The Entity POV
The realm shook.
Not from the petty tremors of mortals. Not from some divine hiccup in the heavens.
No.
This was me.
I surged upright from my throne of obsidian and bone, shadows boiling off my skin like venomous steam. The air screamed around me, vibrating with the pulse of what I had just felt.
The flicker.
The shift.
The pentacle, almost fucking complete.
Her power is awakening.
"No…" I hissed, then roared, the sound tearing through the layers of existence like claws through tender, bloody flesh. My voice ripped the veil, and every cursed beast in my court scattered like rats before fire.
Good. Let them run.
Lightning cracked across the sky of this decaying plane. Mountains crumbled. Oceans boiled. My fury was not poetic, it was apocalyptic.
I reached.
Through shadows. Through blood. Through tether and bond and curse.
I reached for him..my demon. My perfect little puppet. My beautiful, broken, brutal Sable.
But the void was empty.
He was gone.
I froze for the barest breath… then exploded.
My roar shattered the silence of the Underworld, and the walls of my throne room split with a sound like bone snapping under a blade.
"FIND HIM!" I bellowed, my voice cracking the stone beneath my feet, echoing into the dark corners where my watchers and warlocks quivered like cowards.
"Bring me the demon, or I will peel the skin from this world, scream by screaming scream!"
I am the end.
And if he doesn't return?
I will burn the stars just to watch her fall.
Rhiannan POV
The dragon castle shimmered like a dream at dawn.
Mist curled over the emerald hills, clinging to the obsidian spires and silver battlements like silk. Down on the training field, the world was chaos. Elemental blasts shook the earth. Swords clashed like thunder. Magic cracked in violent arcs. It wasn't a drill. It was desperation, raw and primal.
Three hours.
We had three hours before the Divine Realm pulled us in.
And we were not ready. Not even fucking close. I sighed softly and blew a raspberry in frustration.
Elisha, shirtless and glowing like a vengeful god, paused mid swing and raised his eyebrow. His nostrils flared. A growl vibrated from his chest, deep enough to rattle my bones.
He sniffed the air again. I looked around and sniffed the air, nothing. I need to work on these shifter senses.
Smoke. Ash. Blood.
His dragon eyes narrowed. "Something's coming. Something… demony." My eyes widened. My demon! Finally!
Before anyone could blink, he shifted. Just exploded into golden flame, scales igniting across his skin like living armor. His wings tore into the sky as he screamed, a guttural, sky-cracking roar that sent servants ducking for cover.
I didn't even think. My magic surged, my bones realigned, and I burst forth as a .massive silver dragon, which surprised the shit right out of me. I launched into the sky behind him, silver stars trailing in my wake, my heart pounding in a rhythm I knew wasn't just mine.
Kaleb and Arwen watched from below, wide eyed.
"Was that her dragon?" Kaleb croaked.
"She's so damn hot it hurts," Arwen muttered.
Liam laughed like a drunken sprite. "I'd follow her off a cliff. Naked. With glitter."
I landed at the gates in a flash of moonlight and smoke, silver talons digging into the stone.
And then...I felt him.
My soul stopped. My heart jumped into my throat as my breath caught.
There he was. My demon mate.
A shadow against the mist, massive and unreal. Wings like high, jagged blades of black obsidian stretched behind him, each one arched and twitching like they couldn't decide whether to shield or strike. Muscles corded and flexed beneath dark brown skin that shimmered like carved mahogany, impossibly strong and yet shaking just slightly with tension.
His eyes were bottomless black, rimmed in glowing red, they were haunted, unblinking, and locked on me like I was the only thing holding him together. He had horns, twisted high and sharp like the crown of a damned king. His tail lashed behind him, twitching with barely leashed restraint.
And gods… he looked wrecked. Devastated. Beautiful.
He wrung his hands once. Then again. Shoulders hunched like he was bracing for rejection. He didn't make eye contact at first. Just stood there, panting like he'd run through hell itself.
And in his clawed hand?
A necklace.
Fangs. Claws. Bone. Bound together with sinew and something darker. It was horrific. And perfect. My eyes glistened with tears as I realized this was the necklace he had been making for me. My hand flew to my mouth as I choked on a sob
He raised it slowly, voice rough like cracked stone.
"For you."
I didn't breathe. I just stepped forward, barefoot, my coat flaring behind me, auburn hair wild around my shoulders. The wind wrapped around us like a promise.
"Put it on me," I whispered, my hands shaking with anxiety.
He twitched. His massive hands trembled as he stepped closer. When his claws touched my throat, I felt his breath stutter. He was shaking.
"You're mine now," he rasped, so quiet I almost missed it. "And I'll kill anyone who forgets it. Names Sable."
The words weren't a threat. They were a confession.
And they shattered me. Sable. The name rolled off my tongue pleasantly. I loved it.
Kaleb and Arwen arrived just in time to hear it.
"Oh good," Arwen growled. "Another possessive asshole."
Kaleb sighed. "I give it five minutes before they all start measuring dicks again."
Sable's head snapped toward them. He bared his teeth.
"I'll win," he hissed.
I held up a hand. "Enough. Testosterone parade's cancelled."
And just in time, Elisha landed behind us with a deafening crack of wind and flame. The second his dragon eyes saw Sable's claws on my waist, his face went cold.
"Back. Up." He growled.
Sable snarled, wings rising high like a shield. "Make me."
Their auras clashed like colliding storms. Fire. Smoke. Shadow. Rage.
I flared my own power, bright and unyielding. "BOYS. Shut the fuck up." I eyed them all with my beef death stare. "We welcome my new mate with open arms, period."
They froze and four sets of eyes looked down to avoid my flare.
Back inside the castle, things got...weird.
Sable stalked beside me like a shadow that didn't know where to settle. He never sat. Never relaxed. Just hovered. Paced. His claws clicked on marble floors. He kept scanning every exit like he expected a trap. Every now and then, he'd glance at me, and quickly look away.
Except when he didn't.
When he did, it felt like being carved open and worshiped all at once.
He didn't talk much. Just stared at me like I was something holy. Something dangerous. Something he didn't think he deserved to touch....but couldn't walk away from.
Liam made a joke about tail kinks and threesomes...of course he did...and Sable actually cracked the tiniest smirk.
"They're real," he muttered. "The tail kinks."
I turned bright red as my eyes widened. Tail kinks. Hmm. New territory for me but I was down for anything.
"So…" Kaleb said, pretending not to stare. "Where've you been?"
"Chained in hell," Sable said bluntly. "Fought to get free. For her."
I touched his arm. His muscles tensed like I'd hit him, but he didn't pull away.
"Thank you."
He swallowed hard. "Didn't do it for you."
Then he mumbled softly, "Maybe a little." I beamed at him, grabbing his strong hand to hold in mine as I led him to my favorite hang out spot.
We all settled in our favorite chairs, I got as close to Sable as I dared to and just stared at him awkwardly.
We talked for hours. Wounds. War. Why he ended up in hell. How he got out. The Entity and his bullshit. Sable gave us valuable information and we updated him on everything Rhiannan and pentacle and prophecy related. Elisha shocked everyone with stories of baby dragons. Kaleb relaxed. Arwen didn't. Liam flirted with all of them. Sable barely spoke, but he listened. Watched. Every move. Every word.
And me?
I looked at these beautiful disasters and whispered under my breath...
"These are my men. The pentacle is almost complete!"
And just like that...
The air hummed.
The countdown was almost over.
And somehow, for the first time in my entire cursed, broken life...I wasn't afraid. I felt love. Happiness. Something I had never dared to hope for.