The realm shook.
Far across the planes of existence, the Entity thrashed in his obsidian throne, shadows boiling from his skin. He had felt it, the flicker, the shift. The pentacle was almost complete.
"NO!" he screamed, voice ripping through the layers of reality like claws on flesh. His court of monsters scattered, devoured by the firestorm of his rage. Lightning cracked the sky. Mountains crumbled. Oceans boiled.
He reached again for the demon, his greatest pawn. But the void was empty. Sable was gone.
The Entity's roar shattered the silence of the Underworld.
"FIND HIM!" he bellowed, voice echoing into every cursed corner. "BRING ME THE DEMON OR I WILL PEEL THE SKIN FROM THIS WORLD!"
The dragon castle shimmered in the early morning mist. Training grounds roared with elemental fire, steel against steel, and magic pulsing in waves. Rhiannan, Kaleb, Arwen, Liam, and Elisha trained with everything they had.
Three hours.
Only three hours left before the divine realm pulled them in.
Elisha sniffed the air. His dragon eyes narrowed.
Smoke. Ash. Blood.
He let out a deep, guttural growl. "Something's coming. Something demony."
Without another word, he shifted, golden scales rippling, wings unfurling, and launched into the air with a scream that cracked the sky.
Rhiannan didn't hesitate. Her silver dragon burst forth, radiant and wild, chasing the golden blaze into the sky. Kaleb and Arwen exchanged wide eyed glances.
"Was that her dragon?" Kaleb whispered.
"She's so damn hot it hurts," Arwen muttered.
Liam giggled. "I'd follow her right off a damn cliff."
They followed on foot.
At the front gates, Rhiannan landed in a flurry of silver flame and power. And there he stood....
A demon.
Wings black as the void. Horns twisting to the sky. His eyes, rimmed in red, locked on her with something between madness and worship.
In his hand, a necklace made of fangs, claws, and bone.
Sable.
He tilted his head. "For you."
Rhiannan's heart twisted.
She stepped forward, barefoot and divine, auburn hair wild around her, moonlight dancing in her eyes.
"Put it on me," she whispered.
Sable growled, low and trembling, as he stepped close and placed the grisly thing around her neck. "You're mine now," he said softly. "And I'll kill anyone who forgets it."
Kaleb and Arwen showed up just in time to hear that.
"Oh good," Arwen snapped. "Another possessive asshole."
Kaleb rolled his eyes. "I give it five minutes before they all start measuring dicks again."
Sable hissed. "I'll *win.*"
Rhiannan turned, snorting. "Enough. We don't have time for this testosterone parade."
Elisha landed behind them, eyes flaring. The moment he saw Sable's claws around Rhi's waist, smoke curled from his nostrils.
"Back. Up."
Sable snarled. "Make me."
Rhiannan growled. "Boys, *enough.*" Her aura flared, silencing them all.
Inside the castle, introductions were awkward and slightly violent.
Sable didn't say much. Just stared at Rhiannan like she hung the moon. He paced like a caged predator. But when Liam made a joke about threesomes and tail kinks, Sable cracked the barest hint of a smirk.
"They're real," he muttered. "The kinks."
Rhiannan turned bright red.
"So… where've you been?" Kaleb asked, trying not to sound jealous.
"Chained in hell," Sable replied simply. "Fought to get free. For her."
Rhiannan touched his arm. "Thank you."
"I didn't do it for you," he muttered, and then added under his breath, "...maybe a little."
They talked for hours. Bonded over wounds and war. Elisha surprised them by sharing stories of his childhood. Liam cracked jokes the entire time. Arwen growled. Kaleb paced. Sable stayed close.
And Rhiannan? She looked at them all and whispered to herself, "This is my pentacle."
A hum filled the air.
The countdown was ending.