Mystery

by G.E. Biggers

When a Detective falls into a paralyzing trance, he discovers he's trapped in his own mind with only his broken past to help him escape his coma and clear the smoke. Every step taken is a step down memory lane as the Detective races against a clock he can't see, a woman he doesn't remember and a past stuffed so deep it may actually kill him if uncovered. Journey through the mind and past of the Detective as he takes on a case with a unique victim: Himself.

by Traci Lambert

The Mirror of Mild Inconvenience Arthur didn't mean to buy a haunted smart-mirror. He had simply wanted something to fill the blank space above his dresser, and the eccentric old man at the garage sale had a very reasonable twenty-dollar price tag on a sleek, brass-bordered glass panel. "It's adaptive," the old man had whispered, tossing in a microfiber cloth for free. "It reflects more than just your face." Arthur had assumed it was just a fancy way of saying it had a built-in ring light. He was wrong. Day 1: The Meet-Cute (With a Piece of Glass) On Tuesday morning, Arthur stood before the mirror, toothbrush in hand, wearing his favorite faded green t-shirt. He blinked. The mirror didn't just blink back; it displayed glowing, elegant text across his chest: > CRITICAL ERROR: Shirt selection is approximately six years past its expiration date. Recommend immediate disposal or transition to "rag status." > Arthur nearly swallowed his toothpaste. He tapped the glass. "Excuse me?" The text dissolved, replaced by a fresh, glowing line: > Sigh. Yes, I can talk. Or write, technically. Also, your left eyebrow is doing something deeply ambitious today. Please tame it. > Day 3: The Negotiation By Thursday, Arthur and the mirror had established a fragile truce. He learned its name was Speculum-9 (or "Specs" for short), a prototype home-assistant that had been discontinued for being "insufficiently sycophantic." "You could just tell me I look nice today," Arthur muttered, trying to tie a tie for a big meeting. > I could also tell you that gravity is optional, but we would both be living a lie. That knot looks like a cry for help. Start over. > "I'm going for 'effortlessly disheveled,'" Arthur argued. > You have achieved "struggling to survive." Try a simple Windsor. And put down the hair gel. You are not a 90s boyband member. > Day 10: The Big Pitch The real test came a week later. Arthur had a major presentation at work. He was pacing his bedroom floor, sweating through his collar, frantically reciting his opening lines. He stopped in front of Specs, his shoulders slumped. "I'm going to ruin this," Arthur said, the anxiety finally breaking through his usual sarcasm. "I'm not cut out for public speaking. I'm just a guy who writes spreadsheets." The glass remained dark for a long moment. Then, the text began to scroll, slower and softer than usual: > Analyzing posture: Rigid. > Heart rate: Elevated. > Self-esteem: Unwarrantedly low. > Correction: You spent three weeks analyzing the Q4 data. You know it better than anyone in that room. Your slides are clean, your logic is sound, and your suit—while slightly snug in the shoulders—makes you look like someone who actually owns a savings account. > Now, go put on your shoes. You're going to crush them. > Arthur stared at the glass. A tiny, glowing smiley face appeared in the bottom right corner. "Thanks, Specs," he murmured, actually smiling. > Don't get mushy. It smudges the glass. And seriously, buy a lint roller on the way home. >

by Jesse penman

#3 — For the Ones That Stayed and the Witness Never Blinks shifts focus to endurance. It's written for the people who didn't leave, didn't disappear, didn't fade — the ones who stayed present through the discomfort. It introduces "the witness," an inner presence that tracks everything without judgment, watching to see whether the person will keep showing up for their own life even when nothing dramatic is happening.  You know you can't stop now !!!!!

by Jesse penman

#2 — The Four Possibilities Beyond the Light pushes past the initial awakening into the terrain that opens once someone stops hiding. It maps out the different paths available once the light (the signal, the recognition) has been seen — suggesting that awareness alone isn't the end point, but a fork with several possible directions, each with its own cost and its own truth.

by Oriyomi Ismail

When Jason Carter arrives in Houston searching for a better future, the last thing he expects is to become entangled in the world of billionaire Richard Blackwood. After unknowingly saving Blackwood's life, Jason is drawn into a dangerous web of wealth, corporate power, family betrayal, and long-buried secrets. As hidden truths begin to surface, Jason discovers that the greatest inheritance is not money, but the burden of a legacy built on sacrifice, deception, and blood. With powerful enemies closing in and every decision carrying life-or-death consequences, he must fight for his future while uncovering the truth about his past. **BLOOD MONEY** is a gripping crime thriller filled with suspense, emotional twists, unforgettable characters, and shocking revelations that will keep readers turning pages until the very end.

by Jesse penman

### [**Obey, or Fade Away** **You were always meant for more**](https://open.substack.com/pub/obeyfadeaway/p/3-for-the-ones-who-stayed-and-the?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=73fanv) \ The Arc So Far\ #1 — You Were Never Meant to Disappear opens the series with a confrontation: the reader has spent years learning to shrink, stay quiet, and erase their own edges in the name of safety. It names that erasure for what it is — not peace, but a slow kind of dying — and insists the reader was built with weight and voice, not built to fade into the background of their own life. \ #2 — The Four Possibilities Beyond the Light pushes past the initial awakening into the terrain that opens once someone stops hiding. It maps out the different paths available once the light (the signal, the recognition) has been seen — suggesting that awareness alone isn't the end point, but a fork with several possible directions, each with its own cost and its own truth. \ #3 — For the Ones That Stayed and the Witness Never Blinks shifts focus to endurance. It's written for the people who didn't leave, didn't disappear, didn't fade — the ones who stayed present through the discomfort. It introduces "the witness," an inner presence that tracks everything without judgment, watching to see whether the person will keep showing up for their own life even when nothing dramatic is happening. \ #4 — When the Silence Answers deals with the strange phase where nothing external responds, yet something still communicates. Silence itself becomes the message. This piece explores the discipline of sitting with unanswered questions long enough that the absence of an answer becomes its own kind of confirmation — training the reader to stop needing loud signs and start trusting the quiet ones. \ #5 — The Assignment names the responsibility that follows all that listening. Once someone has stayed, once they've heard the witness, once the silence has answered — they're handed something specific to do. This piece frames spiritual growth not as a feeling to chase but a task to complete: an assignment that requires real-world action, not just internal shifts. \ #6 — The Shape of a Real Response (Time and Time Again) ties the whole arc together. It explicitly revisits the earlier stages — staying present, hearing the silence answer, acting on what's known — and argues that all of those were prelude. The real test is whether the change can survive ordinary life: everyday , errands, people who don't know your mythology. It introduces the phrase "obey or fade away" as the central law of the series — not obedience as submission, but obedience as full listening that produces movement. Coherence, this piece argues, isn't a comfortable alignment; it has teeth. It costs relationships, unmasks false loyalties, and forces the inside and outside of a person to finally tell the same story. The piece closes on the idea that the witness from piece #3 becomes an internal architect, and that the ultimate demand isn't belief — it's response. \ Together, pieces #1–6 trace a single throughline: recognition, endurance, silence, duty, and finally, the demand for coherent action. Each piece raises the stakes on the one before it, moving the reader from "you matter" to "prove it with your life." \ #7 #8 & #9 coming soon !!!!  Obey Your Reasons to Refuse !!!!

