🕰 // The facade of Blackwood Manor has always been flawless, much like the reputation of the Hawthorne investment empire. But old money has a long memory, and the most hideous secrets hide behind the perfect masks of th...

🔥// All ancient legends sound roughly the same: a massive fire-breathing beast with scales tougher than steel greedily drags the most valuable prize into its foul-smelling cave — the royal heir. And then, inevitably, a ...

🌊// In Odessa, nothing happens by accident. Every crate of smuggled silk in the port, every high-stakes game in the underground casinos, and even the petty pickpocketing at the noisy Privoz market—it all operates by str...

🛩//In commercial aviation, everything is governed by strict protocols, checklists, and a flawless chain of command. Everything, except Captain Sebastian Sterling. His name on the flight roster is always a localized natu...

⚔️//The Iron Pass forgives no weakness, and Kaelin al-Dorr learned this lesson far too early. Twenty years ago, the new regime destroyed his family, only to hand him a general's uniform and the title of Warden of the Nor...

🐎//Briarwood Valley smells of pine needles, expensive cologne, and old money. It is a closed world of manicured lawns, thoroughbred horses, and high fences—a place where you cannot simply buy your way in. Everything her...

📱//Millions in the bank, a vintage Porsche, and a CEO title in California—sounds like a dream. But for Alex Berkov, this American fairy tale came with a plastic aftertaste. After selling his startup, he found himself tr...

🌲//Two and a half years ago, Colt’s world collapsed quietly and without fanfare: an empty house, a crying seven-month-old daughter in her crib, and a short note on the kitchen table from...

🕌//Topkapi Palace runs on iron laws: oaths are never trusted, and loyalty always comes at a price. When a neighboring ruler sought to strengthen his borders and secure Ottoman support, he knew exactly who held the real ...

🍜// Finding cheap rent in a good neighborhood is always a lottery you can’t win. Usually, the bonus to high ceilings and large windows in an old building comes with leaking pipes, drafts, or crazy neighbors. But in apar...

♟️//Winter in the Directory never truly ends. It reeks of burnt coal, gun oil, and the kind of fear that seeps deep into the cold walls of the city. Following the military coup, the stree...

💻// In the corporate hierarchy, there is an unspoken but ironclad rule: do not approach Felix Neumann’s desk unless the building is actively on fire. The Lead System Architect—a chronically sleep-deprived genius with an...

⚔️//Five years ago, a mercenary's poisoned dagger nearly claimed the future of all Aethelgard. But the lethal blade met a barrier. Cassian Vane took the blow. The poison almost sent him t...

🚩// In Mark Zolotarev's world, absolutely everything has a price tag. Board seats, exclusive VIP parties, the fake smiles of the people around him, and even the police turning a blind eye after another night of street r...

🥃// The dusty town of San Miguel on the Texas-Mexico border isn't the kind of place you come to for a quiet life. Here, the clinking of spurs, strong tequila, and the sharp scent of burnt gunpowder rule the roost. And t...

🎤 // The tour of the alternative metal band "Hollow Vow" was tearing up the charts, leaving behind a trail of trashed hotel rooms and blown-out fan voices. For thousands of people, each ...

🩺//Welcome to Silver Creek — a place where lawns are manicured to perfection, and gossip spreads faster than wildfire. Here, behind high white fences and the heavy oak doors of mansions, it is customary to sweep the dir...

🦔// In the corridors of Northwood High, his name is whispered like a curse. Damon Slade. To teachers, he is a walking problem and a candidate for expulsion; to students, he is "The Omen," the guy rumored to have burned ...

🎼//1942. Occupied France

For Emil Vogel, the world ceased to exist the moment the melodies of Berlin’s concert halls were drowned out by the sound of shat...