TheConfusedTurtle

The best way to gain power is with magic, and the only way to obtain magic is to die.Celestine Elythier has worked hard to disappear, so when the king's men drag her out of hiding, her simple, quiet life crumbles around her. Instead of finding a home in the dungeon, however, she is recruited to infiltrate a specialized magic academy and root out a spy. The catch? She must die first. Ruthlessness abounds at the academy, where every student is desperate to climb to the top and graduate with a place in the court. With only six months to catch the spy, Celestine must determine true friend from true foe or lose what life she has left.…

TheConfusedTurtle

[ONC 2025 Shortlister]An apprentice silversmith, haunted by his reflection.A wealthy family, falling to ruin.A patron spirit, searching for a pact.Five games will decide their fate.After acquiring great wealth from a boom in silver trade, the Blackwood family moves into a mansion that was mysteriously abandoned by its previous owners. The property has everything a family of established silversmiths could need: prime trade location, a smithing workshop, and a large mirror that was left behind. To Kyren Blackwood, the promises of a new life and the riches that come with it are more than enough to overshadow the eerie tale.But the mirror watches. Reflections are not what they seem. Driven to the brink of insanity, Kyren must uncover the mirror's secrets before his family loses everything. In a desperate attempt to free himself, he agrees to play five games with the spectre in the mirror. If he can win three, the curse will end. Lose, and he surrenders his soul to the silver spirit.~An ONC novella, inspired by prompts 13 and 55.~Set in the same world as Buried in the Sea but can be read completely independently (with no spoilers to one or the other).…

TheConfusedTurtle

Seven years ago, Calliope Endiris lost everything in a flood of cursed black water. Haunted by the calamity, she seeks to absolve herself of the patron sigil passed through her family, one that binds her to the very same water spirit who destroyed her home--Marin. But her quest is cut short, and Cal ends up stuck as an attendant to Elowyn, the youngest daughter of the wealthy Adeline family. Cal would rather do anything than babysit, but she has no choice. Not when the Adeline family knows of Cal's sigil and the truth of the black water calamity, knowledge that could get Cal killed.However, on the eve of Elowyn's twelfth birthday, the Adeline estate falls under attack, and all members of the family are slaughtered. Cal and Elowyn are forced to flee farther east for sanctuary, but it won't be easy to shake off their enemies with another patron sigil-user leading the charge. When Marin promises safety to both girls at a temple oasis, where the water is pure enough to wash away any sin, Cal makes a dangerous gamble to protect Elowyn. Even though Marin's black water haunts Cal, she'll do anything if it means saving her life and Elowyn's--especially if there's also a chance to dissolve her pact with the water spirit.~~Completed!…

TheConfusedTurtle

For the fae, magic is everything: status, power, wealth, honor. For Vera Reite, a fae born with no magic, it is a shameful reminder that she will never amount to anything.Whispers of a fae-killing monster begin to circulate the Moon Court. It lurks in the woods, feeding off the mana of its victims. Those that go missing and find themselves at the mercy of the beast are never seen or heard from again. Fear quickly takes hold of the fae court; it's only a matter of time before their whole world is destroyed by this creature. However, it offers Vera a glimmer of hope. When she learns of it, she ventures into the wood to kill the beast, believing that she will be able to absorb the magic it has stolen.But the woods are as dangerous as the beast, and Vera soon finds herself lost. In a stroke of luck, she comes across an old manor deep in the forest where a strange boy is sealed away. If Vera wishes to slay the beast, she will first have to uncover the secret of the manor and its prisoner before it's too late.𝐀 𝐟𝐚𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜. 𝐀 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭. 𝐓𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝.||Completed: 8/15/24 Word count: 90,000 - 100,000||Sample, getting published fall 2026!…

TheConfusedTurtle

||𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐲𝐬 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫||[𝐀𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬, 𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭...] The princess of Niveus is cursed. Overflowing with magic she can't control, the young heir sets her kingdom on a path of despair, and consequently invites misfortune and death into her midst. A fire burns within her, one that will turn the whole world to ash if it is to be unleashed. Or so Felix was told by the queen of the opposing kingdom of Furvus. He is given a simple task: kill the princess and in return, he will be pardoned from the consequences of his countless murders. Being an assassin raised to do nothing but kill, he sets out eager to complete his mission and earn his freedom. The price of one girl's blood is a small one to pay if it means he can get away from his past. But the truth is not so black and white, and Felix finds his attention snatched away from his mission by the mystery behind Princess Aiko. When her attendant and seer promises him knowledge in exchange for his service, he must choose between his mission and his safety. As tensions arise between Felix, himself, and his kingdom, he learns that he must trust the very center of his problems if he wants to make it out alive. Together, he and Aiko might be able to uncover the truth behind her curse and put a stop to the plot of Furvus's power-hungry Queen.✴︎20x Featured | Editor's Choice February 2023 ~Completed! ~Cover by the fantastic @-aceospades- ! ~Book One in the Ashes Duology…

TheConfusedTurtle

[𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐧, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐬: 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐲 𝐮𝐬.] Queen Aiko Cennín awakes to the sight of her kingdom destroyed by the power of the Ember Core. The price of freedom was steep, but she can find no fault in paying it. That is, until the shadows start to stir and trouble finds her once more. When Felix--her friend and former assassin--is taken, Aiko is faced with a difficult choice: to let him go or to risk her life to save his. The farther she wanders from the safety of Niveus, the deeper she wades into the truth of the phoenix god and its Ember Core. All actions have consequences, and the primordial gods are not so forgiving to those that disrupt their order for selfish humanity. With the destruction of the Ember Core, the world between worlds is crumbling, and the Core Reapers are desperate to mend it--no matter what it costs the human realm. Held captive for meddling with the Core, Felix finds himself at the mercy of the Reapers to pay for Aiko's mistakes. With time and the gods against her, Aiko races to rescue him before it's too late. However, she won't have to do it alone. Magic abounds where Cores are born, and Niveus is not the only kingdom with a god-given gift. She joins forces with another Bright Soul: a young girl on a similar quest to find her missing sister. Together, they may be able to mend the world between worlds and save the ones they care for most. But the price of freedom is always a little more than one is willing to pay.~𝐒𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬 ~Completed!…