Rhiannan stood on the balcony outside her chambers, wind tangling through her hair like fate's fingers. The castle hummed with preparation, supply lists, teleport gates, combat drills, magical resonance tuning...
Behind her, her six mates argued over whether they were bringing one or six full armories. (Spoiler: Kaleb had packed a literal wall.)
"I'm not letting her go into a possible divine ambush without the Voidblade of Zaraketh," Kaleb grunted, shoving an enchanted trunk toward the portal.
Liam leaned against the doorway, smirking. "It's overkill."
"So are you," Arwen muttered.
Sable, sharpening a black dagger the size of Rhiannan's leg, didn't even look up. "I'm bringing the fucking murder axe."
Elisha flexed his claws. "I'm bringing myself. That's all she needs."
Rhiannan turned slowly. "Can I bring my breakfast first? Godsdamn."
Mo popped in with a clipboard, seven floating rune lanterns, and a fucking glitter pen.
"WE NEED NIGHTWEAR INVENTORY. DO YOU NEED DRAGON SILK PANTIES OR ARE WE GOING FULL COMMANDO WARRIOR GODDESS"
"Sasha!" Rhiannan yelled.
"He's locked out. Again," the AI chirped from the ceiling, not sorry at all.
Later that night, with the castle quieting down, Rhiannan curled into the center of their new absurdly massive bed, her hands resting lightly on her belly.
"I'm scared," she admitted softly. "Not of the fight. But of what happens if we don't come back."
Her mates moved closer, each brushing fingers over her skin like she might vanish.
Kaleb kissed her temple. "You're the most powerful being I've ever known."
Arwen rested a hand over her heart. "You brought us back from hell. You're not going anywhere."
Elisha's dragon warmth curled around her. "You're our future."
Sable growled low, possessive. "I'll rip time itself apart to keep you alive."
Liam's vampire kiss ghosted over her neck. "And I'll always bring you back."
Azarion grinned in a mad way, "I will literally never leave your side Goddess.'
She didn't cry. She glowed. With love. With power. With certainty.
Sasha's voice echoed through every corridor, stern and firm.
"Castle lockdown initiated. All portals sealed except the marked mission gate. Arcane surveillance online. Motion wards at 200%. Let's burn this bitch to the ground if needed."
Mo popped up again, holding a onesie that said "Half God, All Sass."
"For the babies," he whispered dramatically.
Rhiannan laughed so hard she nearly woke up the goddess herself.
The Divinity Dozen plus one met one last time to clasp wrists and bind intentions.
Kazra enchanted her swords with blood runes that made the air shiver.
Barrik kissed each of his three wood nymph mates like it might be their last day.
Reyna whispered final words to her red wolf, who licked her palm and stood sentinel at the gate.
Zaiya, glowing from her own mates' adoration, stood ready with flaming twin daggers in hand.
Veydran traced protective demon runes across Reyna's spine, glowing gold.
Rhiannan looked around at the room.. her people, her army, her family.
"Tomorrow," she said, "we hunt a name… and end a kingdom."
They all raised their glasses.
To love. To vengeance. To godsdamn glory.
The portal opened with a shriek.
Not a sound, but a pressure. A grating in the soul. Rhiannan stepped through first, cloaked in moonlight and madness, her six mates and their divine allies trailing her like thunderclouds with teeth.
The Bone Forest greeted them like an open grave. The trees, what was left of them, were calcified spines. The air dripped shadow like blood from old wounds.
"This place smells like hell and broken promises," Sable muttered, hand on his blade.
"So… Tuesday?" Kaleb snarked.
Before they could laugh, a guttural hiss exploded from the tree line.
Eyes. Dozens of them. Gleaming violet. Unblinking. Watching.
"Shields up," barked the red wolf, stepping in front of Reyna..
"Too late," Thalor said grimly. "They're already here."
The first beast hit like a falling star, jagged and dripping black ichor, a shadow twisted into the shape of a wolf. Then came more. Dozens. Too fast. Too feral.
The group split instinctively:
Rhiannan flared with divine energy, flames licking her arms as she launched a wall of moonfire.
Reyna summoned spectral shields, deflecting blows as Torvax shattered a shadowbeast's skull with an ice hammer.
Liam vanished in a blink, reappearing with a vicious snap of bone and fang at the enemy's flank.
Nahlia called a crashing wave from thin air, soaking the battlefield and freezing enemy limbs solid.
