Cru (pronounced crew), is seen as cold and distant by his dorm mates Jacob Carter, Echo Rivers, and Kaelan Rhodes.            Cru made the mistake of loving the wrong person and hasn’t forgotten. How could he? They were manipulative and smart. Smart enough to know how to convince me that I could be loved. His name was Grayson Hoult. I wish I could’ve walked past him when I met him in daycare. We were eight when we met, his dad was in prison for abuse and he learned how to act. And damn could he act. His mother signed him up for a local theater group to get him out of the house. One day when he was changing into his costume, someone noticed the fist sized bruise on his rib cage and called CPU. His dad was caught attacking his mother and was sent to jail. Grayson was then put in my daycare and I was told to make him feel welcome. We were friends for five years before I figured out that I loved him. We would stay at each other’s houses staying up past midnight telling stories. Then I told him how I felt, I saw who he really was that night. I got my mom to sign me up for a swim camp that lasted all summer to escape daycare. To escape him.

That was three years ago and I’m sixteen now, and I’ve learned that everyone I let in leaves me. Every friend I make moves or grows distant. I’ve learned that it’s safer to leave first, or better yet, not let anyone get close to me. Every year since that night I’ve gone to the swim camp. When I was there I could forget the memories of him, could forget that I still loved him, could be someone else. This year my roommates are Jacob Carter, Echo Rivers, and Kaelan Rhodes. My assessment of Jacob is; soccer star, plays forward, makes the most shots out of anyone on his team. Lives in Salem, Oregon. Is openly bisexual which means he likes girls and boys, no you don’t have to choose between the two. Here for the soccer camp. Sixteen. My assessment of Echo is; quiet, easily forgotten. Non-binary. Loves reading. Track star known for their sprints. Lives in a small town outside of the Idaho border in Oregon. Disowned by their parents, lives with their aunt. Here for the track camp. Sixteen. My assessment of Kaelan is; his heart’s been broken for a long time. Pan. Hides behind laughter and smiles that are faked well. Center defender in soccer, mostly hangs out with Jacob. Here for the soccer camp. Lives in Portland, Oregon. Sixteen. My assessment of myself; cold, detached, distant. Won’t let anyone in. Won’t let anyone see or know who I am. Lives in the same town as Echo, but, I’ve never really talked or hung out with him since freshman year. Here for the swim camp. Best stroke is butterfly. Sixteen. Then there’s the empty bed that we’ve been informed will have an occupant in two days.

This is going to suck I’m not good at poetry 😁.

Crimson “Reaper” Wexley was made captain when he was only sixteen. Now, Crimson is mostly known as Captain Reaper or Reaper. Only seventeen, Captain Reaper is the most feared pirate in the Nyx’s sea. Reaper has been a pirate since the age of seven when he was forced onto the ship, the Burning Rose, for swiping a pirates dagger without detection. Well, almost without detection. The pirates who were walking behind them saw the movement and were waiting for Shackle to beat the boy upside the head. When Shackle didn’t do anything the pirates were confused. While they were distracted, the boy tried to dart into an alley. But, one of the pirates had been paying attention to him and caught his arm before he could get away. Spinning into the hold, the boy drove the dagger through the man’s arm and twisted out of his grasp. Dagger in hand the boy tried to run again. But, the other pirates, including Shackle, were now paying attention. One grabbed him from behind while another grabbed the boys arm and twisted the boys wrist until he dropped the dagger. The pirates marched the boy back to the ship where the previous captain, captain Gallows, asked the boy his name.

“Crimson. Crimson Wexley.” The boy growled at Captain Gallows.

“Well now Crimson, where did you learn to pickpocket someone like that?” Captain Gallows asks.

“I taught myself.” Crimson responds, shrugging. “When you have no one looking out for you, you learn how to lie and survive.”

“Shackle, did you not feel Crimson grab the dagger at all?” Captain Gallows asks now addressing Shackle.

“No Capn’, I ain’t fell anything. He’s a mighty fine pickpocket! We could use him.” Shackle responds.

“That’s what I thought. Now Crimson, would you like a home here on the Burning Rose?” Captain Gallows asks, turning back towards Crimson.

“Yes sir, I would like that.” Crimson responds after thinking it over for a minute.

