The sun spilled golden light across the courtyard, catching in the soft mist rising off the crystal springs beyond the castle walls. The once quiet sanctuary had evolved into a thriving kingdom nucleus. Teachers gathered bright eyed children beneath sprawling shade trees, traders rolled carts down smooth stone paths, and warriors sparred in training circles, their movements sharp and focused.
Rhiannan stood at the balcony above it all, hand resting gently on her swollen belly, her gaze full of pride and awe. The realm was rebuilding. And this, this....was the start of something bigger than any prophecy. Her people had purpose, peace, and for the first time in centuries... hope.
Inside, breakfast was chaos in the most perfect way.
Every table groaned under the weight of food: fried eggs, scrambled eggs, poached eggs, eggs on eggs. Bacon crisped to perfection, honey dipped sausages, thick pancakes with whipped butter, fresh cut fruit glittering with dew. Mo had climbed onto the buffet table with a literal fork in each hand, shouting, "Don't judge me! I'm eating for like, an actual fae soul now!"
The whole room roared.
Kaleb reached across the table to steal a berry off Arwen's plate. Arwen slapped his hand away with a growl. Liam winked at Rhiannan as she fed him a piece of toast, still pale but healing fast.
The door opened with a melodic chime. The room quieted as the four emissaries stepped in.
They were breathtaking.
At the front stood a tall woman with sea glass eyes and shimmering aquamarine hair that curled like waves. Her presence was both serene and fierce, the calm before the storm. She was a mermaid, no doubt about it. Her dress shimmered like scales, water dripping from her fingertips despite being bone dry.
Behind her stood three men...mermen, clearly. One with black hair and stormy gray eyes, his body wrapped in tattoos that pulsed faintly. Another was golden, bright and beaming, warmth radiating from him like the sun. The last had blue tinged skin and a long scar down one side of his face, sharp, regal, dangerous.
Together, they were a fucking vision.
"On behalf of the Kingdom of Solarian and the Atliaran Sea," the woman said, voice clear as moonlight on water, "we bring you greetings, gifts, and a message of peace."
Cheers broke out around the room. Mo, still holding his fork like a weapon, whispered, "That's gotta be some spicy poly sea drama right there. I'm invested."
Rhiannan grinned. "Welcome to our castle! Let's talk peace, and coffee."
They shared laughter, traded stories, and the emissaries presented silk, sea gems, enchanted kelp scrolls, and a bottle of glowing nectar said to cure even a siren's heartbreak. They also extended an invitation from the phoenix royal family, King Cyranth, Queen Virella, and their heir, Prince Zeiran....to visit Solarian and solidify a possible alliance.
Rhiannan felt it deep in her bones.. this was divine timing.
As they all sat to feast, Fenix and Draven flanked Gailia like living statues, one feeding her fruit while the other buttered her bread. Mo was now braiding Gailia's hair and declaring himself "Best Magical Uncle Supreme."
Across the realms, FaeNet was unhinged.
đź’¬"The PHEONIX ROYALS??"
đź’¬"Mo is literally a fairy godbro now I'm SOBBING"
đź’¬"Did anyone else catch the way the sun guy looked at Rhiannan?? đź‘€"
đź’¬"If these kingdoms unite, the Forgotten King's undead ass is TOAST."
Rhiannan laughed so hard she almost snorted water.
And in the midst of it all, surrounded by food, laughter, lovers, and legacy in the making, Rhiannan made her decision.
They'd accept the invitation. Visit Solarian. Secure the alliance.
And then?
Get that fucking Sceptre.
The emissaries stood in a semicircle before Rhiannan's war table, the air thick with sea salt and unspoken power. The mermaid, elegant and dangerous with sea glass eyes and hair that shimmered like moonlight on deep water, stepped forward and bowed low.
"I request a private audience," she said quietly, "with you and your bonded mates. I come bearing a personal message from Queen Virella. It concerns the Sceptre… but more importantly, the trial you must face to claim it."
That shut the room up real quick.
Mo's fork hovered midair. Sable's eyes darkened to near black. Kaleb instinctively stepped closer to Rhiannan's side. Liam leaned back in his chair with a soft, "Well fuck, that sounds ominous."
Rhiannan met the emissary's gaze with steady fire. "Granted. Let's talk."