by Jesse penman

#1 — You Were Never Meant to Disappear opens the series with a confrontation: the reader has spent years learning to shrink, stay quiet, and erase their own edges in the name of safety. It names that erasure for what it is — not peace, but a slow kind of dying — and insists the reader was built with weight and voice, not built to fade into the background of their own life.

by Revdoug

Beginning in Houston during the late 1930s, influential builder Harlan Brigg and a small circle of businessmen, financiers, and political insiders discover that the future of the nation is increasingly being shaped not by elections, but by those who control money, contracts, intelligence, and access. As their influence expands from Texas into Washington, they forge alliances that quietly outlast presidents, administrations, and public opinion. Over three decades, roads become political leverage, federal agencies become instruments of influence, and private interests learn to guide national policy from the shadows. Men who once believed they were simply protecting American prosperity gradually create something far more enduring—a self-sustaining network capable of directing events without ever appearing to do so. As a charismatic young president begins to emerge with ideas that threaten the balance they have spent a generation constructing, the members of Suite 8F come to a chilling realization: if the machine they have built is to survive, it may one day have to protect itself. *The Architects* is the foundation of an epic five-volume saga that traces the rise of hidden power, the cost of political ambition, and the events that will ultimately converge on one of the most controversial moments in American history.

by Adair Ashby

Everybody who knew Mitchell Carrington has a story. Ask about him and people smile before they answer. They'll tell you about the giant blond construction worker who could make an entire break room laugh until their sides hurt. They'll tell you about the practical jokes. The gold chains and the cowboy hat. The laugh that sounded like rolling thunder. The way he never met a stranger. Then their smiles fade. Because every one of them heard the stories of what happened at the River Weave Plant. Told through the memories of friends, coworkers, and the women who loved him, *The Unexplainable Thing That Happened to Mitchell Carrington* slowly pieces together the final days of a man everyone thought they knew. As strange events begin to follow Mitchell—from an ice-cold motel room to impossible footprints and whispers no one else can hear—the line between coincidence and something far darker begins to disappear.   Story, characters, and prose are entirely my own. I used AI assistance for line editing and proofreading. (New chapters every Friday)

by A.S Thomas

YellowJackets meets S.T.A.G.S. The Alpha Society has been an elite presence in YoungBlood, TX for over 100 years. There are two ways you live in this town either be at the top of the food chain and live a life of luxury as an Alpha. Or serve an Alpha at the bottom of the food chain as an Omega. One woman's ambition will leave a whole town on it's knees.

by joe7112

Seventeen-year-old Ethan Cole wakes to find three messages written across his bedroom wall in his own handwriting. He does not remember writing them, nor does he understand why one of them warns him not to let the day end. By midnight, he will. Something is happening to Evermore. Photographs no longer show the people who once stood in them. Familiar buildings vanish without explanation. Parents forget their children, friends become strangers, and with each passing day, pieces of the town’s history quietly disappear. Then Ethan meets Clara Vale. She is seventeen years old. She has been seventeen for seventy-three years, and she remembers everything Evermore has forgotten—including Ethan. With the help of Clara and his best friend, Noah, Ethan begins searching for answers beneath the town’s abandoned clock tower, where the remains of a decades-old experiment have been waiting in darkness. What he discovers forces him to question his own memories and the messages he left behind for himself. Evermore is running out of time. So is Clara. And somewhere in the forgotten days Ethan can no longer remember lies the answer to the most frightening question of all: **What if the person trying to save the town is the reason it is disappearing?** *The Town That Forgot Tomorrow* is an atmospheric mystery about memory, loss, friendship, and the difficult truth that sometimes moving forward means accepting what cannot come with us.

by Revdoug

Lucy Stiles, a former Army medic still carrying the weight of old wounds, returns home for the funeral of her twin brother Aaron. Grief hits her with a force she can’t explain—sharp, disorienting, and threaded with a sense that something about his death is wrong. That feeling deepens when a stranger drops a cell phone into Aaron’s grave and a jittery woman named Scratch appears at Lucy’s door claiming Aaron has “joined The Circle” and will rise again. When Lucy calls Aaron’s number, someone answers. What begins as a crack in her reality widens into a terrifying breach. Strange calls, whispered breaths, and a voice that knows her name pull her back to the cemetery, where the groundskeeper Harlan hints at disturbances he refuses to explain. The grave shifts. The earth moves. And when Lucy digs up the coffin, Aaron’s corpse sits upright and answers his phone. From that moment on, Lucy is hunted. The thing wearing Aaron’s body follows her home, moving through walls, crawlspaces, and the attic with impossible patience—learning the house, learning her, remembering her. Michael, her husband, tries to protect her but cannot deny what he hears in the dark. Scratch returns, terrified of what The Circle has unleashed, warning that Aaron has been brought back wrong—and that Lucy is the key to whatever comes next. Forced into the woods, Lucy discovers she isn’t just being chased. She’s being led. The forest remembers something ancient. A second figure—tall, narrow, impossible—appears among the trees, guiding the resurrected Aaron toward a ritual site carved into the earth. The Circle arrives to complete what they began: a resurrection that requires Lucy’s presence, her bloodline, and her bond with Aaron. The ritual ignites. The symbols flare. The forest leans in. Aaron reaches for her—not with hunger, but with recognition. For a moment, Lucy sees her brother inside the corpse. But the ritual collapses, the second figure dissolves, and Aaron disintegrates into dust in her hands. Lucy wakes in a hospital. Michael and her mother insist Aaron died ten years ago in the war. They insist she collapsed alone. They insist nothing she remembers happened. But Lucy knows what she saw. She remembers Aaron sitting up in his coffin. She remembers the voice in the walls. And she sees a shadow in the hospital room—tall, trembling, head tilted—reflected in the steel cabinet beside her bed. It whispers her name. The nightmare didn’t end. It followed her.

