Rhiannan POV
The journey back to the castle was... long. Sore muscles, smoldering clothes, and the lingering scent of singed monkey fur were the mood of the hour. Mo rode on my shoulder like a furry little war general, clutching his half melted banana like it was the Holy Grail. I didn't ask why it was glowing. I didn't want to know.
The boys looked like a walking disaster movie.
Sable limped beside me, one wing pressed to his side and still leaking blood like a damn anime villain. Liam was dramatically nursing his black eye, mumbling about "unfair monkey tactics" like the overdramatic undead gremlin he was. Arwen was staring at his chipped claw like it had personally betrayed him. And Elisha? The poor golden bastard hadn't said a word, but his jaw was tight and his eyes screamed "I'm going to boil every monkey alive and drink the soup."
Despite all that... the castle felt like home. Like a pulse calling me back.
Elisha led us down a hidden corridor I'd never seen before, lined with glyphs that shimmered with old magic...older than time, older than even Elisha's dragon ass ego. At the end of the corridor stood doors easily thirty feet tall, made of obsidian veined with silver. The power radiating off them made my bones vibrate.
From a speaker above, Sasha's voice crackled..."Oh great. A dramatic door for a dramatic day. Typical."
I snorted and rolled my eyes. "You're just mad you weren't invited to the monkey massacre."
I pressed my palm to the center rune and it flared beneath my touch. The doors opened with the sound of thunder cracking through the fucking cosmos.
And behind them?
Magic. Real, thick, ancient ass magic.
We stepped into a library so powerful it felt like it was watching us. The air was rich with the scent of old parchment, dragonfire, and some kind of enchanted flower that smelled like night and secrets. Floating will-o'-wisps bobbed through the aisles like curious children. Above us, the ceiling mimicked the night sky...real stars glittering and shifting, whispering if you listened closely.
Books fluttered like birds, some giggling, some snarling, others whispering in languages lost to time. One angry little tome yeeted itself straight at Liam's face.
He caught it with vamp speed and scowled. The title shimmered: "How to Seduce a Goddess in Ten Easy Steps."
I laughed so hard I snorted. "Step one.. survive the demon monkeys."
Kaleb picked up a thick one called "Magical Beasts and How to Bargain With Their Egos" and gave Elisha a long, smug look.
The dragon prince growled. "I don't bargain. I intimidate."
"Same thing," Kaleb muttered.
Books hissed and purred as we passed...some tried to bite. One scroll glowed blood red and said "Blood Magic: Forbidden but Fun." I almost pocketed it.
Then we saw it.
A shelf with only one book.
Title? "The Guide to Being the Best Mate: For Demons With Emotional Damage."
Sable froze. Deadass just stared at it like it had slapped him with feelings.
Slowly, awkwardly, he walked over and tucked it under his wing like it was a fucking baby bird.
I smiled and blew him a kiss.
He caught it like a dork and grinned so hard I thought his horns might sparkle.
That's when the wisps floated ahead, nudging me toward a hidden alcove. We followed. The shelves rearranged behind us like the library was actively guiding our fate, and we stepped into a glowing chamber that pulsed violet with power.
In the center: a stone pedestal.
On top?
Seven black velvet cushions.
And on each cushion... a ring.
Silver veined for Kaleb
Blue lightning for Arwen
Golden fire for Elisha
Deep crimson for Liam
Purple shimmer for Sable
And mine? All the colors. Chaos incarnate. Humming with raw divine energy.
But it was the seventh ring that stole the breath from my lungs.
It glowed with starlight and divine mischief...but wouldn't lift from the cushion.
I tilted my head, instincts roaring. "There's another mate."
Five simultaneous groans echoed around me.
Immediately, the library attacked them with floating scrolls and paper cuts of vengeance.
I cackled. "Y'all knew there could be six. Don't get all dramatic now. We welcome him when he comes."
They grumbled, but nodded. My men were many things..stubborn, snarky, chaotic..but they were mine. And they listened to their goddess, even when she was glowing like a pissed off rainbow.
We slid the rings on.
And the library shuddered.
A hidden compartment opened with a quiet hiss, revealing one single, ancient tome.
Bound in white dragonhide, it glowed like stardust.
The Pentacles of the Moonblood Goddess.
I stepped closer, reverent. The air around it shimmered. Inside, faded notes in celestial ink. Star diagrams. Sigils. Prophecies.
One line burned brighter than the rest:
"The goddess will rise when the 12 stars align.
Only when love and pain, fire and shadow, truth, sacrifice, and Chaos are united
will the realm survive what comes."
The words throbbed in my bones.
Even Mo, still perched on my shoulder, whispered: "Damn, that's heavy."
I ran my fingers over the prophecy, something ancient and divine rising in me. This wasn't just survival.
This was a fucking rebirth.
Legacy. Bloodline. Power.
And the moment I touched the page… I glowed.
Not just sparkly. Not just magic.
Divine.
The library exhaled like it had been holding its breath for millennia.
The stars above us began to shift..aligning.
And somewhere, in the depths of that sentient temple of stories...
A door unlocked.
I looked at my men..bloodied, exhausted, devoted. Mo raised his banana like a sword.
And I whispered...
"This is just the beginning."