Arwen's POV
Arwen had no words.
Rhiannan was asleep beside him, her arm slung over his chest, her breath warm and steady against his skin. Her hair was a wildfire of auburn curls spilling over the pillow, and the faint shimmer of power still clung to her like a second skin. The bond pulsed gently between them, no longer roaring with heat but humming with something deeper.
Fuck, he thought, eyes fixed on the ceiling above his bunk. What just happened?
She'd saved her virginity for him.
Not out of some ancient custom or purity bullshit, but because her soul had screamed at her to wait...for this. For him. That kind of gift... it wasn't something you took lightly.
He swallowed hard, brushing a lock of hair from her freckled cheek. "You don't even know what you are," he whispered.
And neither did he.
A goddess. That much he was sure of now. That power she wielded during the kraken attack? It wasn't normal. Not even elite shifters or elemental warriors had magic that pure. And the way she moved, the way the air itself listened when she was in danger?
Yeah. She was divine.
And if he could feel it… so could others.
Which meant the evil bastards who raised him, the ones still clinging to the rotted throne of Goldendale...would absolutely have felt it too. And they'd want her. Desperately. Destructively. He tensed at the thought, every protective instinct in his body snapping to attention.
"Hey," she whispered, shifting slightly, sleepy and beautiful and far too trusting. "You're thinking too loud."
He chuckled softly. "Sorry, little goddess. Just... stuck in my head."
She sat up slowly, clutching the sheet to her chest. Her eyes searched his face. "I didn't mean to break anything… between us. With what happened."
His heart ached. "Rhiannan," he said, voice low, "You gave me something precious. Not just your body. You trusted me. And I… I'll never stop being grateful for that."
She looked away, cheeks flushed. "Back home, I always thought I'd end up alone. Too damaged. Too much."
He reached for her hand. "You're not too much. You're just enough. And anyone who can't handle your fire doesn't deserve to stand in your sun."
She smiled softly, but her eyes shimmered. "Tell me about them. Your family."
He exhaled hard. "The Goldendales… are a nest of serpents in royal silk. My parents, Kristoff and Lorelei, are as ruthless as they come. They mold their children into weapons, pawns, or sacrifices. I got out. Barely. But my sister Gailia did not. I've tried to liberate her a few times with no luck. I've been hiding ever since, helping people in secret, making my own name outside their reach."
Her grip on his hand tightened and her eyes flared as she felt his pain and emotions through the bond. It was almost overbearing. "They're going to come for me, aren't they?" She asked softly.
"Yes," he said simply. "If they sensed your magic, and I'm sure they did, they'll want to cage it. Use you as a weapon."
Rhiannan squared her shoulders and narrowed her eyes as her nostrils flared with indignation. "They can try." She growled.
Gods, he adored her.
He helped her up and they dressed slowly, stealing soft kisses and lingering touches. Then he handed her the smartbrain bracelet.
"Put this back on," he said. "It'll sync with FaeNet. You'll need it."
She slid it on and gasped as a glowing interface popped up in midair. "What the actual fresh hell is that?"
He grinned. "Welcome to your new reality."
The system scanned her, runes flashing rapidly.
"New User Detected. Divine Signature Confirmed. Welcome, Goddess Rhiannan. Profile initializing..."
A second later, her name floated in elegant script across a glowing purple gold screen. Underneath it blinked...
Status: Unknown Goddess
Location: Pirate Ship Noctis
Companion Detected: Arwen Goldendale
"Companion?" she asked with a raised brow.
He coughed. "It… uh… sometimes links you with whoever you're physically or magically bonded to. It's a proximity thing."
"Oh hell no. This thing just put me on blast!" She screeched.
And just like that, FaeNet EXPLODED.
Post after post. Comments. Gifs. The works.
👤@FaeTeaQueen: 💬"Who the FUCK is this spicy new goddess and why is she ON A SHIP with ARWEN GOLDENDALE??? 👀👀👀"
👤@SlayOrSeer: 💬"Arwen's alive?? And SHIRTLESS?? Did you see the marks on his neck?? That's a bite. She bit him. I'm not okay."
👤@WitchinBitchin: 💬"Calling it now: she's not just a goddess. She's the goddess. And I want her skincare routine."
#GoddessWatch #ArwensMate #IsSheSingleAskingForAFriend
Rhiannan stared at the screen in horror. "I hate it here."
He doubled over laughing. "Welcome to going viral, sunshine."
She huffed and stomped away, muttering curses in three languages as her magical creatures trailed behind her in solidarity.
And Arwen?
He just sat there smiling.
Because for the first time in a very, very long time…
He didn't feel alone.
Rhiannan POV
I stared at the glowing display hovering in front of my face like it had personally offended me. Which, to be fair, it had.
FaeNet.
The inter realm gossip machine, snitch line, dating app, and spiritual guidance counselor all rolled into one sparkly ass interface. And apparently, I was trending. Hard.
I squinted at the screen again.