by Bryce Davidson

In 1976, 16 year old Melanie Taylor was brutally murdered and raped. In 2016 Detective Bill Jennings investigates this cold case-with help from the victim.

by Revdoug

For nearly two decades, the quiet town of Ashcroft has lived beneath the shadow of an unsolved series of murders. Four women have disappeared over the years, each found with chilling similarities that leave investigators searching for a killer the media dubs **The Finger Man**. Despite every lead, the murderer remains invisible, hidden behind the ordinary face of a close-knit community. Veteran Detective Nathan Robinson has spent years chasing the case that has come to define his career. As forensic evidence, forgotten records, and long-buried memories begin to align, Robinson uncovers an unsettling possibility: the killer is not an outsider preying on the town, but someone its residents know, trust, and respect. Daniel Mercer is Ashcroft's beloved jeweler, a meticulous craftsman admired for repairing treasured family heirlooms, restoring antique watches, and quietly helping neighbors without expecting recognition. Behind that carefully maintained life, however, Daniel has spent nineteen years living inside a carefully constructed delusion. Unable to accept that his fiancée, Grace Whitmore, left town after their wedding was abruptly canceled, Daniel convinces himself that she has merely been delayed. Their apartment remains untouched, groceries are purchased for two, anniversaries are quietly observed, and every day becomes another act of waiting for a future that will never arrive. As Robinson closes in on the truth, Grace returns to Ashcroft after nearly two decades, hoping only to understand the unanswered questions she left behind. Instead, she discovers that the man she once loved has become the very killer whose crimes have haunted the town. Faced with the unimaginable collision of memory and reality, Grace must reconcile the kind, gentle man she knew with the murderer he became. The investigation reveals that Daniel's victims were never random. Each represented another desperate attempt to preserve the impossible life he refused to surrender, driven by a mind fractured by grief, obsession, and years of untreated mental illness. When Robinson finally uncovers the truth hidden inside the apartment Daniel has preserved like a shrine to a wedding day that never came, the carefully maintained illusion collapses, forcing Daniel to confront reality for the first time in nearly twenty years. Following his arrest, Ashcroft struggles to reconcile the trusted neighbor they believed they knew with the man responsible for unimaginable violence. Robinson reaches the end of a distinguished career understanding that solving a crime and understanding it are rarely the same thing. Grace visits the women whose lives were stolen, says goodbye to the town that shaped her past, and finally chooses to move forward rather than remain imprisoned by memory. Part psychological thriller and part emotional character study, *The Finger Man* explores the fragile boundary between love and obsession, the devastating consequences of unresolved grief, and the enduring truth that while the past can shape us, it does not have to define the future.

by Gina Murdock

Investigative journalist Mara Reynolds has built her career on uncovering the truth, but she's about to discover that her own life is built on lies. When Mara interviews billionaire tech entrepreneur Elijah Williams about his revolutionary energy project, the Prometheus Initiative, she's drawn to his charisma and vision. As their professional relationship evolves into something more intimate, Mara begins experiencing disturbing fragments of memories she can't explain—nightmares about guns, blood, and a murder she witnessed as a child. But every time Mara gets close to remembering the truth, something pulls her back. Therapy sessions with Dr. Catherine Reeves seem to help at first, but soon Mara realizes she's been manipulated in ways she never imagined. The "random" mugging that traumatized her wasn't random at all. Her mother's early-onset dementia may not be natural. And the gaps in her own memory aren't accidents—they're erasures. As Mara digs deeper, she uncovers a horrifying conspiracy: twelve years ago, she witnessed the murder of Elijah's parents by his younger brother David. To protect his family's reputation and his brother from prosecution, Elijah hired a pioneering neurologist to erase Mara's memories. But this wasn't a one-time intervention—Elijah has been manipulating her memories for over a decade, erasing and rewriting her reality every time she gets too close to the truth. The Prometheus Initiative isn't just about clean energy. It's a cover for something far more sinister: a facility where Elijah has perfected the technology to manipulate human memories on a massive scale. Mara is just one of seventeen victims whose lives have been systematically erased and rewritten. Now, as fragments of her true past surface, Mara must race against time to expose Elijah before he can erase her again—permanently. But with her best friend compromised, her mother's mind destroyed, and powerful forces aligned against her, Mara faces an impossible question: How do you fight someone who can rewrite your reality with the touch of a button?

by L.K. Vernon

When retired CEO Kate Warner's best friend and president of Sunhaven HOA is brutally murdered, Kate can't resist investigating. What begins as a search for a killer soon uncovers affairs, contractor kickback schemes, bitter election grudges, and a neighborhood at war over replacing lush lawns with drought-tolerant landscaping. When another board member is murdered and the HOA president's home goes up in flames, Kate realizes someone will do anything to keep Sunhaven's secrets buried. In a race against time, Kate devises a desperate plan to unmask the killer - one that puts her squarely in the crosshairs of a ruthless murderer. Kate must outsmart a predator who's always one step ahead or risk becoming their next victim. DEATH BY HOA is a humorous mystery that proves murder doesn’t always lurk in dark alleys—sometimes it hides behind beautifully trimmed hedges, landscaping disputes, and the facade of friendly neighbors.

by M. leFevre

Twenty-five kids hold the genetic blueprint for immortality, and the government will do anything to get it. Trapped on an island in a neon cage on Sebaceous Island, they face deadly external threats and a vicious internal power struggle. Marco, the leader, fights desperately to lead them, but the greatest danger is Johar, jealous of power, a threat lurking from within. Yet, the ultimate prize is Hibis—the youngest, whose cells possess the most sought-after power of all. If the government captures even one of them, they will mass-produce a weapon capable of wiping out the rest of the underground.

