The next morning was tense with purpose. Mo balanced on a stack of scrolls while Rhiannan and her mates focused on stabilizing the portal they'd created, a glowing golden arch of divine energy that would allow the rebellion faction to pass through and take up position around the bone forest perimeter. Their arrival was epic. Hooded warriors, elemental mages, shape, shifters, and rogue assassins poured through, falling to one knee in front of Rhiannan the moment they stepped into the clearing.
"We pledge our blades, our blood, and our lives to you, Goddess of the Realms," their leader said, pounding his fist to his chest.
The goddess inside Rhiannan stirred, and a golden light pulsed from her. Her body trembled as a vision overtook her. In the sacred light of the divine, she heard her mother's voice....
"You may choose three sentries to stand eternal with you. Gift them with power and long life. They will be your shield, your wrath, your legacy. Choose wisely."
The vision faded, leaving Rhiannan reeling. She blinked, dazed, and turned to her mates, who had already seen the glow of divine magic ripple from her body.
"I can choose three. Immortal, divine imbued sentries," she whispered.
The rebellion erupted. Everyone wanted in. Every warrior, mage, and rebel swore they'd win her favor.
Kaleb cracked a grin. "Guess we'll need a trial. A challenge. Post quest."
Arwen snorted. "This is gonna be good."
They agreed to delay the choosing until the crown was secured and the Bone Forest survived.
Inside the Bone Forest
The six stood at the edge, the forest groaning before them like a living, ancient beast. Despite the cracked bones beneath their feet and blackened trees looming high, the path forward was eerily... clear. Silent. Too silent.
Rhiannan's skin crawled.
Every step they took felt like an echo through time, through blood, through prophecy.
When they reached the center of the forest, it opened into a clearing, and there, on a dais carved of bones, sat a massive throne.
Occupied.
A monstrous figure loomed in the seat, his form vaguely humanoid but crackling with old magic and darkness. Horns twisted skyward. His eyes glowed an ancient gold, one that matched her own.
He stood slowly, the air warping around him.
"My daughter," he said, voice like gravel and thunder. "At last."
He held out a crown made of bone, flame, and silver. It pulsed with divine resonance. Then, without another word, he laid it at her feet... and vanished into thin air.
Gone.
The forest fell into total silence.
Rhiannan stared at the crown.
"What. The. Actual. Fuck." She said loudly.
The eerie silence that had blanketed the Bone Forest shattered like glass.
A bone splitting screech rang out, sharp enough to split eardrums and make hardened warriors flinch. The rebellion perimeter guards barely had time to raise their weapons before two shadows dropped from the trees like death incarnate.
Assassins. Feral. Unholy. Blades made of cursed obsidian gleamed as they tore into the first line of defense with beast like rage.
One guard gurgled a warning before his throat was slashed clean open. Another tried to shift into a bear form and was cleaved in two mid transformation. Blood sprayed the twisted tree trunks like morbid rain.
Back at the throne, panic exploded in the group.
"FUCK," Arwen growled, already mid shift into his massive black panther.
Rhiannan didn't hesitate. She slammed her hand to the dirt, whispering a furious chant, and a portal ripped open like an angry wound. The six bolted through.
On the other side, Hell greeted them.
Screams. Blood. Bone. The rebellion guards were being ripped apart by beings that moved like nightmares stitched to muscle. Their eyes glowed red. Their faces masked. Their aura? Pure fucking murder.
Elisha shifted before he even touched the ground, his golden dragon form bursting from him in a blast of heat and rage. He roared so loud the trees trembled and immediately engulfed one assassin in blue flame. The fucker screamed but didn't fall. He rolled and stood, burned, pissed, but still fighting.
Kaleb let out a wolf howl so loud it shook the branches, and his alpha power ignited the wolves around him, rallying them to stand firm. He sank his fangs into the leg of the smaller assassin, tearing flesh like tissue.
Sable, still blood smeared from earlier fights, moved like a demon unleashed. His wings snapped wide, and he growled furiously. He body slammed the larger assassin and drove his claws into his chest, ripping out a chunk of armor and bone.
Liam blurred in, teleporting mid sprint, his sword already stained red. He drove it straight through one assassin's gut, twisting with a satisfied snarl.
Arwen darted in from the side, his panther form shredding tendons and soft tissue with terrifying precision.
And Rhiannan? Oh baby, Rhiannan had had enough.
She stepped forward, her brown eyes glowing, and called the earth. Thorned vines erupted from the dirt, impaling one assassin's arm and yanking him back. She slammed her palm to the ground again and sent a seismic quake through the area, knocking both assassins off their feet.
The group swarmed them, a unified fucking hurricane of claws, magic, fangs, and fury.
It was done in five minutes.
The bone forest was stained in blood.
They all stood panting. Cut. Bruised. Alive.
"I thought this quest was too fucking easy," Kaleb growled, covered in blood.
"Told you," Mo muttered from Rhiannan's shoulder. "Never trust a dramatic crown reveal without a murder attempt afterward."
Rhiannan chuckled darkly, still shaking from the surge of power. "If this was their test run, we're gonna need hellfire and holy water next."
Liam collapsed against a tree, holding his ribs. "Can we at least have snacks before the next ambush?"
Mo nodded. "I want fruit. And maybe some of those little cakes the dragon maids make. I almost died."
Everyone turned to him with laughter.
"You weren't even IN the fight," Elisha said, raising a bloody brow.
Mo blinked. "Emotionally, I almost died. Same thing."
They all laughed, but they knew it wasn't over.
The Bone Forest wasn't done with them yet.