The soft flicker of moonlight still kissed the horizon when Rhiannan's eyes snapped open, heart hammering. That vision had been no dream. The bone seer. That ancient hag was watching them, and possibly plotting worse. She couldn't ignore it. Wouldn't. She sighed. It would be nice for one day to go by when they were the target of insane psychopath. Her life was so much more intense in the fae realm.
She slipped out from the web of limbs tangled around her, careful not to wake the Demon Octopus Dick himself, and padded across the room, summoning Faenet with a whisper. Sure enough, the whispers were already trending.
#BoneSeerBitch
#Don'tTrustThatCrone
#ProtectThePentacle
The realm was worried.
And so was she.
She turned back toward the massive bed, cleared her throat, and projected her voice like a general.
"WAKE UP, warlocks. We've got creepy bitches to deal with."
A groan from under the covers.
"Elisha literally breathed fire in his sleep," Liam mumbled, face buried in a pillow. "It's four bloody a.m., goddess."
Sable rolled over, one red eye glowing ominously. "If it's not an orgy or a battle, I vote we go back to bed."
Kaleb sat straight up, shirtless and sleepy, sniffing the air. "Did someone say breakfast?"
"Bone seer," Rhiannan deadpanned, holding up Faenet.
That did it.
In a flurry of grunts, growls, and various cursing in three languages, her men dragged themselves upright. Arwen flopped off the side dramatically like a pirate who lost his ship.
Rhiannan snorted. "Fine. Since we're all up, we may as well eat."
Downstairs, the castle was already humming.
Gailia had somehow turned into the organizational goddess of the damn realm. She'd hired hundreds of staff, had crews running supplies, kitchens roaring with life, and sleeping quarters expanding like magical pop up tents. Kids ran barefoot through the halls, laughing. Elders sipped enchanted tea. Merchants from far flung corners of the realm had set up stalls in the courtyard, hawking crystals, spell bound bananas, and mood shifting cloaks.
It wasn't just a castle anymore, it was a sanctuary.
Families who'd had nothing now had everything. Safety. Work. Purpose.
As Rhiannan walked the halls in her oversized hoodie and no pants (fuck it, she was the goddess), people bowed with genuine smiles. She floated past kitchens where dozens of cooks prepared breakfast for thousands, the smell of cinnamon, fried eggs, and fresh baked bread wrapping her in a warm, buttery hug.
One maid curtsied and handed her a strawberry tart. "For you, my lady."
Rhiannan beamed, eyes watering. "You don't understand...this means the world." She stuffed it in her mouth eagerly, moaning at the delicious taste.
She watched a little fae girl tug on Sable's tail in the courtyard and instead of growling, he gently let her braid it.
Elisha stood by the gate, barking orders at mages while simultaneously holding a crying baby and bouncing it with awkward tenderness.
Liam had taken to teaching teenagers how to wield daggers without slicing off their fingers.
Kaleb and his pack were organizing defense rotations and teaching martial forms to newbies.
Arwen? He was flirting with three merchants while giving away his own rations to a poor family.
She felt it in her chest, so much joy. This was what they were building. A realm of misfits. Survivors. Fighters. Lovers. And damn good bread.
She turned slowly, watching it all unfold.
"I'm so fucking happy I could cry," she whispered.
Behind her, Mo sat on a fruit cart, eating a magical glowing banana.
"Don't cry, Boss Bitch," he muttered around a bite. "You'll short circuit Faenet again."
The castle kitchens were in full swing by the time Rhiannan and her men arrived in their groggy, shirtless glory. Steam rose from enormous griddles, where thick slices of golden French toast sizzled beside pots of whipped honey butter and glistening faeberry jelly that sparkled like stardust.
Kids zoomed through the halls with syrup on their faces, shrieking and giggling, dragging wooden swords behind them. Someone enchanted a mop to waltz. Someone else enchanted the bacon.
A little wolf pup tackled Kaleb's leg as he grabbed a plate. "Alpha! Alpha! You have syrup in your beard!"
"I have what now?" Kaleb blinked, and the pup darted off howling with laughter.
Sable was already biting into his third slice of toast, eyes glowing faintly as he muttered, "This bread tastes like a sugar orgasm."
"I think that's the faeberries," Arwen chimed in, licking jelly off his fingers. "Also? I'd risk it all for that jelly jar."
Liam sipped something caffeinated, hair tousled, cloak barely hanging off his shoulders. "You all are chaos gremlins."
Rhiannan plopped down at the massive table, barefoot and radiant, her hoodie sliding off one shoulder. "This is what the world should be. Syrup. Sunshine. No one's dying."
The happiness around the table was real. Tangible.
Until...
Elisha cleared his throat. "So, uh. We gonna talk about the whole 'marked' thing?"
Silence.
Then Rhiannan sighed, setting down her cup of lemonfire tea. "The creature from the Bone Forest. She knew stuff. Stuff that makes no damn sense."
Sable's gaze narrowed. "Like what?"
Rhiannan locked eyes with each of her mates. "Like Liam might be marked. Like one of you could be a walking bomb waiting to explode. Like I was stolen from the divine realm. Like the gods are hiding shit. Big shit."
A long pause.
Then Kaleb, fork frozen in midair, asked flatly, "So... we're just glossing over the 'stolen goddess baby' part?"
"I don't know what's real anymore," Rhiannan admitted, voice cracking. "But I'm gonna find out."
Unbeknownst to them all, nestled on the corner bookshelf in the hall just outside the grand dining chamber, a tiny rune engraved orb glowed faintly.
A RuneCam.
Gifted by a rogue rebel spy to document the "everyday greatness" of the Pentacle. Well, it got more than it bargained for today.
The rune pulsed... then vanished.
Seconds laterFaenet exploded.
🔥 FAENET - TOP TRENDING 🔥
👤@RuneVisionRealness:
💬"HOLY FUCKING SHIT DID Y'ALL SEE THAT?? Rhiannan was STOLEN?! Gods be shady! Marked mates?! Divine lies?!? 🍿🍿
#TruthBombs #GoddessExposed #MarkedByDarkness #PentacleProblems
👤 @RealmTeaSpiller:
💬My man Sable said "sugar orgasm" with his chest and I respect that. But also, WE NEED ANSWERS.
#RuneCameraSpill #WhereAreTheGods
👤 @BoneForestSurvivor23:
💬If Liam is marked, then I STG the gods better BACK OFF. That vampire has died once already for us.
#ProtectLiam #HeDeservesPeace
👤 @RebelMomOf6:
💬Rhiannan is still just a girl who eats faeberry jelly and saves kingdoms. And THAT'S why we follow her. 🫶
#GoddessOfThePeople #MotherOfMagic #TeamPentacle
👤 @MoOnMain:
💬Y'all I'm Mo. The monkey. I live with hot people and eat enchanted toast. Life is weird.
#YesSheHasTitties #StillNoOneFedMe #MoOut
Back at the castle, Sable scowled as the enchanted orb floated in front of him, revealing the livestream replay.
"Wait... that fucker was filming us?!"
Rhiannan shrugged and grabbed another piece of toast. "Meh. Let them watch. The truth needed to come out anyway."
Kaleb was less chill. "Do we even have privacy anymore?"
Liam raised a brow. "You're asking that while fucking a goddess. Who glows. During orgasms."
Rhiannan threw her head back and laughed, faeberry jelly on her lip. "Let the world know, I'm not fucking hiding. You get what you see here people."
The others raised their mugs.
To chaos.
To truth.
To jelly.
And to the next war coming for their crowns.