Rhiannan sat half draped across Elisha's massive chest, his golden skin still gleaming with leftover sweat and satisfaction. The dragon snored like a damn freight train, one arm tossed lazily around her waist, claws slightly extended in possessive instinct. Typical alpha hole. And she fucking loved it.
But she wasn't asleep. Not yet.
She was scrolling.
Faenet: Trending 🔥
Her name.
"#RhiannanTheGoddess"
"#QueenOfAllMates"
"#SirenSlayersAndDragonFuckers"
Her brows arched as post after post scrolled by. Fan art. Reaction videos. Memes. Fanfics. Someone had already made an edit of her ripping Lettie's throat out to dramatic music.
Then....
A livestream replay. From the royal palace.
The moment the evil entity exploded into the throne room mid glamorous royal livestream. Screams. Chaos. Shattered glass. And Queen Lorelei tripping over her own fucking ego.
Rhiannan let out an evil little snort of joy.
When her mates woke and peeked at the screen, all four of them were roaring with laughter. Liam even wheezed, "I haven't laughed this hard since the great fae orgy of 1942."
But the humor didn't last.
Later that night, curled against Elisha's chest and finally dozing... it came.
The Vision.
Darkness. Silence. Then a silver glow.
A countdown clock: 17:00:00.
The Moon Goddess, battered and flickering like a weak signal, appeared before Rhiannan.
"Seventeen hours, daughter. Prepare. All of you will be summoned to the Divine Realm. The Chalice of Truth awaits... but not without cost."
Rhiannan woke gasping.
She told the others.
Panic. Chaos. Training frenzy.
"Train for what exactly?" Liam whined. "Dueling? Firewalking? Clown juggling?"
"You juggle clowns?" Arwen deadpanned.
"Only the sad ones."
They trained anyway, element control, shifting, combat, group defense. Elisha sparred shirtless because of course he did. Arwen bitched. Kaleb flexed. Liam flirted with all of them.
But the tension was real.
They didn't know what was coming.
And it terrified them.
Rhiannan watched them argue about who could protect her better, Kaleb growling, Arwen pacing, Elisha sharpening blades he didn't need, Liam throwing in snide remarks like, "Who's measuring dicks next, lads? Should I bring a scale or a microscope?"
She'd had enough.
"I'm getting a fucking sandwich," she snapped. "And if one of you tries to follow me, I swear to the stars, I'll kick you in the nuts so hard your next reincarnation will limp."
The room froze.
Rhiannan stormed off barefoot, hair a wild halo, power humming beneath her skin.
She had seventeen hours.
And no one, not even fate, was ready for what was coming.
The scent of cinnamon and strawberries lured Rhiannan through the castle like a siren's song. Her bare feet padded softly down the polished stone halls as she followed her nose to the massive kitchen, lit softly with lanterns and bustling with quiet warmth.
Behind a long oak counter stood a curvy dragon maid with bronze scales glinting faintly beneath her skin. Her smile was kind, her hands fast as lightning flipping waffles and scrambling eggs.
"Hungry, darling?" she asked without turning around.
"Starving," Rhiannan muttered, sliding into a stool and eyeing the plate already being set in front of her...golden waffles dripping in syrup, strawberries piled high, bacon crispy and eggs fluffy as clouds.
Her eyes widened. "You made all this?"
"Of course," the dragon maid chuckled. "You're the goddess. But more importantly, you looked like you needed it."
Rhiannan didn't argue. She devoured the food like she hadn't eaten in years. The warmth of it filled more than just her stomach, it wrapped around her heart like a hug. The maid began telling stories of young dragons, of flying lessons, of sneaking into caves for treasure, of glitter fights in the halls and scoldings from elders.
Rhiannan laughed at first. Then she listened. Then she started to hurt.
She didn't remember growing up. No soft memories of childhood. No stories of mischief or lessons learned. Just pain. Loss. The terrifying blank space where her past should be.
Her appetite faded.
She pushed her plate away, staring into nothing, that hollow ache in her chest growing deeper by the second.
"They'll leave me too," she whispered.
The dragon maid blinked. "What was that, love?"
But Rhiannan had already stood up and walked away.
She found her mates arguing over training formations and weapon configurations when she reappeared. Kaleb's arms were crossed. Arwen was pacing. Liam was leaning against a wall dramatically sighing every time someone said something idiotic. And Elisha... well, he was shirtless and growling, again.
"Rhi..." Kaleb started.
"Stop." Her voice was soft, but firm.
They turned.
"Come here." She demanded softly.
They moved like a pack, slow, unsure, but she grabbed all four of them and pulled them into the biggest damn group hug the castle had ever seen. For a moment, they all just held her. No training. No pressure. Just warmth.
Rhiannan took a shaky breath. "I don't remember fully who I was. I don't know what I'm supposed to be. But I know this...whatever's coming next, I don't want to face it without you."
Arwen rested his forehead against hers. Kaleb kissed her temple. Liam grinned and whispered, "Same, but with more snacks."
Elisha cleared his throat, arms crossed. "I suppose I could... tolerate some emotional bonding."
Rhiannan raised a brow. "Hug me, dragon."
He groaned like it physically pained him but joined in, one massive arm pulling them all in tighter.
And for the first time that day, she smiled.
"Alright! Enough warm fuzzies," Liam declared. "Back to training! Let's go learn to control the raging cosmic chaos inside us before it kills someone!"
"You're the someone," Arwen muttered.
"Jealousy looks good on you, tiger." He growled.
Rhiannan rolled her eyes and stretched. The divine countdown was still ticking.
Time to train like their lives depended on it.
Because they absolutely did.