- Cover by Fay Lane

In the Den of the Kingdom of Dreduor, money reigns supreme and one's skill at deception determines how much you can make, and how much longer you will survive. Maize is a thief- a very good thief, and one of the Den's best. So when a wealthy benefactor purposefully seeks her out to fulfill a contracted job, she is neither surprised nor hesitant to accept. Only after she discovers it's the royal palace she needs to infiltrate, Maize quickly finds herself in the middle of the grandest con of her career. Maize must position herself within the court in order to complete her mission, even if it means capturing the eye- and the heart- of the very Prince she's supposed to abscond. But will Maize be able to finish the job before her true intentions are discovered? Or worse- before she finds her heart stolen first? ------------------- This is a FREE STORY with PAID BONUS CONTENT ------------------- Cover by Tina Glasneck ©2019 M.Dalto Published to Wattpad 11.01.19 Initial Draft ongoing - last updated 12.24.2023

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!

Azima Rousseau, a demon hunter destined to save her world from the denizens of the Underworld, has to venture through the Seven Levels of Hell in order to face its Prince and close the rift between their worlds once and for all. ***** Ever since her eighteenth birthday, Azima Rousseau knew she would die battling the forces of Hell just as her mother had, and every other Rousseau before her. So when her destiny delivers her to Death's door, it is not the Devil who answers, but the Demon Prince Malecoda. Instead of ending her fated existence as his sworn enemy, he decides to bind her into a pact that challenges not only the intensity of her will to survive but also the integrity of her soul to persevere. Together they soon discover who the monsters truly are- Azima's own people. [[ 2021 WATTYS SHORTLIST ]] ---------- Cover designed by Stefanie Saw