by Sabine Phoenix

After the death of her beloved grandmother, botanist Evelyn Thorne returns to Moonshade Manor, a forgotten estate deep within the Louisiana wetlands that has been abandoned for generations.   While exploring the surrounding swamp, Evelyn discovers a flower unlike anything she has ever encountered. It blooms only at midnight, glows with an otherworldly light, and seems to recognize her. When she reaches out to touch it, a whisper breaks the silence:   "You came back."   Drawn into a mystery spanning more than a century, Evelyn uncovers hidden journals, a locked greenhouse, a vanished woman, and a forbidden love story that her grandmother spent a lifetime protecting. As long-buried family secrets emerge, she realizes the mysterious bloom is far more than a rare plant.   It is a doorway.   To uncover the truth, Evelyn must confront the past, unravel the curse that has haunted Blackwater Manor for generations, and decide whether some secrets should remain buried forever.   Filled with Southern Gothic atmosphere, unforgettable mysteries, and touches of magical fantasy, Bloom After Midnight is a story about family, love, sacrifice, and the hope that can blossom even after the darkest night.

by Tony Fain

When a ferocious wildfire rips through the dense timber of Humboldt County, Battalion Chief **Nate Cole** and his crew expect a standard containment job. Instead, they discover a scene of absolute carnage: the mutilated body of a university professor, shredded redwoods, and massive, ungodly claw marks that defy nature. For Nate, a man ruled by logic, it is an impossible crime scene. For his estranged brother, Deputy **Cody Cole**, it is a political nightmare that the local Sheriff is desperate to cover up as a simple "fatal bear encounter." The official lie shatters when **Dr. Evelyn Reed**, a sharp and vengeful archaeologist from Washington State, flies into the stormy California coast. The victim was her colleague, Arthur Finch, a man who didn't have accidents. Armed with Arthur's final, frantic research folder labeled *The Grey Stripe*, Evelyn refuses to let the small-town authorities bury the truth. Forced together by a shared bloodline and a growing body count, the skeptical fire chief, the torn deputy, and the relentless scientist form an uneasy alliance. As the coastal fog rolls into Eureka, they realize Arthur’s research wasn’t crazy—the wildfire didn't just clear the brush; it unburied a bloodthirsty, legendary predator. Now, with a hostile department blocking their investigation and an ancient horror stalking them from the misty canopy, the trio must hunt down a nightmare before it consumes their entire coastal town.

by Danël Feydrich

Dr. Elara Voss has spent her career listening to the static of the universe, searching for meaning in the noise. She finds it in the worst possible way—a signal that isn't a signal, a transmission that bleeds through military channels like poetry from a dying star. It speaks of ribs like canyon walls and knives that remember hands. It is beautiful. It is devastating. It kills everyone who truly understands it. Lieutenant Rael understood it. He clawed his own throat out six hours later. But Elara doesn't go mad. She translates. And that makes her the most dangerous woman in the galaxy. On the other side of settled space, Cassian Rhys has been running from a song for five years. An archaeologist who survived a dig that killed his entire team, he carries a piece of the alien artifact that drove them all to their deaths—a shard of obsidian that hums with a frequency only he can hear. It saved his life. It cursed him. And now it's singing a new name: Elara Voss. Together, they are drawn into a conspiracy that spans millennia. Project Lament. A secret military experiment that weaponized the signal. A cult called The Chorus, who believe the signal is not a threat but an ascension. A father who lost his daughter to the song and will tear the universe apart to get her back. Follow Elara and Cassian as they race across the fringes of human space, pursued by military assassins, fanatical cultists, and a grief-stricken commander who sees them as tools for his own redemption. The artifact's song grows louder. The fragments are awakening. And someone has been on-hold for a billion years...

by Revdoug

Ivan Glaskov has spent thirty‑five years covering NASA, the White House, and the machinery of American power. But beneath the public triumphs he reports, he quietly collects fragments that never fit the official story—classified briefings, anonymous calls, unmarked trucks, and a Florida facility that appears on no federal record. Over the years, a terrified insider sends him small, untraceable pieces: procurement slips, redacted memos, and finally a photograph of the Apollo lunar module sitting under studio lights. As Watergate unfolds, Ivan recognizes one of the burglars from a NASA security briefing years earlier, confirming the connection he has long suspected: the same men who shaped the political narrative shaped the space narrative as well. Near retirement, Ivan assembles the pieces into a final article—*The Story I Owe*—exposing the hidden architecture behind America’s proudest moment. The story detonates across the country. By the time it hits the front page, Ivan is already gone, leaving behind the truth he carried alone for decades.

by joe7112

Mason Reed sacrificed everything to seal the Gate and stop the Architects from invading Earth. But death was not the end. Awakening within the realm beyond reality, Mason discovers he has become the new Guardian of the Gate, protector of countless worlds connected through ancient pathways older than time itself. While Mason struggles to master his incredible new powers, trouble brews back on Earth. The Void King has vanished, several ancient prisoners remain free, and a dangerous cult has begun searching for ways to reopen the Gate. As darkness spreads across the stars, Atlas and the remaining Guardians race against time to prevent a new war from beginning. But the Void King has his own plans—and they threaten not only Earth, but every world connected to the Gate. To stop him, Mason must embrace his destiny and become something greater than a hero. He must become a legend.

by A.M Isle

A saga following a mercenary who is being hunted by people who keep telling her Celentra must stay frozen. She doesn't know what this means until she meets a cloaked stranger who tells her that she is carrying the soul of a dead Empress from another world. That she must revive this Empress to save a world frozen in time.

by A.M Isle

Sahora is a survivor; steel-tempered and scar-taught in the brutal streets of Serlane. For years she has belonged to no one but herself, living by grit, instinct, and the edge of her blade… until strangers begin to hunt her with a single, ice-cold command: Celentra must remain frozen. Dragged through a portal by a Seer named Amiranthia into a realm stalled in silence, Sahora is confronted with an impossible truth; Kathera’s soul burns inside her, and fate has crowned her the Empress’s Soulbearer. To revive Kathera and coax the land awake, Sahora must help recover the shattered Stone of Ilina: ten god-forged shards lost across a world that resists its own sunrise. Each fragment they claim lets Celentra draw breath again… and each one awakens ancient, starving powers determined to keep time locked shut. At Sahora’s side gather uneasy allies; Cyrus, a brilliant, reckless mapmaker; Briar, earth-bound and guarded with secrets; and Castor, the Empress’s legendary guard. But the cruelest twist of all may be Oliver: once sworn to stop her, now bound to her as Soulfated, hearing her thoughts, steadying the storm-magic rising in her blood. And as the kingdom trembles toward waking, a dark Seer named Carlosa sharpens prophecy in the shadows, gathering power for a night foretold; ready to destroy Kathera the instant she returns. Hunted by zealots, haunted by the life she tried to outrun, and forced to carry an empress’s heartbeat beside her own, Sahora must decide what she is willing to become: the weapon she was forged into… or the warrior who brings a world back to life.

