Ten young-adult dark fantasy stories set in a world frozen over. Savage labyrinths, fallen stars, hungry spirits, dying gods, and fragile flames guarded against the dark — tales that ask what it means to stay human when the world itself has iced over.
Grim Winter was a challenge to LegendFiction members to create unique, dark-fantasy worlds. We asked them to explore the pale, uncharted places where the sun rarely rises, where dangerous things hunt beyond the firelight.
These YA stories took up that challenge in remarkably different ways. You will meet heroes who fail, sacrifice, endure, and choose compassion when cruelty would be easier.
The nights ahead are long, and the wind carries prayers that may never reach home. But somewhere in the darkness, hope still burns.
Every book sale gets divided up among the authors! With this book, LegendFiction nor our mentors get a royalty share. That’s how we pay it forward.
Enjoy, and stay warm amid the grim winter.
Dominic de Souza
Founder,
LegendFiction
Stories in this book:
1. The Frost Mirror — Isabella M.
Calliope and Magnus, trapped in an endless frozen maze, are lured into a false vision of safety by monstrous Bráchníka attempting to choke and kill them.
2. “To Wish Upon a Fallen Star” — Maria Pasquale
Sixteen-year-old Corwin searches for a fallen star whose wish could rescue his impoverished family, only to discover that the star is a girl named Esther who will be trapped on Earth forever if he claims it.
3. “Blizzard’s Embrace” — K.G. Stevenson
While traveling through an unnatural blizzard to obtain medicine for her sick brother, Eva shelters in a sinister mansion, escapes in fear, and nearly falls victim to the vampire-like demon Armaros.
4. “The Final Sacrifice” — C.S. Waters
Chosen as her village’s annual sacrifice, Iselin escapes and discovers that the Elders have twisted the story of a neglected traveler’s ghost.
5. “Shattered” — Grace Schroepfer
When the North Wind freezes James’s mother and threatens to steal his heart, the frightened boy follows a message from his missing sister Lily to an abandoned theater and confronts the creature.
6. “Samantha” — Joseph Leach
Diplomatic courier Jason answers a distress call on a frozen world and discovers that the sole “survivor” is an AI simulation of the murdered scientist Samantha White, whose pleas for rescue he rejects before destroying her ship and escaping hostile creatures.
7. “The Shepherd’s Lambs” — Carl Olson
Each Advent, elderly Soul-Shepherd Birgir and his faithful dog Leo enter the supernatural Mistlands to guide lost souls—appearing as luminous lambs—through the gate to Paradise, battling a predatory spirit with help from the divine Bel-Wether.
8. “The Last Ember of Aelwinter” — Trey McIntosh
Disgraced guardian Karsa carries the last living memory of a dead god across the frozen kingdom, enduring monsters, zealots, and mortal wounds so it will have a witness when it dies.
9: The Flame She Could Not Feel - Elizabeth Eisenmann
A young huntress named Kae races to earn her coveted Cloak by tracking down fugitive monsters.
10. Stone Cold Fires of Hope” — Corinna Turner
Winter is closing in, and undersized Cillen Igeran cannot survive without a fire Drake—but leaving home to find one is almost certain death.
BONUS. A Grim Dream — Dominic de Souza
Mute serving girl Beltara has spent years fleeing the monstrous Navidiin through her dreams—until it appears while she is awake.
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Here's my short story; A Grim Dream:
https://dominicmdesouza.substack.com/p/a-grim-curse-from-the-grim-winter
I’m so happy for this!! The Final Sacrifice was my first time submitting a story to an anthology. I learned so much from that experience, and it helped me grow as a writer. This story and anthology means a lot to me.
Great job everyone!!