Chapter 39- Trial of Valor Day 2

The sun wasn't even at peak climb yet and the entire kingdom was already thrumming like a live wire. Shields were shimmering. Wings were slicing the sky. And every single bitch in the castle was on mission.

Arwen and Kaleb had already hit the trial grounds like the twin storm gods they were. Kaleb had a war tablet in one hand, barking orders to commanders and teleporting reinforcements across the field. Arwen had his sword unsheathed, directing pulse scans and double checking every enchanted gate for interference.

"Perimeter sweep clear," Arwen snapped. "Reinforce sector seven and seal the underground traps. I don't want another surprise flame pit incident."

"It was one gnome and he lived," Kaleb muttered.

"His eyebrows didn't."

Sable was already airborne, slicing across the sky with Azarion on his left and Elisha's dragon guard circling like a goddamn stormfront of fire and judgment. Wings beat against the wind in perfect rhythm. Ash trailed behind them like a celestial warning.

"They're watching," Azarion said darkly. "He's watching."

"Let him," Sable growled. "We're ready to return the favor."

Back near the arena, Liam and Elisha were each holding one end of Queen Rhiannan like she was the sacred treasure she absolutely believed she was.

"I can walk," Rhiannan muttered as her huge bump led the way emotionally even if physically she wasn't going anywhere fast.

"You can waddle," Liam said, grinning. "And we're not letting the future triplets rattle around like snacks in a box."

"You callin' me a snack box?"

"A divine snack box."

They carried her straight to her velvet draped platform beside the trial field, complete with ten pillows, enchanted shade, and a mini feast tray pre loaded with..

Bacon

Chocolate stuffed crepes

Sliced mango

Spicy pickled dragon cucumbers

And a literal goblet of whipped cream

Rhiannan dug in with royal fury. "If anyone mocks my cravings, I'll put a hex on your genitals."

"I think you threatened us yesterday with turning balls into blueberries," Kaleb said dryly over comms.

"She's evolving," Liam said, feeding her mango while Elisha rubbed her feet and kissed her belly.

Meanwhile, the trial ground's front stage was already in chaos as Mo, Mela, and Riven played their roles with Faenet live stream magic in full swing.

"Welcome back to the Valor Games," Mela said, grinning wide as she adjusted her mic.

"Day two, bitches," Mo added, glittering with magic and chaos. "Last one not bleeding wins!"

Riven was interviewing a centaur contestant wearing literal fire armor. "So, like, how do you poop in that?"

Faenet exploded:

#MoForPresident #RhiannanLooksLikeWarriorBeyoncé #TeamFeralDaddy

#LiamCanFeedMeNext

Out of the 375,000 warriors who passed Trial One:

50,000 had officially tapped out, choosing instead to become:

Initiate soldiers

Castle guards

Tier One army support

These were the walls. The backbone. The sturdy fucking fence between the new kingdom and chaos.

But the remaining 325,000? They were lining up now.

Swords drawn. Armor tightened. Magic pulsing under skin. Rage and loyalty in every goddamn heartbeat.

Kaleb's voice blasted across the stone walls and the floating Faenet orbs.

"Trial Two will test not your power, but your purpose. Can you serve? Can you lead? Can you choose right when wrong is easier?"

Arwen followed, raising his sword.

"No mercy. No excuses. Enter only if you're ready to be the shield this kingdom needs."

And the gates began to creak open.

The cheers of hundreds of thousands rose like thunder and magic and dreams colliding, echoing through the air so loud it shook the stone walls of the arena. The gates had opened, and the warriors of Andopeer were flooding in for Trial Two, their weapons glinting, their power pulsing like storms in skin.

From her pillow throne above it all, Queen Rhiannan sat like a goddess of chaos and cravings, belly round and resting atop a silky emerald wrap, eyes sharp as blades. Her throne had been upgraded overnight, extra shade, enchanted fans, and a wide curved table holding everything from grapes to gingerroot cookies to a jar of peanut butter stuffed with pickles.

Elisha knelt beside her, massaging her ankles as her eyes scanned the field. Liam stood behind, braiding her hair lazily and feeding her crepes every time she opened her mouth to speak.

"Look at them," Rhiannan whispered, voice thick with awe and pride. "Every single one of those crazy bastards is willing to bleed for this kingdom."

Then she stood.

Not gracefully. Not gently. Like a warrior who forgot she was six months pregnant with three gods in training.

Elisha tensed. "You need to sit down."

"Shut it, dragon boy. Let me have this."

She stepped to the edge of the royal platform, raised one hand high in the air, and blew massive kisses down to the sea of warriors below, fingers outstretched, wind catching her hair like she was calling down stars.

"I love you psychos! Go fuck shit up!"

The crowd went absolutely feral.

Faenet:

💬"SHE BLEW ME A KISS I'M NEVER BATHING AGAIN."

💬"Long live Queen Rhiannan!!"

💬"Did Elisha just growl at me through the camera???"

Because yes.

He did.

The golden eyed dragon king stood behind her now, jaw clenched, smoke curling from his nostrils like a territorial beast ready to burn the whole fucking field down.

"She is mine," he muttered, loud enough to be picked up on at least three livestream feeds.

"Sit your ass down before you start a riot," Liam laughed, shoving her gently into her cushions and shoving a pickle stuffed pastry into her mouth.

Behind her, the Royal Council had gathered in their newly constructed Skywatch Pavilion, just off the Queen's viewing area. Sasha, projected in full snarky AI form as a crystal construct with glowing blue eyes, floated in the center of the room.

"Trial field stabilized," she announced. "Shields holding. Sky perimeter clear. And for the record, Rhiannan, if you blow any more kisses to strangers, I will activate the jealousy protocol in your mates' neural links. That's a lot of horny rage to deal with."

Rhiannan snorted. "Do it. I want to see Azarion go full thunder dick in public."

Mo, Mela, and Riven burst into the room mid laugh, carrying cinnamon sticks and enchanted popcorn, dragging chairs and Faenet feeds behind them like toddlers at a football game.

"Did you see that guy who conjured armor on his nipples?" Mo cackled.

"I interviewed him," Riven said. "His name is Chad."

"Oh," Mela deadpanned. "Of course it is."

They slid into seats beside Sasha's floating feed and started adding live commentary from their council consoles, each one enchanted to track specific contestants.

Rhiannan leaned forward again, heart pounding.

The trial had begun.

Below, the field shimmered with magical illusions, lava paths, shifting bridges, and moral quandaries that physically attacked if failed. Contestants were moving fast, split into pods of fifty, facing their own customized paths to hell.

She spotted a group of fox shifters trying to solve a riddle trap before the vines coiled tighter around their throats. Another pod was stuck on a bridge that demanded sacrifice before it would lower. One man slit his palm, blood soaking the stone, and the bridge trembled into place.

A young witch girl no older than sixteen was dragging a full grown ogre on her back, screaming at the skies that she "wouldn't leave her battle buddy behind."

Rhiannan gasped and clutched Elisha's hand, her eyes glassy with emotion.

"I don't even know her name and I'm so fucking proud," she whispered.

Elisha pulled her into his side, kissing the top of her head. "You made this. You inspired this."

"No," she said softly. "We did."

And as the hours ticked by, and the battlefield shifted, and blood was spilled and lives were changed, Rhiannan and her inner circle stayed glued to every screen, every heartbeat, every warrior below.

Because this wasn't just a trial.

It was the birth of their rising kingdoms army.

And they were just getting started.