Top Trending Tag: #ArwensMate
Suggested Comment Response: "Thanks for the love!"
Suggested Status: "New here! What did I miss?"
"Oh fuck off," I muttered, waving away the sparkly suggestions. The system beeped in protest and I rolled my eyes. I always hated Facebook, and here I was trending on a magical network in another time? Another world? I still needed to figure out exactly where...and when this was.
Arwen was lounging nearby on the deck, shirtless of course, like some damn romance novel pirate cover, doing absolutely nothing to make my life easier. My eyes trailed down his delicious chest, straight to that damn distracting V right above his pants line. My cheeks heated. Damn him!
"You're gonna have to post something," he said lazily, tossing a peeled mango slice to one of my magical creatures, specifically the pigeon, who had become increasingly judgey.
"Why?" I snapped. "So a bunch of horny fae can weigh in on my freckles?"
He gave me that infuriating smirk. "Because you're officially on the grid, Rhi. You're not hiding anymore. And people are going to need your voice."
I hated that he was right. I didn't want him to be right. But he was.
I took a deep breath, curled my fingers into fists, and then cracked my knuckles like I was about to go to war with a keyboard. My magical bracelet pulsed softly as I dictated my first post.
"Alright, FaeNet," I muttered. "Let's fucking do this."
POST DRAFTING...
👤@Rhiannan 💬"Hi. Apparently I'm a goddess. Didn't ask for it, didn't apply, but here we are. I woke up on a pirate ship after falling through a goddamn portal, and now I'm being stalked by krakens and hashtags. I'm not here to be anyone's fantasy. I'm here to figure out who the hell I am, why the universe picked me, and maybe save a few lives along the way.
PS: Yes, the pirate is hot. No, I don't wanna talk about it."
✨🖕🏽🖕🏽✨
#WhoIsShe
#NotYourAverageGoddess
#FaeNetUnfiltered
I snapped a selfie and hit post before I could second guess myself. It shimmered into the feed with a magical chime that made my eye twitch.
Arwen let out a full on bark of laughter. "You're gonna break the platform. Love the selfie my goddess." He blew me a kiss.
"Good," I grumbled. "Maybe it'll explode." I caught the kiss and planted it on my ass cheek and smirked at him. He just laughed.
We spent the next couple hours curled up on the padded deck lounge under a shade canopy as the ship cut through the water toward Cal's Mad Tower. The ocean was deep blue, the skies clear, and for the first time in weeks… I actually exhaled.
Arwen passed me a worn book and I opened it lazily, only to realize it was a FaeNet historical archive. "Oh my gods," I said, flipping through old posts. "They documented a mermaid scandal with a full emoji timeline."
He just grinned. "FaeNet is ancient. Older than most kingdoms. It's got receipts, prophecy logs, even divine war memes."
"Makes Facebook look like a flip phone."
"Wait till you find the 'Is it a curse or just anxiety' quiz."
We fell into easy conversation, laughing, researching, and swapping sarcastic commentary as I scrolled the hellscape of public opinion. But under it all, I felt it growing again.
The bond.
Warmth in my chest every time he looked at me. A strange ache in my palm when I wasn't touching him. My body remembering something my mind hadn't caught up to yet.
I didn't know who I'd been before all this.
But I was damn sure starting to feel like someone new.
And maybe, just maybe, that someone wasn't alone anymore.
Later that evening in Arwens quarters...
I stared at the glowing data bubble hovering above my wrist like it held the answers to the entire universe.
FaeNet was staring back at me.
Location: Andopeer, Planet of Fae & Shifters
Year: 3260 A.D. (Galactic Calendar)
Former Origin: United States, Ohio 2025 A.D. Earth Realm
I blinked twice. Thrice. My heart did a triple flip.
"Three thousand fucking two hundred sixty?!" I whispered, voice shaking. I stared at the stats like they were nails and I was a climbing wall.
It wasn't possible. Time, and reality, shouldn't bend that way.
But… there it was. My life before was like a lifeline I'd ripped off in shame.. cement floors, foster homes, Marine drills, late night sorrow games. All in dusty Ohio, 2025.
And now I was sitting on a pirate ship in the future, on a planet of magic and scales and gods I hadn't even known existed.
I looked up. Arwen's face split into a worried frown. His gold eye flicked to the bracelet, then to me.
"Everything okay?"
I couldn't answer for a second. I didn't know what okay was anymore. I pinched the bridge of my nose. "This, this isn't Earth anymore."
He nodded, voice soft as seafoam. "No. But you're still you. And I'm still here."
I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding. "I just... don't know how to be right now."
He reached out, a gentle fist bump to the magical cuff and mine against his own wrist. His voice quiet but fierce: "You'll figure it out."
I logged out of the data bubble with trembling fingers. The holographic stats blinked out, but the weight of them stayed in my chest.
That night, as the sun slipped below the horizon and bioluminescent flowers on deck glowed like living stars, I felt something new.
Hope.