Moments later in the War Room, Sealed in Silence
The room buzzed with thick magic, wards locked in place by Azarion's blood sigils and Liam's shadow runes. Only the chosen could hear what was said now.
The mermaid, Lady Neressa of the Moonbreak Tide, did not sit. She stood tall, voice calm but weighted.
"Queen Virella sends peace. And gratitude. But also, a warning. The Trial to earn the Sceptre is unlike any other. Your circle must endure it together, or fall."
Rhiannan's brows drew together. "What kind of trial?"
Neressa's next words chilled the air.
"Your bonded will be pulled into your memories. The real ones. Even those you've forgotten. They must live them. Survive them. Walk through your mind, and your trauma, and make it out whole."
Rhiannan froze. Her mates all reacted at once...Sable cursing low under his breath, Azarion going utterly still, Kaleb's hand tightening around her wrist.
"They'll live through me?" Rhiannan asked, her voice rough.
"Yes. Your childhood. Your military life. Your pain. Your abuse. The fear of being left behind. The memories buried so deep you don't even know they still bleed."
Mo whispered, "That's fucking brutal."
"If they falter," Neressia continued, "they won't die. But they will forget you. Entirely. The bond will sever. The pentacle will collapse. And the Sceptre will vanish once more."
Silence stretched thick and suffocating.
Kaleb spoke first. "Then we fight for her again. We live through her. We don't fucking run."
Sable didn't speak, he just stepped closer to Rhiannan, laying his hand over her heart like a silent vow.
"Queen Virella believes you can succeed," Neressia said gently. "But she needed you to know the weight of it. She also asks that you come prepared. She has more truths to share, about your bloodline, your mother, your divine origin."
Rhiannan didn't hesitate.
She ordered carts filled to bursting, native fruits that shimmered with starlight dew, enchanted herbs, healing crystals, glowing wines, and sacred gold coins etched with phoenix crests. At the center, a velvet lined box cradling a Phoenix Pendant, ancient and humming with royal magic long thought lost.
"This belonged to your Queen's bloodline," Rhiannan said, offering the box to Neressia. "Let it return home."
Mo wiped a tear and muttered, "Okay, but this is some top tier goddess shit."
Rhiannan nodded to Azarion, who opened a glowing sea blue portal with a wave of his hand.
"Go home swiftly," she told Neressia. "Tell your Queen we'll arrive tomorrow. We will stand ready. Together."
The mermaid and the men bowed, their arms loaded with gifts, and vanished into the portal like royalty of legend.
Throne Hall of Solarian
The portal burst open in the molten glass throne hall of Solarian. Queen Virella rose from her crystal seat, golden eyes locking onto the phoenix pendant in Neressia's hands.
Her gasp echoed across the chamber. "That belonged to my great grandmother…"
King Cyranth crossed to her side, eyes wide with disbelief. The room burst into warm firelight as they received crates of food, scrolls, magic, and treasures.
With shaking hands, Virella placed the pendant around her neck, and felt the dormant phoenix magic flare to life.
"She's the one," she whispered. "She is the divine child."
Cyranth took her hand. "Then we stand with her. No matter what the trial brings."
The royal family turned toward the ceremonial mirror and went live on FaeNet.
FaeNet Broadcast: Solarian Goes Viral
"People of the realms," Queen Virella said, standing tall as fire flickered behind her, "we thank Rhiannan, our divine sister, for her gifts, her honor, and her courage. Her heart is unmatched. Her power undeniable. We await her arrival to begin what must be done."
King Cyranth stepped beside her, wings blazing.
"The Trial of Soul Echoes awaits. And through it, the future will be forged."
FaeNet lit the fuck up.
đź’¬ "TRIAL OF SOUL ECHOES???" đź’¬"Her mates are gonna walk through her trauma?? NOPE. I'm crying already." đź’¬"Rhiannan is the moment. Not a girl. A fucking prophecy." đź’¬"She gave the pendant BACK. Who does that???" đź’¬"I will riot if one of them forgets her. RIOT."
Mo wiped his eyes. "Okay but like… if they don't make it, I'm personally storming the afterlife."
Sable muttered, "We'll make it."
Liam raised his glass. "To surviving her madness, misery, and memories. Cheers, bitches."
Rhiannan looked around at her circle, heart full and heavy.
"Get some rest," she said. "Tomorrow… we walk into hell. But we do it together."