The Bone Season

Being a teenager is no easy task, especially when you have an eating disorder in high school. Natalie Ashman is stressed to the bone and abuses herself every day. When she is stressed, she purges and spirals into oblivion. As time passes, Natalie faces a terrible trauma that causes her to lose her will to live. Will Natalie overcome this peril, or will she always be bone thin?

"She was the girl they meant to execute. Now, she is the nightmare that will wear their crown." ​Lyra Vale was supposed to die beneath the execution blade. ​Branded a witch. Hunted as the last survivor of a disgraced bloodline... Lyra Vale was supposed to die beneath the execution blade. Branded a witch. Hunted as the last survivor of a disgraced bloodline. Dragged before the kingdom that slaughtered her family, she expects death—not the ancient magic buried inside her to awaken before the entire royal court. Then the prophecy arrives. The Bone Crown has chosen her. Now the kingdom fears her existence, the Church demands her execution, and the shadows beneath the capital are beginning to wake. Worst of all, Crown Prince Cassian Draeven refuses to let her go. Feared across the continent as the king’s ruthless heir, Cassian is as dangerous as the dark magic crawling through the kingdom’s walls. Cold. Violent. Untouchable. The kind of man people obey before he even speaks. And according to the prophecy, he is destined to destroy the world. Forced into the deadly heart of the royal palace, Lyra becomes trapped between assassins, forbidden magic, court betrayals, and a prince whose obsession with her grows more dangerous by the day. But the deeper Lyra falls into the secrets of the Bone Crown, the more horrifying the truth becomes: Her family was never executed for treason. They were murdered to hide what she really is. And the throne of Varethis was built over something ancient that should have never awakened.

In Black Salt, love is a sickness you can’t hide—a slow gnawing beneath the skin that leaves you hollowed, grayed, and eventually gone. No one stays long enough to see it through; they leave before the rot finishes its work. It’s what the town teaches you: when it starts, you run. You look away. You survive by pretending not to feel. But Atlas is tired of pretending. The halls of Black Salt High are full of kids pretending they don’t see each other’s bruised hearts, pretending their bones aren’t already whispering warnings. Still, he can’t forget the weight of a father who stayed—not out of love, but because he never felt it deep enough to decay. That truth lingers in Atlas like a second shadow. And then there’s Nova—the outsider with a storm in her bones. And Wren, all sharpness and fight. Milo, who cracks jokes to keep the silence at bay. Luce, who wears her thorns like jewelry. Together, they don’t know how to stop the rot. But they’re learning how to sit with it, how to name it, how to refuse the small, hollow deaths of pretending not to care. In a town where love is a death sentence, staying might be the bravest thing of all.

"Yes, us. I don't want to marry you," Luna stated, her gaze fixed on Lucas's face, devoid of expression. "So, you're going to marry the pianist then?" Lucas guessed, causing Luna to become more certain that the man in front of her was already aware of everything. "Of course. I love him, so I will marry him," Luna replied, observing Lucas's reaction carefully. "But this time, I need this marriage," Luna continued, dismissing Lucas's scoffing smile. "And?" Lucas asked. "We'll make a prenuptial agreement," Luna declared. "Do you think I'll agree?" Lucas responded dismissively. "You have to agree. Whether you like it or not, we're going to make a prenuptial agreement," Luna insisted, prompting a threatening smile from Lucas. "Luna Estrada, you're too confident. Do you think I'd agree to this marriage? I even declined it," Lucas replied, belittling her. "We're not going to make a prenuptial agreement because we're never going to get married," Lucas added, causing Luna to clench her fists as if she had been rejected by the man before her. How could Luna Estrada face rejection? She couldn't allow it to happen. "Hahahahah." Luna forced a laugh, attempting to make it sound mocking to Lucas, although at this moment, she wished she could throw her heel at Lucas's head. "Then why did your grandfather force my grandfather to persuade me to accept this marriage, huh?" Luna said with traces of laughter in her voice, emphasizing each word. "Are you serious?" Lucas asked, his face showing mockery. "Didn't you ask your grandfather who would marry you? Weren't you suspicious? Who knows, maybe your grandfather was referring to my own grandfather, trying to match us," Luna's inner thoughts raced, attempting to calm herself.

My daughter suffered carbon monoxide poisoning and urgently needed to be taken to the hospital. However, the ambulance was blocked by my wife's car. She was carrying the man she had always loved, who only had a cold. She refused to move and even got into a fierce argument with the paramedics. She said, "Whether your patient lives or dies has nothing to do with me. I have a patient in my car as well. Why should I give way?" In the end, my daughter missed the critical window for treatment and passed away. From that moment on, my heart was completely dead. I took my wife to court.

By year four of our marriage, Scott had picked up a college girl—Gigi. Bright, beautiful, full of life. She had him, a billionaire, eating street food and chasing after her favorite esports player. Scott called. "Not coming home. Watching Joel Arnoult's match." Beside him, Gigi scoffed. "That boring old woman—does she even know who Joel Arnoult is?" They had no clue. The second the call ended, Joel had me pinned in the back of a dimly lit car. His teeth grazed my neck—sharp, teasing, a little painful. "Leila, if I win, how are you gonna reward me?"