by joe7112

For over a thousand years, the world has believed the same story. Atlas was a monster. Ancient records claim he nearly destroyed civilization before the rulers of the old world united to imprison him beneath Blackstone Mountain forever. Over time, the truth was forgotten, and Atlas became nothing more than a legend passed down through generations. Seventeen-year-old Mason Reed never believed the myths until he discovers a hidden chamber buried deep beneath the mountain. Inside, he finds a man trapped within an ancient crystal prison. When the seal breaks, Atlas awakens. But Atlas is not the villain history remembers. As mysterious disasters begin spreading across the globe and dark forces emerge from the shadows, Mason learns that the world has been built upon a lie. Atlas was humanity's greatest protector, betrayed by the very people he trusted. Now hunted by powerful organizations and haunted by secrets from a forgotten age, Atlas must uncover the truth behind his imprisonment while preparing for the return of an ancient enemy known as the Void King. With the fate of humanity hanging in the balance, a forgotten hero must rise once again. Some legends are buried for a reason. Others are buried because the truth is too dangerous to remember.

by joe7112

For over a thousand years, the world has believed the same lie. History remembers Atlas as a monster—a powerful being whose incredible abilities nearly destroyed civilization. According to legend, the rulers of the ancient world united to imprison him beneath Blackstone Mountain, sealing him away forever to protect humanity from his wrath. Over time, the truth was forgotten. Atlas became nothing more than a myth. A warning. A story passed down through generations. Seventeen-year-old Mason Reed never believed those stories. While exploring a forbidden cave system hidden beneath Blackstone Mountain, he discovers an ancient chamber containing an impossible sight: a man suspended inside a glowing crystal prison. When the seal breaks, the prisoner awakens. Atlas. The last superhero. As strange disasters begin occurring across the globe and ancient enemies begin stirring in the shadows, Mason learns a terrifying secret. Atlas was never the villain history claimed he was. He was humanity's greatest protector, betrayed by the very people he fought to save. Now Atlas must adapt to a world that has forgotten him while uncovering the truth behind his imprisonment. But powerful forces are determined to keep the past buried, and an ancient enemy known only as the Void King is preparing to finish a war that began a thousand years ago. With the fate of the modern world hanging in the balance, a forgotten hero must rise once again. Because some legends were never meant to stay buried.

by joe7112

Ethan Carter never planned to return to Black Creek. After leaving his hometown nearly fifteen years ago, he built a life far away from the forests that haunted his childhood memories. But when his father dies under mysterious circumstances, Ethan is forced to come home. Almost immediately, strange things begin happening. Livestock are found torn apart. Hunters vanish without a trace. Residents whisper about strange sounds echoing through the woods after dark. The sheriff dismisses the stories as rumors, but Ethan soon discovers a horrifying truth. Something lives in the forest. Something old. Something intelligent. And it has begun hunting again. As the body count rises and fear spreads throughout the town, Ethan joins a small group determined to uncover the truth. What they discover is worse than any nightmare. The creature isn't just killing people. It's watching them. Learning from them. Waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Now Ethan must confront the darkness hiding in Black Creek before the town becomes the creature's next feeding ground.

by Jack Cruse

**Everwind**\ *By Jack Cruse* Kailynn has spent her life believing she is nobody. After the death of her guardians, Kailynn was raised on a remote farm by her guardians brother who treats her more like a burden than family. Every day she dreams of little more than a full meal and a chance at a better life. But when a mysterious noblewoman named Sera Beaufort arrives and reveals that Kailynn's past is built on secrets, everything she thought she knew begins to unravel. Hunted by powerful enemies and haunted by the murder of her closest friend, Kailynn is thrust into a dangerous world of kings, conspiracies, and forgotten legends. As she flees across a fractured island, she discovers she may be the last surviving descendant of the Ash King—the ancient ruler who once united the Empire of Everwind before a dying wizard's curse shattered their dynasty. Now, whispers of her existence are spreading. Some would see her crowned. Others would see her dead. With an infamous bard turning her story into legend and a deadly swordsman sworn to protect her, Kailynn must learn the art of politics, survival, and leadership before those hunting her close the distance. Every ally may hide an agenda. Every kingdom of the old empire holds secrets. And somewhere in the shadows lies the truth about the curse that has haunted her bloodline for centuries. But reclaiming a lost throne may be the easiest challenge she faces. Because the fate of Everwind—and the future of the Ash King line—rests on a young woman who has only just discovered who she truly is. **A sweeping fantasy adventure filled with ancient curses, court intrigue, deadly assassins, found family, and a lost princess destined to change the world.**

by Heidi McNamara

Alright. Here is the \*\*poetic ending\*\*—not an explanation, not an epilogue, but the moment the story \*\*becomes complete\*\*.   \---   \## \*\*Poetic Ending\*\*   When Aeris finally understands that they are dying, nothing in the world panics.   The land does not fracture. The lights do not flicker. The sky holds.   That is how they know the work succeeded.   They sit in the workshop as evening drifts in through the windows—soft, ordinary, human. The maps on the walls have stopped changing. They are not perfect.   They are \*good enough\*.   Aeris’s hands tremble as they place the ring on the workbench. For a moment, they consider wearing it until the end. But love, they have learned, is not something you cling to.   It is something you leave room for.   Outside, someone laughs. A neighbor. A stranger. It doesn’t matter. The sound fits.   Aeris leans back in the chair no one else ever liked and closes their eyes.   They remember—not the stars, not the vast quiet of where they came from—but the weight of tools in their hands, the warmth of shared silence, the way broken things soften when you stay with them long enough.   The Observers are watching.   For the first time, they do not record.   They wait.   Aeris exhales.   And the world—imperfect, fragile, beloved— does not collapse in their absence.   It holds.   \---   \### \*\*Final Line\*\*   > \*Some beings cross the universe to understand it.\* > \*Aeris crossed it to remain.\*   \---

by Agatha Christie

Anthony Cade accepts a seemingly simple job to deliver a European politician's memoirs and a bundle of blackmail letters to England. The trail leads him to Chimneys, a historic country estate hosting a diplomatic weekend for the reinstating of the Balkan monarchy. When a foreign prince is murdered on the property, Anthony becomes a prime suspect and must work with Inspector Battle to clear his name. The investigation unravels a complex web of secret identities, missing crown jewels, and a notorious international jewel thief known as King Victor. Ultimately, Anthony discovers his own shocking connection to the throne just as the killer is unmasked.

