Rhiannan awoke to the scent of cedarwood, blood, and rich silk. Her body was warm, too warm, and she immediately realized two things...she was naked and someone was touching her.
Wrong move, ancient vampire.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" She screeched
Liam, the 400 year old vampire king, barely had time to blink before he was launched across the chamber by a glowing, naked goddess with murder in her eyes and fire in her hair. He crashed into an antique bookshelf, shattering ancient tomes like they were napkins.
"You don't touch me while I'm unconscious! Who the hell do you think you are?!"
Liam stood, brushing dust off his silk shirt and grinning like a lunatic. "Technically, I saved your life, fed you my essence, and made sure your bones weren't sticking out of your ass anymore. You're welcome."
Rhiannan crossed her arms over her bare chest, eyes sparking. "That doesn't give you a free pass to play healing house. Next time, ask."
"Noted, Your Glorious Crankiness."
Despite her fury, she took a deep breath and glanced down at her now perfectly healed body. No bruises. No pain. The lingering scent of blood told her how close she must have been to death.
"Where am I?"
"My sanctuary. Mirror realm. Protected. Hidden. You're safe, goddess."
Rhiannan sagged against the bedpost, finally letting the exhaustion settle into her bones. She hadn't felt this alone since the crash. Her eyes burned.
Liam picked up on it instantly. "Hey. I know that look. Talk to me."
She hesitated for a beat, then exhaled. "I was ripped away from my mates. Three of them. We had just bonded. It... it tore something in me. I felt the demon scream. I felt my dragon coming. I felt my wolf and panther tearing through monsters to reach me... and then I was here."
Liam grew serious for once. "Sounds like you've had a hell of a week."
"Try a hell of a lifetime."
She filled him in...the prophecy, the pentacle, the chalice, the relics. The evil entity. The goddess. Everything. By the end, Liam was pacing and muttering curses in dead vampire dialects.
"So basically," he muttered, "you're the last fucking shot this realm has at survival. Cool. No pressure."
She snorted. "Welcome to the nightmare."
He turned, serious now. "I'm in."
Rhiannan blinked. "Just like that?"
"I don't half ass saving the world. And I sure as hell don't abandon women who can hurl me across a library without lifting a finger."
They shared a moment...mutual respect, sarcasm, a touch of exasperated camaraderie.
And then, the door to the chamber exploded inward.
"WHAT. IS. THIS."
A tall, elegant vampire woman with raven hair, flawless skin, and a lethal aura stormed in, eyes locked on Rhiannan's barely covered body and Liam's casual presence.
"Selene," Liam groaned. "Not now."
"You bond with a mortal mutt and lock yourself away while the court panics? You've lost your damn mind."
Rhiannan stepped forward, eyes narrowing. "Who the hell are you?"
Selene sneered. "His Second. His former lover. The woman who held his court together while he hid in shadows and drank himself into oblivion."
"Cool. And now I'm here. So fuck off."
Selene hissed, fangs dropping. "I will not be replaced."
Liam stepped between them, voice iron. "You already were. She will be your Queen."
Selene screamed, throwing a blast of dark magic.
Rhiannan caught it midair, crushed it in her hand, and threw the dust at Selene's feet.
"Try again, sweetheart."
Liam sighed. "This is going to be a long fucking day."