But the shadows were smart. They circled. Adapted.
"They're targeting the mages!" cried Elisha, slamming into one with both swords.
"And the pregnant women," snarled Arwen. "Classic misogynist shade demons."
Rhiannan took a blow to the ribs, skidding across bone white roots as Sable caught her mid fall.
"Fuck. You okay?" He asked with a worried tone.
"Just bruised. That bastard chipped my goddess tit." Rhiannan snarked softly, kissing his cheek.
Nearby, Bruxxa was knocked backward, blood running from her temple. Iriel dropped to one knee as a creature latched onto his wing, but Reyna screamed, unleashing a radiant truthwave that disintegrated half the enemy line in light.
"DON'T. TOUCH. MY FAMILY!" she roared.
The tide turned.
Kazra incinerated a wave with fire cursed in four languages.
Barrik ripped a creature in half with enchanted fists.
Mo rode a summoned beast into battle, shouting war poetry like a gremlin on espresso.
They stood panting, dripping, scorched and bleeding.
Kaleb had a deep cut on his side. Kael limped slightly. Sasha crackled overhead with damage alerts as the air slowly calmed.
Rhiannan looked around, her people still standing. Hurt, yes. Bleeding, absolutely.
But alive.
"We keep moving," she said. "We're not done yet."
As they stepped forward, the shadows finally stilled. The mist shifted.
And the first haunting note of the guardian's song began to rise...
The forest groaned with memory.
The Bone Forest wasn't made of trees, it was made of regrets. Giant skeletal arches reached toward a sky too afraid to shine. The earth was soft with ash and old blood, and the silence… it pressed against their ribs like a second skin.
Rhiannan walked ahead, barefoot and glowing like a goddess on fire. Her five mates fanned around her like planets orbiting a sun. Reyna walked beside her, tense, magic flickering behind her eyes.
They had all heard the whispers. The name wasn't written.
It was sung.
They reached a vast cavern nestled beneath the oldest part of the Bone Forest. The entrance breathed like lungs. A mist rose from the ground, sweet and metallic, and within it, shapes began to move.
Not quite alive. Not quite dead.
They looked like shattered fae, like ghosts that had been broken and stitched back together with sound.
Then they sang.
The first note wasn't a sound. It was a feeling. Despair. Grief. Regret.
Their voices were pain spun into melody.
"The name you seek is hidden deep,
Beneath the lies the shadows keep.
It cannot be read. It cannot be seen.
Only in sorrow will it be gleaned."
Rhiannan fell to her knees.
Liam gripped her shoulders.
Arwen's eyes glowed gold with rage.
"Why does it hurt?" Rhiannan gasped.
Sasha's voice came through weakly from the ship overhead.
"Their song is harmonizing with your soul frequency. It's how they test if you're worthy."
The creatures circled. One reached out, pressing a ghostly finger to Rhiannan's stomach where her divine pregnancy glowed faintly.
"A mother of chaos. A vessel of stars."
Another leaned toward Sable. "And one who broke his own chains. You are not who he thinks."
The songs twisted, fragmenting into overlapping verses. Each revealed a hidden truth. Each line a curse. Each melody laced with warning.
Suddenly, a deeper note rose, the name's name.
Veltherion.
It slammed into Rhiannan's chest like a fist of divine fire.
The entire forest convulsed. Cracks ripped through the trees. Her godmate appeared in a burst of power just as a tendril of the Forgotten King's shadow snaked from the forest floor, trying to reach her.
He didn't hesitate. He grabbed her, kissed her fiercely, and whispered...
"My love. You finish this."
Then, he vanished in a burst of light, the shadow curling around him and dragging him into the Veil.
The singing guardians fell silent.
The mist cleared.
In the center of the grove, glowing in starlight, etched into the bones of an ancient creature that had been buried for millennia, were the syllables..
Veltherion.
The true name.
Reyna dropped to her knees beside it, trembling.
"We have it," she whispered. "But he paid the price." she sobbed openly.
Rhiannan stood, broken but burning with vengeance. Her eyes fierce as her soul broke. Her bond with Azarion stretched and bent, but she she refused to allow it to break. She would find her God mate, and the king would feel her wrath. She stood tall, grasping the hands of her other mates for strength and growled, "Then we make the king pay it back. With interest."
This is the end of book two in the MoonBlood Prophecy series!! I just started on book three so be patient with me and I'll have it uploaded soon! Thank you for reading!! 🤗