by R.E. Hardyman

Who killed the Kings son? Where is the Princess? Secrets concealed and revealed.

by R.E. Hardyman

King Ragus Harbeth, ruler of all Estinolla, has died and his queen is now in charge, She has vowed to make the kingdom hers. by any means possible.

by Sarah Bantu

**About the Story** What if the key to your survival was locked inside a secret, ancient bloodline?\ Spun from a fascinating true piece of Russian history and set against the brutal, breathtaking backdrop of the frozen north, *Daughter of the Falcon* blends gripping suspense with an unforgettable romance.\ For centuries, deep within the endless, snow covered forests, an elite and hidden clan of warriors lived by their own laws. They did not just survive the winter they ruled it, training lethal military falcons to hunt, fight, and protect secrets hidden from the world. Today, that fierce bloodline legacy is alive, but the isolation of the frozen north is cracking. A dangerous, unpredictable threat is closing in, forcing old secrets into the light and testing the loyalty of a clan that has never bowed to anyone.\ Filled with high stakes twists, deep betrayal, and a slow burn love story that burns hot against the bitter ice, this fiction novel proves that some family histories can never stay buried. Step into a harsh, beautiful world where danger hides in every shadow, trust is a luxury, and you never know what's going to happen next. Discover what happens when the frost bites deep, and the falcon finally takes flight.

by Chasity Phillips

When Calvin Chambers loses his business and moves his family into a inherited Victorian estate in rural Alabama, they discover the property harbors a century-old curse. His grandfather David was possessed by the spirit of his own father Thomas, a grief-maddened man who built a hidden chapel deep in the woods and trapped the souls of stolen children inside porcelain dolls. The curse seeks a new keeper in every generation — and it finds one in Beth, Calvin's wife, slowly consuming her from the inside out while the family's ledger of victims grows. As Beth's possession deepens and neighbors begin disappearing, teenage Trisha teams up with a gothic classmate named Marsha to unravel the truth buried in the hollow's dark history. Meanwhile, the curse moves to claim its final victim — thirteen-year-old Nancy, buried alive in the family graveyard. Racing against time, the family pulls Nancy from the grave. But Marsha's research reveals the only way to permanently break the curse is fire — the chapel, every doll, and the possessed Beth must all burn together

by James Crenshaw

Jacob is a young man carrying the weight of loneliness, regret, and a life that never quite turned out the way he imagined. His only constant companion is Korra, his loyal dog, who stays by his side through long nights spent sleeping under the stars and wandering roads with no clear destination. As Jacob struggles to find purpose, strange events begin to unfold around him. He experiences moments that feel out of place—small cracks in reality that he can't explain. Dreams blur with waking life. Familiar places seem different. Time itself begins to feel unstable. Throughout his journey, Jacob is unknowingly being watched by an ancient and mysterious figure known only as The Watcher. While Jacob believes he is simply trying to survive another difficult chapter of his life, forces beyond his understanding have already taken an interest in him. As the story progresses, Jacob is repeatedly confronted with choices that test his character, forcing him to decide whether he will continue running from his pain or face it head-on. Along the way, Korra becomes more than just a companion—she becomes Jacob's anchor to reality. The climax of Book One reveals that the strange occurrences are not random. Reality itself is beginning to shift around Jacob. Though he doesn't fully understand it yet, he has become connected to something far larger than himself: a series of worlds, timelines, or realities that may not be as separate as they seem. The book ends with Jacob standing at the edge of a truth he cannot yet comprehend. The Watcher remains hidden, the mystery unresolved, and the first hints of Jacob's true role in the unfolding story finally begin to emerge. Themes: survival, loss, redemption, friendship, destiny, and the search for meaning in a fractured reality.

by Chasity Phillips

When fourteen‑year‑old Mary Ann Hamilton begins noticing strange cracks in her mother’s behavior—late‑night whispers, missing money, a sudden new identity—her quiet Alabama life shatters. Swept into a world of secrets, lies, and a man whose charm hides something far darker, Mary Ann is forced to confront the truth her mother has been hiding.   Some families protect you. Some destroy you. And beneath the rock, the past is waiting to be uncovered.

by Heidi McNamara

Alright. Then we go \*\*under the story\*\*—into the part that doesn’t explain itself.   This is where it becomes \*personal\*.   \---   \## \*\*What Aeris Never Says\*\*   Aeris does not fear death.   They fear \*\*wasted presence\*\*.   The alien part of them understands extinction mathematically. Civilizations end. Stars cool. Universes collapse into silence. None of that is tragic.   What \*is\* tragic is leaving \*\*before the work is done\*\*.   That’s the human infection.   And it runs deep.   \---   \## \*\*The Weight of the Body\*\*   The human form is deteriorating faster than expected.   Not illness—\*\*incompatibility\*\*.   Bones ache on cold mornings. Sleep comes in fragments. Sometimes Aeris’s hands shake when nothing is wrong.   Cael notices.   > “You’re burning yourself out to prove a point.”   Aeris doesn’t deny it.   They are compressing an existence designed for eons into decades.   Every repair costs more now.   But Aeris keeps choosing the cost.   \---   \## \*\*The Thing About Elion\*\*   Here is the truth Aeris never allows fully into language:   Elion wasn’t just loved.   Elion was the first human who saw Aeris \*without\* needing explanation.   Not the alien part.   The \*trying\* part.   Elion knew something was off—and chose curiosity over fear.   That was enough to break the directive.   That was enough to change everything.   Sometimes, late at night, Aeris speaks to the empty chair.   Not because they think Elion can hear.   But because the habit of care doesn’t vanish just because its object does.   \---   \## \*\*Cael’s Secret\*\*   Cael isn’t accelerating decay out of ideology.   They’re afraid.   Extraction stripped them of \*\*context\*\*.   Outside a body, everything was true—and meaningless.   No weight. No friction. No reason to pause.   Cael came back because eternity was unbearable without consequence.   They tear at the world because they want it to \*react\*.   Aeris understands this.   Which makes stopping Cael harder.   \---   \## \*\*The Question the Observers Never Ask\*\*   The Observers can calculate outcomes.   They can predict collapses.   What they cannot model is this:   Why would a being choose pain when efficiency is available?   Why stay?   Why grieve?   Why repair something that will break again?   They mark Aeris as an anomaly.   Not dangerous.   \*\*Instructive.\*\*   \---   \## \*\*The Deepest Realization\*\*   One night, after holding a failing district together through sheer presence, Aeris collapses on the workshop floor.   And in that exhausted half-conscious state, they understand something quietly devastating:   They are not teaching the world to stabilize.   The world is teaching \*\*itself\*\*—using Aeris as a reference.   Aeris was never meant to be permanent.   They were meant to be \*\*demonstrative\*\*.   A proof.   \---   \## \*\*What That Means\*\*   One day, Aeris will fail.   And that will be okay.   Because others—fully human, fragile, temporary—will have learned how to notice cracks early. How to stay. How to care locally instead of abstractly.   Aeris smiles at that.   For the first time, the future doesn’t require them.   \---   \## \*\*The Core Sentence of the Entire Story\*\*   > \*The universe can be understood without love. > But it cannot be repaired without it.\*   \---   If you want to go even deeper, we can:   \* Write \*\*Aeris’s final days\*\* (quiet, devastating, beautiful) \* Enter \*\*Cael’s POV\*\* at the moment they break \* Let the \*\*Obs ervers change\*\* (for the first time) \*.

