The castle buzzed with tension, magic thick in the air like a storm about to break.
Rhiannan and her mates walked together through the silent halls toward their private chamber. Sasha's voice echoed from the ceiling.
"Castle and courtyard now sealed. No interruptions allowed. Intrusion wards at max. All systems locked."
Outside, her sentries took their posts. Her siblings and their mates flanked the halls. Arwen's pirates circled the ramparts. Kaleb's wolves guarded the gates. The dragon guard lined the sky. Everyone was ready.
Inside the chamber, the walls shimmered with protective runes. A round table sat at the center, lined with velvet pillows and bathed in candlelight.
The potion glowed from seven cups, rose gold and divine.
They took their seats.
"No matter what you see," Rhiannan whispered, eyes wet, "you come back to me. All of you."
They raised their cups.
"Together," Kaleb said.
"Always," Sable added.
They drank.
The First Memory: The Kidnapping
The world twisted, and then they were there.
The god realm. Peaceful.
Baby Rhiannan, wrapped in silk with her sister in their crib, giggling together. The panic and fear of being wrapped in shadows and torn from their mother. Screaming and crying.
"No!" Nythera screamed, as her twins were ripped from their cribs by shadow tentacles. Her scream tore the heavens apart. The men felt it in their souls. A cruel laugh. Pain. Blinding light, then nothing
The mates all felt it. The cold. The panic. The trauma embedded in that first memory.
Foster Hell
It skipped, jagged, sharp, and landed in a series of nightmares.
Foster home after foster home. Hands grabbing. Doors slamming. Bruises blooming. Beds creaking.
"No…" Arwen choked. "No, no, no.."
"She was a child," Elisha whispered. "A child.."
Rhiannan stood in the memory, a shell of herself, eyes dead, shoulders tight.
They felt her fear. Her shame. Her pain.
And they held on.
The War
Dust. Bombs. Gunfire.
They watched as adult Rhiannan crouched in the desert with blood on her hands, dragging a fellow Marine's body into cover, her arms shaking.
Shots fired. Screams. Her face went blank.
"I'm hit!" a comrade screamed.
"I can't..." she breathed. "I can't feel my legs.."
The pain cracked through their chests.
Azarion gritted his teeth. "She lived through this… and kept going?"
"She's stronger than gods," Liam muttered.
The Influencer Mask
A flash of filters. A ring light. A fake smile.
Rhiannan talking about lipstick while sobbing between takes. Comment trolls. Brand rejection. Faking "okay" every day just to survive.
"This wasn't a career," Kaleb growled. "It was a cage."
Arrival in the realm of Andopeer
Rain again. A flash of light.
A disoriented Rhiannan waking in a strange realm. Magic. Monsters. Mayhem.
The kraken. Tentacles. Screams. The taste of seawater and blood.
Arwen stepped forward in the vision. "That's when I found her," he whispered.
The Royal Torture
This memory hurt the most.
Chains. Scars. Screams in the dark.
A collar around her neck.
Her magic suppressed. Her screams silenced. Her tears ignored.
Sable dropped to his knees in the vision, fists clenched. "I'll kill them all. I swear I'll rip them apart..."
"She endured it," Azarion said. "We will never forget."
Each Mate. Each Bond. Each Trial.
They relived every moment. The tentative touches. The broken trust. The rebuilding. The burning passion. The love.
And one by one, they each fell in love with her all over again.
The potion wore off.
Rhiannan gasped awake first, chest heaving, tears flooding her eyes.
Her men shot upright, shaking, panting, changed.
"You saw," she whispered.
Kaleb was crying. Sable held her hand like it was sacred. Arwen wrapped himself around her. Liam pressed his forehead to hers. Azarion kissed her trembling shoulder. Elisha buried his face against her belly.
"We felt everything," Elisha said.
"We'll never let it happen again," Sable swore.
Outside the chamber… the castle wept.
Brownies cried in the halls. The guards knelt. Her people felt it.
FaeNet exploded.
💬"They did it." 💬"They saw her past and they stayed." 💬"She's not just a goddess, she's a miracle." 💬"We're following her to war. To the stars. Wherever she goes."
From the divine halls above… the gods watched.
"They are worthy," Nythera whispered.
"The circle is complete," said another.
"The end begins. And so does the rise."
The war room pulsed with divine pressure.
A massive map of the realms floated midair, glowing markers shifting and blinking as Rhiannan and her circle gathered around the obsidian planning table.
"We need a smaller party," Azarion said firmly. "Quick. Focused. Less risk of drawing the king's attention."
"We still need muscle," Sable growled. "You want her walking into a trial with just six mates and a library card?"
"We can't bring the whole castle," Kaleb countered. "We're not marching to war, yet."
"Speak for yourself," Zaiya muttered from the corner, polishing a blade the size of a femur. "I'm always marching to war."
"I'm coming too," said Reyna. "I saw the king breach hell, remember? That makes me required party loot."
The room devolved into arguing, loud, layered, chaotic.
And then....
"EVERYONE SHUT UP!" Mo shouted, throwing the doors open dramatically with Mela in tow. "I HAVE A DECLARATION."
Everyone turned.
Mela looked like she wanted to evaporate into sparkles, her face beet red, her hair tangled adorably.
Mo beamed, practically vibrating.
"We did it!" he announced. "AND IT WAS FUCKING EPIC."
Mela buried her face in his arm. "Oh gods…"
"It was tender, and respectful, and DEEP," he added proudly. "And I only cried once!"
"Only once?" Kaleb muttered. "That's impressive."
The room erupted in laughter as Mela smacked his chest and they bounced out toward the gardens like giggling newlyweds.
Rhiannan just chuckled. "Bless them. I love our chaos children."
A New Journey Begins
Gailia entered next, radiant but waddling slightly, her belly round and full. Her dragon twins flanked her like golden statues.
"I've confirmed it," she said softly. "Two eggs. They're nearly ready."
"Eggs?!" Mo squealed from the hallway. "FUCKING YESSS DRAGON MOMMY!"
Gailia grinned. "We're heading off to find a nesting den. Somewhere safe. Somewhere sacred. We'll return after they hatch."
"We'll keep your place warm," Rhiannan promised, kissing her cheek.
Gailia hugged her tightly, her twins offering stiff nods of respect to the room before they slipped out into the twilight.
The great hall was alive with chatter, warmth, and the smell of roasted meat and cinnamon cider. Everyone gathered, some lounging, some eating off each other's plates. Sable refused to let anyone touch Rhiannan's food without glaring. Arwen challenged Azarion to a cider chugging contest. Kaleb made mashed root towers. Mo filmed everything.
Until....
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Commotion at the gates.
Sasha's voice echoed through the hall. "Uh… you're gonna wanna see this."
They all stood.
At the front gates stood a tiny figure, a short, glowing pixie fae with wild pink hair, glittering wings, and combat boots.
"LET ME IN!" she yelled, slamming a tiny fist on the iron doors. "My mate is in there somewhere! I feel him!"
Everyone turned slowly, eyes wide.
Mo's jaw dropped.
"Okay but WHOSE pixie pussy destiny is this?!"
Rhiannan just blinked, hand on her bump.
"Shit's about to get interesting."