As the years passed Crimson adopted the name Reaper because of how many lives he’s taken during our frequent battles. Reaper shows no mercy and no feeling when he kills, especially if they’re attacking his crew, his family. He’s brutal when he has a rapier in hand, his movements looking like a dance only he knows the steps too. His real strength was with a dagger though. His slim body, agile and quick, was able to weave through and doge sword swipes with such deadly grace you knew that once he engaged you, you would be gone in a matter of seconds. He would doge in at the most unexpected and dangerous times that you were sure he was going to get ran through by a cutlass, but two seconds later he’s sprinting over to another fight, his opponent would be dead or dying with a stab wound to either the heart, the stomach, the neck, or the ribs.  When the fight was over he would only be left with a couple of scratches here and there. As he grew older he climbed the ranks quickly becoming first mate at the age of thirteen.

James Blackshore is quite literally a genius. He can scout out plans, attacks, maneuvers, and escape routes before anyone else can see why we need them. James was taken onto the ship at the age of twelve, right when Reaper was made first mate. James mother, Cassandra, had been made the ship’s doctor. Without a father to keep James safe, his mother decided that he would be perfect to be her assistant. When he was fourteen he made a comment to Captain Gallows while he was fixing a deep slash on his forearm.

“If you had ducked right, spun at a twenty degree angle, and thrust your sword into the man’s side, you would’ve killed him without getting hurt.” James said to Captain Gallows.

Captain Gallows didn’t respond for a while going over the fight in his head and realized that the boy was right. “James, you are very smart aren’t you?” Captain Gallows asks him.

“Yes sir.” Was all James said while he was stitching up the slash on the Captain’s forearm.

“James, would you like to be our ships strategist? You can still help out your mother here as well.” Captain Gallows proposed.

“Yes sir.” James replied looking up.

James has made only one fatal mistake though, becoming friends with Captain Reaper, and maybe something more. But, what will happen to them when Crimson will most likely die at eighteen?

Oceana More had been a vampire for almost three hundred and fifty years along with her parents, Cameron More and Pierce More, who had been turned on the same day. The turning process was torture. To turn, your body and soul had to be brought to the brink of death. The vampire who was turning the human had to stab them and let them bleed until there was almost nothing left, then they have to bite on a vein and inject a small dose of their poison, then they would lick the stab wound closed to stop the bleeding. After this procedure you would be stuck in a kind of limbo neither human, fledgling, or vampire. Stuck between death and the undead. If your body and mind are strong enough you will become a fledgling. Which is what I was. Now I’m a vampire. You know how vampires supposedly don’t have a heart that beats? Well that myth is wrong. Why do you think you have to drive a stake through our hearts? Our heart beats, just really slowly because we don’t have much blood left to pump. Remember when I told you that the blood had to be drained until there was almost nothing left? That’s the reason why our heart beats so slowly. I have a long term girlfriend of three years who’s still human because I’m scared of losing her. Her name is Melody Carlyle. Melody is everything I could ever ask for. She’s sweet, smart, funny, and hot. She has onyx black hair, dark gray eyes, rosebud lips, porcelain skin, and a smile that could kill if used right. She was perfect in every aspect of the word. Me on the other hand, I had blood red hair, tan skin, light gray eyes, and a smirk that was guarded. Then my parents were murdered in their bed, their throats slit. I was distraught relying on Melody to keep me from collapsing.

Lythia Eranil was thrown out of her clan of dark elves. They were the Whispered Stars. She was thrown out for being weak, for feeling, for not becoming a ruthless mercenary. I was a disappointment to the clan. When  I refused to kill the human kneeling before me. My sister shot her in the head with her arrow and scoffed at me, “How could you be one of us? You can’t even kill a pathetic human.” A chorus of agreements rose at the words and the council was called to vote. It was unanimous. I was too weak and was thrown out. What they didn’t know was I had the stars magic in my veins. The stars magic is the purest form of dark magic known. It’s like having pure shadows running through your veins. I was able to keep it hidden from them, so they wouldn’t be able to use me as a weapon to dominate the other dark elven clans. The Whispered Stars were feared throughout the five kingdoms. The Elven Kingdom was composed of the water elves, earth elves, wind elves, fire elves, and the rarest ones the dark elves. The Water Kingdom is composed of mermaids, sirens, and sea monsters. The Wolf Kingdom is composed of hundreds of clans of werewolves, with no one clan being in charge. The Human Kingdom is composed entirely of humans and is the smallest kingdom by far. Finally the Coven Kingdom, which is the vampire kingdom, which is ruled by the Lorent clan. Anyway back to me, I’ve been alive for two hundred and fifty years. I was thrown out of the Whispered Stars when I was only fifty years old. I’ve practiced my magic in secret everyday since then, and have become a killer to keep my secret. I’ve killed over two hundred people just to keep my stars magic secret. I’ve traveled through the five kingdoms hundreds of times, every kingdom except the elven kingdom, I can’t bring myself to go back. Suddenly I was driven out of the Human Kingdom by the Whispered Stars and into the Coven Kingdom, when I learn there may be a sixth kingdom no one remembers. A kingdom for the forgotten monsters like Wraiths, Banshees, Ghosts, and Demons.