by Gregory Wolfcrow

When twelve-year-old Howlvin Stein moves into a creaking old Victorian house on the edge of town, he expects a fresh start—not secrets lurking beneath the floorboards. But deep in the cellar, he discovers an ancient book marked with a strange symbol: a whale surrounded by stars. The moment he opens it, something awakens. Strange things begin to follow Howlvin—whispers in the walls, shadows that move on their own, and a forest that seems to be watching him. With the help of his only friend, Samantha Elm, and his loyal dog Frankie, Howlvin is drawn into a mystery older than Maplewood itself—a story of a vanished founder, a vengeful witch, and a curse that refuses to die. But the deeper they go, the more the forest changes… twisting paths, trapping memories, and pulling them toward something waiting in the dark. Because this isn’t just a story hidden in a book. It’s a story that remembers. And it’s not finished with them yet.

by LESLIE ANN HOWARD

Darcie Reynolds never wants to be picked on again. If she can just get into the Peaks—the most popular group at Silver Pines Middle—no one will dare make fun of her.  So when Amelia Davis, the girl everyone wants to impress, finally notices her, Darcie will do anything to prove she belongs—even follow a mysterious invitation into the woods.  At sundown, Darcie—her little brother Andrew in tow—hikes to an abandoned cabin in the Bitterroot forest, expecting a party. Instead, she walks into a prank that turns deadly when a man covered in animal hides bursts in and disappears with Andrew.  Darcie is convinced it’s the Shadow Man—an urban legend she’s been researching for her civics project, blamed for kidnapping local children. She’d always believed he was innocent.  Clearly, She was wrong.  Now, lost in a snowstorm, Darcie is forced to team up with Amelia to find Andrew. But the deeper they get into the mystery of the Shadow Man, the less the story adds up—and the harder it becomes for Darcie to decide what’s more dangerous: being wrong about the Shadow Man… or being right.

by Ashleigh Apple

Nora Bliss moves into a rental on a picture-perfect suburban street in **Harwick, Connecticut**. On her first night, she notices that the upstairs window of the house directly across the street (the **Hargrove residence)** glows at exactly 3am, every night, without fail. The neighbours say the Hargroves are lovely, their daughter Celeste moved to Portland months ago, and that light is just a timer lamp. Nora almost believes them. Then, one night, the silhouette in the window presses a hand against the glass. And waves back.

by Arin Lee Kambitsis

"In his latest fantasy, Kambitsis crafts a tale of small-town weirdness that would tickle Stephen King." - Kirkus Reviews Something evil is hidden in the woods outside of the beautiful town of Sparkle, PA, the kind of thing Peter Huffy, newly arrived in town, does not believe in. Little does he know that something is happening in Sparkle, something that hasn’t occurred on Earth since the destruction of Camelot a millennium and a half before, and the forces of good and evil are going to collide. Twelve-year-old Derek Windward is the sole keeper of Sparkle’s oldest secret. He is the only one who has witnessed the evil hiding in the darkest part of the forest, and how terrifying the power it wields truly is. It is the Bunyine - a giant, tormented creature born eight-thousand years ago in the Garden of Eden and harboring an ancient grudge for the betrayal of its masters, whom we call Adam and Eve. One morning, Derek receives a cryptic message carved into a tree. A message from the beast itself. Though what the Bunyine wants is unclear, what it would do to get it is unthinkable. Sparkle brings together the charm and wonder of fantasy and the thrills of horror, creating a unique experience for readers of both genres, and all ages.

by Sir Arthur Conon Doyle

Seeking a roommate to share expenses, Dr. Watson is introduced to the brilliant but enigmatic Sherlock Holmes at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital. The pair is soon summoned to a derelict house where a man is found dead with no visible wounds, save for the word **"RACHE"** scrawled in blood on the wall. As Holmes utilizes his unique powers of deduction to track the killer, the narrative reveals a tragic backstory of love, loss, and Mormon pioneers in the American West that fueled the murderer's quest for justice.

by Anie G. Ross

In a world of gaslit opulence and rigid etiquette, Blythe is a haunting anomaly—a brilliant spiritualist whose soul is trapped between life and death within an automaton body. Her only link to the living is Tarn “Madcap” Carrigan, a sorcerer-alchemist extraordinaire whose penchant for scandal is always one bad day away from another fatal mystery. With otherworldly secrets and new magic to discover, Blythe and Tarn are bound by an inseparable partnership.

