Publisher Annotation: Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, this young adult fantasy follows the forbidden romance between a powerful prince and an ordinary girl as they try to survive their kingdom's grueling laws pitting them against each other.

Macabre meetings, sinister excursions, and deadly relationships; uncanny encounters; a classic ghost story featuring an American god; a historical murderer revived in a frightening new iteration; innovative Lovecraftian turns; shadowy fairy tales and weird myths; strange children, the unexpected, the supernatural, the surreal, and the all-too real . . . tales of the dark. Such stories have always fascinated us, and modern authors carry on the disquieting...

Strange. Beautiful. Shocking. Surreal. APEX MAGAZINE is a digital dark science fiction and fantasy genre zine that features award-winning short fiction, essays, and interviews. Established in 2009, our fiction has won several Hugo and Nebula Awards. We publish every other month. Issue 129 contains the following short stories, essays, reviews, and interviews. EDITORIALEditorial by Jason Sizemore ORIGINAL FICTIONIt Happened in 'Loontown by Lavie TidharCity...

A small-town baker uses her magic to confront a post–vampire apocalypse world in this award-winning fantasy Neil Gaiman called “pretty much perfect.”
Although it had been mostly deserted since the Voodoo Wars, there hadn’t been any trouble out at the lake for years. Rae Seddon, nicknamed Sunshine, head baker at her family’s busy and popular café in downtown New Arcadia, needed a place to get away from...

In order to break a curse on her kingdom, Isla Crown, the young ruler of Wilding, must compete in the Centennial, a deadly game that only the rulers of six realms are invited to play, and to survive she must lie, cheat, and betray--even as love threatensto undo everything.

A surreal gothic fantasy of three nefarious cities: Paradise, Paradis, and Paradys Welcome to Paradise, where the sun hasn't shone for years and a callous, ritual-obsessed populace roams the decayed metropolis enshrouded in fog. The citizens are unhinged, murder and incest are praised, and madness reigns. Only a pair of twins, Felion and Smara, remains sane. But their sole hope of escaping the city is a mysterious ice labyrinth connecting parallel...

Things are heating up. Not a day goes past without Casey fighting for her life. But it's only just the beginning. She's about to come to the attention of some of the vilest gods in town. Casey is thrown head-first into the fight. And the more she fights, the more she learns that not everything is as it seems....Tune in for the thrilling second installment in the action-packed God Given series. It is sure to please fans of Odette C. Bell's Trapped...

With her world facing annihilation, one of three powerful sisters must cross over into a forbidden dimension of vanished gods to confront an all-consuming terror in the continuation of the phenomenal Saga of the Trillium
The three royal daughters of the Black Trillium brought a welcomed peace to Ruwenda and the World of the Three Moons by defeating the dark sorcerer Orogastus. Now it is time for Kadiya, the Seeker-Warrior, to return the...

After receiving an ominous message about forthcoming demons and doom, Falmagon Sej is sent to retrieve a magical staff to protect the Anshedar. But he has unknowingly fallen in love with the sister of his enemy, and the price for betraying love may be too high for him to stomach. Falmagon's footpath to becoming the Highborn Longwalker is riddled with sorrow, promising an undying hate for himself, unless he can somehow find salvation under the grace...

The princess must die-that's Brenn Dardrogan's objective when he, his Dusk Legion partner, and a few expendable sellswords break into the castle at Cavell. But the righteous Crimson Sun's sudden interference forces the Dusk Legion's group to chase them through the dangerous dark forest of the Dyndaer. As allegiances among the assassins are called into question and the veracity of their quest becomes doubtful, Brenn must try to strategize the completion...