Chapter 206 - Rescued

Chapter 206 - Rescued
Commander Maelra POV

Around us, survivors clung to outreach workers as the teleportation circle grew brighter.

Children were hoisted onto shoulders. An elderly dwarf kissed one of our healers on both cheeks. A woman dropped to her knees and pressed her forehead against the glowing rune beneath her. “Thank you.”

I looked away again. Damn snow getting in my eyes.
Jaq came to stand beside me. “Commander.”

“Aye?”

“You were right.”

“About?”

“This blizzard not being natural.”

I looked toward him. He pointed north. Beyond the settlement, something moved in the storm. Large.
Too large. The growl came again. Low and hungry. My hand went to my axe. Of course. Because apparently rescue missions couldn't simply end with hugs.

The circle reached full strength. Sasha spoke. “Extraction in thirty seconds.”

I turned to my team. “Combat line!”

Half the group moved instantly. The survivors panicked. “Stay inside the circle!” I shouted.

The storm shifted. A shape emerged. Long limbs. White hide stretched over bone. No eyes. Mouth splitting too far down its face. I grinned. Finally.
Something I understood. I pulled both axes from my back. “Jaq.”

His hands ignited blue. “Ready.”

Behind us, one hundred seventeen people stood inside violet light. Alive. Going home. Whatever the fuck lived in this frozen hell could be angry about it. I planted my boots. The creature screamed. I screamed louder. “You already had your fucking chance!”

It charged. The teleportation circle ignited behind me.
And I smiled. Because Frosthaven had spent years believing nobody was coming. They were wrong. We came.

And no frozen bastard in this wasteland was taking them back.
~

Rhiannan POV

The courtyard of the Dragon Castle was silent.

This felt like the entire fucking world had stopped breathing. Every citizen packed into the courtyard stood frozen beneath the morning light. Guards lined the walls. Mages clustered near the eastern gate. Fae perched along balconies and rooftops. Even the castle staff had abandoned their posts long enough to watch the massive teleportation circle glowing across the stone.

Blue-violet light pulsed through the arch. Once. Twice.
My heart matched it. I stood at the front with all six of my mates around me, one hand resting protectively over my stomach. The babies were restless. More than restless. They had been growing faster. I didn't need Sasha to tell me that. Yesterday, my dresses had fit differently. This morning, my belly was noticeably fuller, tighter, and rounder. Every surge of magic through my kingdom seemed to wake something inside them.

Faith. Hope. Power. All of it flowed through me now.
Through us. I swallowed hard. “Sasha?” Her voice came immediately from the crystal hovering beside me. “Teleportation sequence stable. Extraction group approaching.”

“How many?”

“One hundred seventeen confirmed.”

My breath caught. One hundred seventeen. Not numbers. People. People who had been freezing somewhere beyond our borders while the rest of the world had assumed they were dead. My fingers pressed harder against my chest. “Come on,” I whispered.

The portal erupted. Blue-violet light exploded across the courtyard. Magic cracked through the air hard enough to make several people flinch. Then shapes emerged. At first, shadows. Then bodies. The first survivor stumbled through the circle wrapped in torn fur and frost. Then another. And another. Children.
Elders. Dwarves. Fae. Magic-touched mortals. Some walked. Some limped. Some leaned on outreach soldiers. One woman carried a child so tightly against her chest I couldn't tell where her arms ended and his body began. Another man came through with a baby strapped beneath three layers of hide.

Their faces…Fuck. Hollow cheeks. Blue lips. Frostbitten fingers. Old scars. New blood. They looked like people who had forgotten what safety felt like. But they were alive. Alive. Something inside me broke. A sob ripped out of my throat before I could stop it. My knees hit the courtyard stone.

“Rhiannan,” Azarion said sharply.

I barely heard him. “Healers!” My voice cracked across the courtyard. “NOW!”

Everything exploded into motion. Stretchers rushed forward. Healing magic lit the air. Blankets unfolded.
Warm stones appeared in waiting hands. People cried.
Children screamed. Someone laughed. I stayed on my knees staring at them. The lost. The forgotten. The people who had thought nobody was coming. We came. Holy fuck. We actually fucking came. Elisha crouched beside me and rested one hand against my shoulder. “The strong ones are coming with me.”

I looked up at him. His expression softened. “MoonHollow is ready.”

I blinked through tears. “You finished it?”

“Of course I finished it.”

That bastard. He stood and turned toward the survivors who were stable enough to walk. “Anyone cleared by the healers, follow me!”

They stared at him. Suspicious. Exhausted. Hopeful.
He smiled. “Come see your new home.”

That did it. One elderly fae dropped to her knees.
Another man covered his face with both hands. A child tugged on his mother's coat. “Is that our queen?”

Her mother looked toward me. I was still kneeling in the dirt like an emotional pregnant lunatic. “She’s real?”

I laughed through my tears. “Unfortunately!”

A ripple of startled laughter moved through the crowd.
Faenet caught everything. Of course it did. Comments flooded nearby crystals.

