𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐖 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐔𝐍 ✯ 𝑜𝑛𝑐 2025

❝ 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒑,
𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒌𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒔𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒑,
𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆,
𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔. ❞

✯

Selene has always felt like an outsider, drawn to the shimmer of metal and the quiet hum of gemstones beneath her fingertips. As a goldsmith, she shapes beauty from fire, yet a lingering emptiness haunts her - a sense that she belongs somewhere else.
One sweltering summer night, she discovers an impossible puddle in her garden as it hasn't rained in days. The water is dark as glass and untouched by dust or heat. When she reaches for it, the water pulls her in, and she awakens in a world she has never known. . . yet somehow remembers.
Here, an ancient war rages between humans and fae, where the humans wield the power of the sun and earth, while the fae wield the power of wind and water. Selene is neither, and both. Born of two warring bloodlines, she is the heir to a long-buried prophecy; one that speaks of balance, betrayal, and a sacrifice that could end the war forever.
But forces on both sides will stop at nothing to refrain the world from changing. Hunted, torn between duty and desire, Selene must unlock the truth of the past before the world burns in its future.
Because peace demands a price, and some destinies can only be forged in blood.

✯

𝑰𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒘 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒖𝒏 is my entry for the 𝑂𝑝𝑒𝑛 𝑁𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑎 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡 2025, based on the prompts 5, 6 and 135.