Gateway

Ever since he was a kid, Sieghal was convinced that something terrifying was lurking under the sea, waiting for him with its jaws wide open. But he had no clue what kind of creature it could be. His fear only grew worse when his dad fell into the ocean, forcing him to return to his hometown—Shira, to face the terror he'd never been able to overcome for years. Returning to Shira after all these years was no cakewalk for Sieghal, who despised the sea. While most folks would say the ocean is a super romantic place, not for Sieghal, it was just a gateway ready to drag his soul into death. Unlike him, the people of Shira believed that the ocean, which had sustained them for decades, was protected by a guardian—a wonderful entity with shimmering silver scales. And it was this entity that had saved his dad when he fell into the sea during a massive storm that night. "Is seventy million dollars is enough to buy your dignity, Alfreeda Sieghal?" "Sir Dylan, I'm not to try sell my soul just to get money for my dad's medical bills."

In a world where the powerful Elders ruled with iron fists, the Marked Ones warriors cursed and gifted with abilities beyond mortal understanding were bound to serve. Among them, Lyla, a fierce and unyielding leader, emerged from the ashes of war with one purpose: to shatter the chains of the Elders and claim the throne for herself. After years of bloodshed and sacrifice, Lyla did the impossible she destroyed the Elders, dismantling their legacy of domination. But victory came with a price. Her rise to power awakened something far older and far more dangerous: the Forgotten Kings ancient rulers who had existed long before the Elders, hidden in the shadows of time, waiting for the right moment to reclaim what was once theirs. The city of ruins that Lyla thought was a stronghold of the past turned out to be a gateway to a prison for the Forgotten. Her mere presence, her power, unlocked the seals that held them back, and now, the ancient kings stir, whispering through shadows, testing her strength with apparitions and phantoms that defy life and death. Lyla, unyielding and defiant, refuses to kneel. With the Marked Ones by her side, she begins a journey to understand the true nature of the power she wields, a power that may have never belonged to the Elders, but to something much older, much darker. As the boundaries between past and present blur, Lyla must decide if she will be a mere successor to the throne or its ultimate conqueror. But with the Forgotten Kings watching her every move, and the shadows growing restless, the true war for dominance over the world has only just begun.

Reader discretion advised. Adults 18+ only. Alisa Verene was the stain on her family's name—the illegitimate daughter of House Verene, forever living in the shadow of her perfect half-sister. No matter how hard she tried, no matter how much of herself she gave, she was never enough. Love, praise, and pride were reserved for Naomi. Until him. Victor Ravencroft, the second son of a powerful house, saw her—cherished her—and for the first time in her life, Alisa believed she could be wanted. Loved. But love, too, was a lie. Naomi destroyed her marriage with a single revelation: she was carrying Victor’s child. The affair hadn’t started after the wedding—it had never ended. Alisa had been nothing more than a pawn, a convenient gateway to the woman Victor truly desired. He married her not out of love, but proximity. A sister’s castoff. A wife in name only. Shattered, humiliated, and burned by betrayal, Alisa refused to fall quietly. She demanded a divorce—and with vengeance in her veins, she did the unthinkable. She turned to Leo Ravencroft, Victor’s older brother, the cold and untouchable heir. And with steady eyes and a broken heart, she asked him for a favor that would set the entire Ravencroft name ablaze: A fake marriage. A lie to rival the one that ruined her.