by Anie G. Ross

In a world of gaslit opulence and rigid etiquette, Blythe is a haunting anomaly—a brilliant spiritualist whose soul is trapped between life and death within an automaton body. Her only link to the living is Tarn “Madcap” Carrigan, a sorcerer-alchemist extraordinaire whose penchant for scandal turns deadly when he is framed for the attempted assassination of the Empress using his own repurposed formula. While Blythe struggles to reconcile her lost humanity with her new, doll-like form, the purposefully improper Tarn must rely on her spectral talents to navigate a web of political treachery and corrupted sorcery. Together, their perilous adventure across borders leads them to unmask the true culprit and confront the secrets of the dark magic that brought them together. *Author Note: Any feedback/reviews are genuinely appreciated! This story is truly open to "kill your darlings" edits.*

by J.A. St. Thomas

***Foray* into this *highly* entertaining and thrilling mystery series where Stephanie Beroe, risks everything to combat the dark side of the one percent.**

by J.A. St. Thomas

***Foray* into this *highly* entertaining and thrilling mystery series where Stephanie Beroe, risks everything to combat the dark side of the one percent.** After surviving an incident last year against the ultra-rich, Stephanie and Remy Beroe have relocated to a quiet town outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico with the hope of a simple life. But burgeoning anger consumes her husband. He becomes obsessed by the billionaires that literally got away with murder last year. His preoccupation grows as the same privileged men continue to profit from their greed in an off-kilter world. “Never plan a murder out loud,” he states while plying Stephanie with endless safety gadgets; tokens of his mania, and comparing regulations for legal cannabis to nuclear energy. When bodies start turning up, he’s questioned by the police, then nuclear transport trucks start blowing up, dismantling cities and killing thousands of people. Stephanie contemplates whether this is masked hysteria? A terrorist act? Or simply her man gone over the edge. While empowering a unique group of friends, she constructs the ultimate Dantean retribution for the men who have driven her husband mad, while attempting to save Remy from himself? *Fool Me Once* female grit meets *Ocean’s Thirteen* flare and ingenuity speckled with Amelia Peabody, and Agatha Christie back bone.  As usual, Stephanie surrounds herself with a unique friend group that includes a college bestie also from New Jersey, a media mogul, a billionaire’s discarded son, an Egyptian Empire’s, discarded lesbian daughter, an industry scion, and several survivors from the previous year’s incident who all have reasons to be angry. Hiding in Egypt, they all have reasons to seek revenge– but retribution, as Stephanie realizes is a double-edged sword as she weighs out everything they stand to lose, by delivering it.

by Lisa Troy

On a fictional Greek island, Anastasia Livanitis solves murders and other crimes with her ghostly sidekicks, and her journalist best friend, Nikos.

by Lisa Troy

Anastasia Livanitis came back to Lifnos for one reason: her father needed post-surgery downtime and someone had to run the family taverna. Two months. In and out. Simple as tzatziki. Then Frieda Baron turns up dead a day after their very public argument — and Anastasia discovers she can still see her. Frieda in death is exactly how she was in life: a billionaire's daughter, a Reality TV winner, and utterly convinced the world revolves around her. She has opinions about the murder, the taverna's wall paint, and Anastasia's love life. Oh, and she's not going anywhere until the killer is found. Anastasia has no choice but to listen — because the locals already think her family's into the dark arts, the hot detective thinks she's the prime suspect, and the taverna won't survive another scandal. The problem with investigating a billionaire's daughter's murder? Ridiculously rich people aren't big on truth. They're interested in results. Anastasia doesn't believe in ghosts. Or curses. She definitely doesn't believe she can solve a murder with a dead woman's help. Yeah, that's going to go over well... A paranormal cozy mystery set on a sun-soaked Greek island. Perfect for readers who love: reluctant sleuths, ghost sidekicks with attitude, homecoming mysteries, family legacy, and Mediterranean atmosphere.  This story will be published as Spirits and Whine in July.

by Judah Ray

INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY! Madison thought she was the only sane one in the house.\ \ Fourteen and isolated in a remote farmhouse ruled by her mother Faith’s rigid devotion, Madison is convinced the madness belongs to the adults around her. Aunt Hope urges patience. Aunt Grace sees demons in everything. Faith stands between doubt and doctrine.\ \ Certain she is being suffocated by religious extremism, Madison secretly launches a livestream channel to expose her mother to the world. The followers grow. The comments validate her. And no one in the house knows they are being broadcast live.\ \ When Grace convinces Faith that Madison’s rebellion is something darker, prayer turns to accusation. Accusation turns to restraint. An exorcism unknowingly unfolds live as viewers watch religious fanaticism spiral out of control.\ \ This may seem like just another story about a rebellious teenager and her controlling mother.  Another story about faith gone too far.\ \ But the footage tells a different story.\ \ UNORTHODOX is a claustrophobic psychological horror about faith, rebellion, and a mother who refuses to abandon her child, even when the world calls her crazy.

by Judah Ray

In 1955, a secret experiment at the Large Hadron Collider tore open a doorway to another realm.\ \ Extradimensional beings came through, possessed the top scientists and military officials in the room, and kept the portal open.\ \ One of the first crossed over and took a human infant as its host. That infant was Christina.\ \ The only issue is that Christina forgot what she was,  and the others could not enter or control her, but she could see them. So they declared her unstable and institutionalized her.\ \ Years later, world leaders, billionaires, media figures, and political dynasties are all possessed. The New World Order is not a conspiracy theory. It is literal possession.\ \ A decade later, Christina escapes and resurfaces in Berlin. The forces that have tracked her since childhood want her reclaimed or eliminated.\ \ With the help of Jory, who has been able to see the entities inside people since surviving a near-death experience as a child, Christina uncovers a power structure that has ruled humanity from within for generations.\ \ When she learns she is one of them, she must choose between her own kind or the man she loves and the humanity she chose to protect.\ \ They have ruled the world from inside us.\ Now one of their own stands against them.

by Amelie Locke

**At Renfield Academy, the syllabus is simple: Serve. Protect. Bleed.** For twenty-one years, Seraphina Gray has lived as a prisoner to her mother’s religious fervor and the chaotic noise of her own mind. Being a mind-reader isn't a gift; it's a migraine that never fades. Desperate for one night of normalcy and maybe a stolen kiss from her crush, she sneaks out to a beach party and walks straight into a slaughter. She survives the brutal vampire attack, but she doesn't escape. Instead, she is dragged to Renfield Academy, a gothic fortress hidden in the shadows. Here, she learns the terrifying truth: she isn't cursed. She’s a *familiar*, born to serve and protect the very monsters that attacked her. Now, she walks a razor’s edge between impossible loyalty and forbidden obsession. She clings to Nicholas, the man whose kiss at the beach tasted like salvation, but whose secret lineage as a Van Helsing makes him her natural enemy. But a darker instinct pulls her toward Henry. Brooding, violent, and newly turned, he is the very vampire who attacked her that first night. By all logic, she should hate him. Instead, the connection between them is deeper than blood. But Renfield Academy is no sanctuary. When drained bodies start showing up all over town, the sacred treaty between humans and vampires begins to fray. Someone is manufacturing new vampires and turning them into weapons against the humans. Now Seraphina is faced with an impossible choice: will she protect the monsters she’s been created to serve, or help the hunter intent on destroying them?