A mysterious man only known as the Pied Piper haunts Aschein. Not only does he lead children away, but he robs many towns of the magic that sustains their life. Now, monsters overrun the world, and humans are being driven into a corner, unable to fend off the creatures that attack them more and more frequently. Enter sixteen year-old Klaudia, a disabled girl who was left behind because she was unable to follow the Piper. She is a living curse to the people of Hamelin, a painful reminder of their misfortune--and has no place in the town. When she receives a marriage proposal from the powerful Lord Himmel, she accepts without hesitation. Introduced into the world of magic, Klaudia finds her calling as a Magus, a powerful brand of sorcerers whose Affinities are among the most powerful in the world. But underneath the glamour and the luxury of Lord Himmel's castle lies a deadly secret. Soon, Klaudia will learn that not everything is as it seems, and freedom will always come at a dangerous price. *** EDITOR'S CHOICE OCTOBER 2020 Previously Wattpad Featured Lovely cover by @seventhstar Word count: 127K

Aftertaste, noun Af·ter·taste : persistence of a sensation (as of flavor or an emotion) after the stimulating agent or experience has gone There was once a time she was running away from her life, from people, from everything and everyone; running as far as she could. Now, she's running towards it. She's running towards happiness. Towards love. Towards him. She got to experience a different life. With him. She got the taste of being with him. Now this is the aftertaste; the taste that lingers afterwards. This is what it's like to be loved by Sin.

She wants to escape it all. She runs from it. She gets a chance to leave it all behind. And she does, without thinking twice. Gabrielle leaves France, her home country, when she finds an offer to babysit in London. She doesn't have a lot of experience with kids, but she's willing to do whatever it takes to just disappear from the world she somehow got sucked into. She comes to a rich family, who has a daughter and a son. She gets a big surprise when she arrives there. The little girl might be little indeed, but the son is nothing like she expected. He's all tall and broad with tattoos marking almost every inch of his skin. And he screams bad news. Alexander shows he doesn't like Gabrielle from the first time he sees her. However, they somehow just can't ignore each other as much as they'd like to, even though Alexander told Gabrielle to never involve in his business. But her being stubborn and fearless, she quickly finds out why people call him 'Sin.' *WARNING! This story contains a strong language and violence.* *The Literary Awards 2017 winner Cover by @ForeverIsland