The castle was still.
Not silent....never that. The soft rustle of sheets, the coo of birds in the courtyard, the gentle hum of magic pulsing through the stones like a heartbeat, all of it wrapped around the sleeping chambers like a protective cocoon. But inside, something deeper stirred.
Rhiannan awoke wrapped in warmth. Elisha's arm was heavy across her waist, Sable's hand resting against the curve of her thigh, Liam's head on her shoulder, fangs barely retracted. Azarion, Kaleb, and Arwen were curled close too, their soft snores echoing like a song she didn't know she needed.
She blinked up at the ceiling, heart full and heavy all at once.
They had all made it.
The Sceptre now rested beside the Crown and Chalice.
The prophecy was real, the war inevitable.
And she was going to have triplets.
Her mates began to stir one by one, each touching her, checking her, eyes flicking to her now obvious baby bump with reverence, love, and a fuckton of nerves.
"We did it," she whispered.
"But it's just the beginning," Azarion murmured, brushing her hair back.
Within the hour, the war room was packed. Maps were unfurled. Portals shimmered. Mo appeared mid toast with Mela clinging to his arm and both still glowing.
"We need allies," Rhiannan said, her tone crisp. "We call Solarian. We call every fucking kingdom in the realms that stands for freedom and life and light."
"And we prepare our home," Elisha added. "We fortify. We train. We defend."
"Where the fuck do we even put triplets?" Kaleb muttered, eyes wide.
"I'll have to get dragon safe cribs," Arwen deadpanned.
Everyone laughed, and then the weight hit again.
They were building an army and a nursery at the same time.
Rhiannan stood on the balcony hours later, holding her belly and whispering to the skies, when three women arrived at the castle gates, summoned by fate and a magical hiring enchantment Sasha swore she only activated a little.
Lady Kaelith of the Bloomspire
A dryad healer hybrid with cascading green hair, tattoos that shimmer with mood magic, and the calmest energy known to the realms. She can calm a screaming baby or a pissed off phoenix with a single hum.
"I've delivered more fae babies than I can count and hexed men who tried to touch my ass while I did it. I'll keep them safe, My Lady. And you too."
Sereth The Time Witch
A time sensitive witch who can slow or speed up time in small bursts. Elegant and wise beyond her years, she speaks softly and carries a literal book of fate strapped to her hip.
"I know what's coming, but I'll walk with you through it. No child of yours will be unguarded."
Brimma "Boom Boom" Thornhex
A battle scarred goblin fae who specializes in explosive wards, enchanted toys, and bedtime stories that teach strategic battle plans. Think nanny meets mercenary.
"I will feed them, protect them, and absolutely teach them to weaponize nap time. With sparkle grenades."
Rhiannan blinked back tears.
"They're perfect," she whispered.
She gave them full access to the west wing of the castle. Protection spells. Dimensional pocket storage. A warded playroom that changes theme based on the kids' mood. Sasha agreed to assist. The nannies even added a hidden teleportation tunnel just in case of emergency.
As the women began building the nursery with enchanted stone, starwood cradles, and silk spun from sky spiders, Rhiannan turned back to her mates.
They all gathered in the private solar, wine and cocoa flowing.
"What if I'm not ready?" Kaleb said softly.
"What if I lose one of you before they're born?" Rhiannan added.
"What if I fuck up and can't be what they need?" Sable growled, low and aching.
One by one, they laid it all bare. Every fear. Every scar. Every truth.
And when they were done, they held hands and made one silent vow.
"We rise together. We bleed together. We raise the future... together."
The dark temple chamber was wet with sweat, blood, and desperation.
Queen Lorelei, once the shimmering ruler of the kingdom, now looked more like a hollowed out relic. Her skin was pale and veiny, her golden hair limp and matted with seawater and ritual ash. Her eyes...wild, bloodshot, and rimmed in desperation...were fixed on the altar before her.
Laid out across the blackened stone slab was his vessel. A body stitched together from stolen bones and dead flesh, carefully enchanted to receive the soul seed the Entity had forcefully buried inside her.
She was never meant to be the vessel. She knew that now. The whispers had twisted her thoughts, used her body, made her carry the damned thing like a cursed womb.
And tonight....she was cutting it out.
Her hands trembled as she carved ancient sigils into her chest, right over the place where the seed pulsed like a second, vile heart. It squirmed beneath her skin, fighting back.
"You do not belong to me," she whispered, eyes wild. "You belong to him."
Blood poured freely as she chanted, magic clawing its way up her throat like bile.
"Flesh to dust, dust to throne. Soul unbind and claim your bone..."
She stabbed the dagger into her chest.
And the soul seed exploded from her like a parasite, shrieking in black light.
It hovered, hissing, before the vessel.
And then....rejected it.
CRACK. The vessel split down the chest like it had been cleaved by lightning.
The seed twisted violently in the air, turning back toward Lorelei.
"No....NO! I gave you a body! I gave you EVERYTHING!"
The chamber darkened. The air choked with rot and smoke.
A voice, jagged and ancient, clawed through the stone.
"You were NEVER meant to carry me. I warned you. You do not give me anything, whore. You were merely soil."
The seed slammed back into her chest.
Lorelei screamed as her spine arched off the floor. Her mouth unhinged. Her limbs twisted. Black veins spidered up her neck, across her face, her stomach.
"You want to remove me?" the Entity hissed inside her skull. "Try again, Lorelei. I'll rip your soul out one scream at a time."
Her body thrashed. She vomited blood.
The vessel on the altar crumbled into ash.
And in the center of it all, she lay sobbing, coughing, cursed anew.
No longer queen.
Just a shell.
A slave.
A breeder for the darkness.