The journey back to the castle was slow, filled with sore muscles, smoldering clothes, and the faint scent of singed monkey fur. Mo sat perched on Rhiannan's shoulder, his oversized banana clenched in one tiny paw like a weapon of honor. The others limped alongside her. Sable holding his bloodied wing tight against his side, Liam dramatically cradling his black eye and muttering about unfair monkey tactics, Arwen inspecting his chipped claw with all the horror of a man who just lost a finger, and Elisha muttering in fury about needing to boil every remaining monkey alive.
But even through the exhaustion and chaos, the castle's heart called to them.
Elisha led them through a long forgotten hall that shimmered with an enchantment older than time. The doors they reached pulsed with power, obsidian black and veined with silver like starlight trapped in stone. They were easily thirty feet tall and covered in ancient draconic runes. Sasha, ever snarky from a wall speaker above, muttered, "Great, a dramatic door for a dramatic day. Typical."
Rhiannan stepped forward. Her palm pressed to the center rune, which glowed at her touch. The doors groaned and opened with the sound of ancient thunder, revealing a library that made everyone stop and stare.
Inside, the air was thick with magic and age, the scent of old parchment, dragon fire, and blooming nightshade flowers mixing into an intoxicating perfume. It wasn't just a library. It was a living entity, an ancient consciousness that pulsed with curiosity and wisdom.
Floating will o'wisps danced through the air, flickering between shelves stacked so high the tops disappeared into a star dotted ceiling that looked like the actual night sky. The stars twinkled, shifting, and if one listened closely, they could hear faint whisperings, echoes of stories long forgotten.
Books fluttered their pages like wings as the group stepped in, some muttering to themselves. One particularly tattered tome flung itself at Liam's head, who shrieked in surprise before catching it with vampiric speed. The title shimmered across its cover: How to Seduce a Goddess in Ten Easy Steps.
Rhiannan cackled. "Helpful," she muttered.
Nearby, Kaleb picked up another that said, Magical Beasts and How to Bargain With Their Egos. He snorted and looked directly at Elisha.
The dragon rolled his eyes but said nothing, still nursing his pride and a scratch down his jaw from a particularly feisty monkey.
They wandered through row after row of chaotic knowledge.
Books that whispered secrets of fallen empires.
Tomes that glowed and tried to bite anyone who opened them without permission.
A heavy scroll labeled Blood Magic: Forbidden but Fun.
And a curious shelf with only one book on it: The Guide to Being the Best Mate: For Demons With Emotional Damage. Sable stared at it for a long time before awkwardly walking up to it and tucking it under his wing slowly.
Rhiannan smiled big and nodded to him, blowing him a soft kiss and he grinned like a fool as he caught it with a clawed hand.
The wisps floated toward a hidden alcove, nudging Rhiannan forward. The group followed as the shelves began to shift and rearrange behind them, revealing a circular chamber glowing with violet light. In the center sat a stone pedestal with five black velvet cushions and atop each, a ring.
Seven rings total.
Each carved from obsidian, but veined with a unique hue:
Silver streaks for Kaleb
Blue lightning for Arwen
Golden fire for Elisha
Deep crimson veins for Liam
Purple black shimmer for Sable
And for Rhiannan...hers shimmered in every color, the metal itself humming in her palm.
The seventh ring sparkled with starlight and chaos and glowed, but remained stuck to its cushion. Rhiannan tilted her head to the side. "There's another mate." She breathed. All five men groaned in unison and the library sent floating pages zooming directly for their faces.
They scatted quickly and Rhiannan laughed. "You all knew there could be six. We will welcome him as family." Her men nodded and agreed, helpless against their Goddess.
As they slipped the rings on, the library shuddered, and a hidden compartment in the wall opened.
Inside rested a single ancient book. Bound in white dragonhide, it pulsed with divine power.
The Pentacles of the Moonblood Goddess.
Inside, handwritten notes in faded ink. Diagrams of five and six pointed stars. Prophecies. Warnings.
One note in ancient script read:
"The goddess will rise when the six stars align. Only when love and pain, fire and shadow, truth, sacrifice and Chaos are united will the realm survive what comes."
They stood in silence. Even Mo, perched on Rhiannan's shoulder, whispered, "Damn, that's heavy."
Rhiannan traced the prophecy with her finger, her soul humming. This wasn't just about survival. This was legacy. Destiny. Bloodline. The power in her blood hummed in respinse and she began to glow.
And the library...sentient and smug...seemed to sigh in satisfaction as the light dimmed around them and the stars above began to align.
"Guys," she whispered, voice shaking, "this is just the beginning."
The rings on their fingers pulsed.