💬THEY MADE IT.
💬I'M SOBBING.
💬OUR QUEEN DOESN'T JUST FIGHT. SHE SAVES.
💬RHIANNAN STRONG, BABY.
💬RHIANNAN FOR FUCKING ETERNITY.

I wiped my face. “Please stop making me cry harder.”
Then power slammed into me. I gasped. Golden-white light erupted beneath my skin. My back arched. All three babies moved at once. “Fuck!”

The courtyard lit up. Magic shot through the ground in branching lines, not destructive, not violent. Warm.
Alive. Every rune in the courtyard flared. People cried out. Flowers pushed through cracks in the stone. Not normal flowers. Tiny white and violet blossoms glowing from within. My divine mark burned against my collarbone. Veena stepped forward. Her eyes were huge. “That wasn't just magic.”

I pressed both hands against my stomach. “What was it?”

“Worship.”

The word settled over me. I looked around. At the refugees. At the soldiers. At the citizens watching. “Their belief is feeding you.”

My throat tightened. That terrified me a little. Power born from worship could become something ugly. I knew that. But this didn't feel like domination. It felt like connection. Responsibility. A promise. I pushed myself upright with Azarion's help. “Then we'll use it.”

Veena watched me. I looked toward the survivors. “We save every fucking person we can.” One soul at a time.

Later, I followed Elisha into MoonHollow. I had seen the plans. Seen Sasha's projections. Seen the builders working. None of that prepared me for the real thing. It was beautiful. A massive waterfall poured down the mountainside into a crescent lagoon. Lanterns hung between trees. Stone paths curved through wildflowers that had somehow decided seasonal rules could go fuck themselves. Cottages nestled beneath enormous trees. Treehouse apartments rose between branches. Children stared at everything like they'd stepped into a dream.

Elisha stood at the entrance with both hands on his hips. “Alright!” His voice carried across the village.
“Welcome home. Let me give you the grand fucking tour.”

I laughed softly. The survivors followed him like ducklings. “To your left, Marketplace Row.”

He gestured toward a line of warm wooden buildings.
“Bakeries. Shops. Smithies. Empty spaces ready for anyone who wants one.”

A young dwarven woman raised her hand timidly. “You mean… we can have shops?”

Elisha grinned. “You can build a whole-ass empire, baby girl.”

Her mouth dropped open. We passed the training grounds next. Sparring rings. Archery lanes. Obstacle courses. Enchanted weapons testing. “If you still want to fight, train here. Rank up. Join the army. Open duels every week.”

A few fighters perked up. “Winner gets beer and a magical trinket.”

That earned actual cheers. Then came the school. That one almost destroyed me. Built into the hillside.
Warm wooden halls. Enchanted library. Playground.
Classrooms. Children were already peeking through the windows. “We hired fae tutors, witchcraft mentors, and combat instructors,” Elisha explained. “Every child learns. Background doesn't matter.”

I stopped walking. Every child. Not just nobles. Not just rich families. Everyone. Fuck. This was exactly why we were doing all of this. Then we reached the housing district. Cozy cottages. Multi-level homes wrapped around trees. Warm windows. Starter supplies waiting inside. Clean beds. Bathrooms. Food.
Safety. One woman stepped into her assigned cottage and burst into tears. Not polite tears. Full-body sobbing. She pressed both hands against the table.
“This is ours?”

Elisha nodded. “No one is taking it from you.”

I stood back while he continued the tour. Watched people open cabinets. Touch blankets. Turn faucets on and laugh when warm water came out. Watched children run across grass without looking over their shoulders. I'd seen armies. I'd seen blood. I'd watched people die. This felt bigger. This was healing. This was hope with walls and windows.

Elisha turned and our eyes met. He walked toward me without speaking. Then scooped me into his arms. I wrapped mine around his neck. “I built this for you, moonfire,” he whispered against my ear. “For them. For our people. For the future you saw before the rest of us did.”

My face crumpled. “Fuck you.”

He laughed softly. “I mean it.”

“I know.”

I clutched his collar. My voice shook. “Take me home.”
His eyes flashed gold. “You sure?”

I nodded. “I need you.” I needed a place where I could fall apart for five fucking minutes. “Take me home.”
He didn't hesitate. Elisha carried me through MoonHollow while lanterns flickered on one by one around us. Past new homes. Past survivors eating warm food. Past children laughing. He followed a private path through the forest, wings partially shifting behind him. Then he launched. I gasped and clung tighter as we rose above the trees. MoonHollow spread beneath us.

The waterfall glowed beneath the setting sun. People moving through streets that had been empty yesterday. Elisha landed softly on our balcony. The moment his feet touched stone, I buried my face against his chest. The tears came again. He just held me. No jokes. No speeches. No kingdom. For one moment, I wasn't a goddess. Wasn't a queen. Wasn't carrying the future. I was just me.

Standing in the arms of someone I loved, staring out at proof that maybe all this blood and terror and chaos was actually becoming something beautiful. “We did it,” I whispered.

Elisha kissed my hair. “We're doing it.”