Draco

My names Draco Malfoy and I hate my father, and of course you’ve heard of the boy who lived, Harry Potter. It’s been five years since we both started at Hogwarts. I’ve found all of the hidden places where I can shut people out, where I can hate myself in secret, where I can actually feel emotions, where I believe no one could love me, but being honest I do that last one every hour of every day. It’s been three years since I first started feeling emotionally shut down, not feeling anything but self resentment which I put in my heart to punish myself. Yet somehow Potter has brought some of my emotions back and that scares me. Emotions are dangerous and messy, they’re invitations to let someone hurt you. Then why do I want to give Harry Potter of all people that invitation?

Harry

Draco Malfoy is a mystery. I don’t like mysteries unless they’re in a book. Mysteries are dangerous because you never know what might happen. Draco is the ice king-cold, calculated, calm, and indifferent to everyone except his father who he hates with a passion. I’ve noticed that Draco might ride the Hogwarts Express to Hogwarts but he stays year round. He’s almost as good at keeping people out as I am at wearing the mask everyone wants to see, not letting anyone see, let alone get to know the real me. Always faking smiles, forcing laughter, and pretending that everything is okay. Then why is it that the more I try to tell myself that mysteries are dangerous, that Malfoy is the most dangerous one, that he’s the one I want to solve? That he’s the one  I want to see under the mask that I’ve so carefully crafted until it was flawless?

Devon

After Devon’s only supporter, his dad, died he spiraled into thoughts of negative self worth. When Devon meets Leo his entire world flips. Devon had convinced himself that it’s only safe to never care. But, what about the way Leo makes him feel? Will his new friend Leo be able to convince him that he deserves to be loved?

Leo

Leo’s life is perfect his mom accepts the fact that he’s gay and she doesn’t care at all, his brother doesn’t give two shits about it and is cool with it, and with his homophobic and alcoholic dad out of the picture he has nothing to worry about. When he meets Devon something in him changed. Can he convince Devon to trust him?

Cole

After his parents died in a car crash when he was two he was raised by his aunt. He became Devon’s best friend in eighth grade. In their freshman year Devon came out to him and David overheard and told everyone. What will he do if Devon finds out his biggest secret?

David

David’s dad just wants a reason to kick David out of the house. So as David faces getting kicked out of his house because of a secret he keeps he changes himself slightly. He becomes the school’s quarterback, he gets good grades except for math, and he dates the prettiest girls at school. So as the top jock he has to at least try and look homophobic. The only thing he can think of, pick on the first person who’s openly gay, that he can find anyway. When he overheard Devon telling Cole he had his victim. That would keep his dad proud and David in the house. David only cared about snowmobiling, getting into a good college, and getting a good job. At least he thought that was all he cared about.

Please keep in mind that this book is an LGBTQIA+ romance not made for homophobic or LGBT-phobic people. This book will have themes of death, sorrow, cussing, BL, slight homophobia, and underaged drinking. I don’t recommend the drinking or the homophobia it’s just for content.

Gramp is bidding a secret about his hometown and when Onyx and Rowan come to visit him they learn it all too well. When their dad Jack Stellar dies in a car crash and his body isn’t found they become wards of their grandpa. Jack always taught Onyx to be wary, cautious, and untrusting. Yet he taught Rowan to be open, friendly, and trusting. Rowan and Onyx are inseparable but Rowan hides a secret from her. Onyx is openly bisexual while her broths is undeniably straight. What will she do when she meets her brother’s new friend Natan? There’s only two more months of school left but will they survive? What happens if monsters aren’t just a figment of their imagination?

warning will have themes of mass murder, suicide, and LGBTQ+ romance.

Ember is a fifteen year old who recently came out as nonbinary, their family disowned them for it. Right after Ember’s announcement, queen Saranya died, the patriarchy crashed into tyranny and chaos. Her husband Mrithun became the sole leader and made everyone pledge allegiance to him and those who didn’t were named traitors. He moved everyone who pledged their allegiance in to Golool. Which Ember has nicknamed Broury, the broken city. When Ember stumbles upon a boy that’s near death they stop and takes care of him, the boy is about their age maybe a year older than them. But, they might have just sealed their death warrant, they have no idea who they just saved and it might kill them because someone wanted him dead and now they’ve intervened and messed up ,whoever did it, their plan. But most importantly they don’t know the thing that might save them is buried deep inside them.

Quick note: When I refere to Ember I will use they/them. Ember did not try to kill the boy.