And somewhere deep within the library... another door unlocked itself.
They burst from the library, still covered in soot, stardust, and just the faintest scent of monkey sweat. Mo rides Rhiannan's shoulder like the cheekiest crown jewel, chewing on a banana and yelling, "Sable's ring looks like a goth engagement ring!" before snorting banana out his nose.
Kaleb flexed his fingers, admiring his new obsidian band. "Mine glows when I'm pissed off. That's sexy. Alpha vibes."
Arwen rolled his eyes. "Yours glows red, mine glows blue. It's giving 'mood ring from hell.'"
Liam snorted, flipping his hand dramatically. "Mine glows black and literally shocks people when I get horny. Which, by the way, is always."
Elisha rumbled low. "Mine controls fire. It's the only one worth a damn."
Sable just stared at his quietly. It twisted around his finger like a serpent and occasionally hissed. "Mine bites," he said simply, and the rest shut up.
As they neared the massive chamber hallway, the mates all split off toward their separate rooms, except for two.
Sable and Elisha stalked behind Rhiannan like predators scenting prey. She glanced back, amused and suspicious.
"Do you two need something?" she asked with a tilt of her head, her bare feet padding softly against the stone floor, the new ring glowing softly on her finger.
"Yeah," Elisha growled under his breath. "To make you scream so loud the castle trembles."
Sable's eyes shimmered red black in the low light. His demon magic coiled in the air like heat lightning. "To leave claw marks down your soul, goddess. To hear you say my name like it's a damn prayer."
Rhiannan paused at her chamber door, smirking as her robe slipped down one bare shoulder. "Then stop talking," she purred. "And follow me."
Steam filled the massive obsidian tiled shower room, curling around the bodies tangled together beneath the waterfall of scalding water. The heat was oppressive and delicious. Rhiannan stood between her two towering mates, her massive golden dragon Elisha and her scarred, dangerous demon, Sable. The air sizzled with magic, musk, and the unmistakable electricity of barely leashed desire.
Sable had her pinned against the wall, wings arched and black eyes blazing, his tail sliding along her thigh like a snake with a mind of its own. His sharp teeth grazed her neck as his long, agile fingers teased between her thighs, spreading her open like a prayer. She moaned, her voice echoing off the stone walls.
"You smell like power and sin," Sable growled, dipping lower, his tongue working cruel magic.
Meanwhile, Elisha had backed away for just a moment, but Rhiannan turned her smoldering gaze toward him, her lip curled in a wicked grin.
"Get over here, Your Majesty. You look like you need to be worshiped."
The dragon king growled, his fangs bared as he stepped forward, his twin cocks hard and glistening beneath the streaming water. Rhiannan dropped to her knees without hesitation, the goddess in her fully awakened and hungry for more.
She wrapped one delicate hand around each thick shaft, marveling at the feel of the scales and heat radiating off them. One of them twitched eagerly against her cheek.
"Greedy bastards, both of you," she purred before leaning in.
Her lips parted around one cock as she stroked the other with practiced precision. Elisha groaned, a deep, primal sound that made the walls tremble. She bobbed her head slowly, swirling her tongue over the slit while massaging the second with just the right amount of pressure. Her other hand slipped down to fondle the heavy weight of his balls, and he damn near collapsed.
Sable watched with wide, lust dark eyes, his tail coiled like a serpent around her ankle. He couldn't help himself, he grabbed her hips and ground his cock against her ass as she worked her mouth like a goddess born to worship.
Elisha snarled, grasping her hair gently but firmly. "You'll be the death of me, woman."
She pulled off with a pop, looking up with a smirk. "Not yet. I haven't even gotten started."
Moments later, Elisha hauled her to her feet, flipping her around, and thrust both cocks into her one in her slick pussy, the other stretching her ass. She screamed in ecstasy as he pounded into her, the sound of skin on skin mingling with the thunder of the falling water. Her back arched as she clung to him, begging for more, taking it all.
Sable couldn't resist. He slid one hand between her legs to stroke her clit, his mouth finding her neck as he bit down just hard enough to mark her. Her orgasm ripped through her like lightning.
The three of them moved like a storm, desperate and wild. The room was filled with moans, grunts, growls, and the delicious slap of wet skin.
By the end, the maids outside were fanning themselves, red, cheeked and unable to look anyone in the eye. The castle was echoing with tales of the goddess and her lovers, but Rhiannan didn't give a single damn.
She had five men, and right now, her demon and dragon had her floating.
They collapsed together in the steam, breathless and ruined, clinging to each other in the aftermath. And as the hot water poured down on them, Rhiannan smirked, her body humming with magic and satisfaction.
"So... about round two..." She said with twinkling eyes...