She turned over and sat up on her knees while Helius rested against a mountain of pillows. He stroked her hair and her face, edging her mouth toward his long, thick cock. She crawled between his legs while wiggling her exposed bottom, an invitation to Drakkon.

Helius hissed when she took him in her mouth in one deep swallow. A trill raced up her spine when she felt Drakkon’s claws digging into her bottom. And then he slid all the way into her, banging against her womb in one fluid thrust. She jerked forward, taking all of Helius in her mouth when Drakkon pulled out. Soon, they found their rhythm, sucking and fucking until they both spilled into her and her pussy was throbbing in ecstasy. She swallowed Helius’s essence, washing it down with more wine after they tumbled onto the furs.

As sated as they were, her mates weren’t finished. They each took turns tenderly making love to her. She clutched their backs, hissing and moaning with each deep thrust as they brought her soaring to the stars again and again.

By the time they were finished, she was too exhausted to worry, too tired to eat, so she nestled in Helius’s arms while Drakkon gently swirled his claws across her back. Warmed by their body heat and the hearth flames, she whispered a silent prayer that she and her mates would never be separated. She’d rather be cast into oblivion than exist without them.

* * *

AHEAVY BOOM STARTLEDPhoenix awake. She shot up, clinging to Helius’s neck. What was happening? He wrapped his arms protectively around her, shifting into a giant horned protector when the earth shook and debris fell from the ceiling. The air whooshed from her lungs when he flipped her on her back, hovering over her, wincing when more rocks and debris pelted his back. Drakkon shifted into a protector and joined them, shielding Phoenix as the cavern fell apart around them. She sucked in a scream when bigger rocks pinged off their backs, but they refused to buckle, holding up the earth that caved in on them.

She blinked up at them, choking on dust and debris as she suddenly remembered her dream. Or was it a memory? “If we die, will you search for me on the next level?”

“You know we will,” Drakkon said on a growl, his face contorting when what looked like a landslide fell on top of his back.

Pain flashed in Helius’s eyes as his body trembled from the weight of the rocks pressing on him. How much more could he withstand? “We will follow you into the molten flames of the lowest pit in hell.”

She coughed and hacked as her tiny space shrunk even more, debris sliding under her and pressing her up against Helius’s chest. But her mates didn’t buckle as they continued to shield her from the worst of the onslaught.

She winced when something stabbed her hip, and her hand felt in the dark, grasping a familiar curved, sharp object. She laid it on her chest and clutched her mates’ arms.Get us out of here,she whispered to the claw.

The air displaced and they fell onto a soft dune. Her mates rolled off her, and she blinked up at the hazy sky for several seconds. Drakkon and Helius shifted into their demon forms and helped her sit, and the three of them started at the oddest sight. Tan’yi’nug was tunneling out the top of a sand dune like a dog digging for a buried bone, spraying sand everywhere while her other two mates in wolf form howled beside him. Two other black wolves snapped at winged volucri that buzzed around their heads, while a witch who looked like a silver version of Eilea gave the dragon directions.

Helius let out a sharp whistle, and the dragon stopped digging, snarling at them from over his shoulder.

Cadmus’s and Damon’s heads snapped up, and they raced toward them, their tongues lolling to the side, their tails wagging. They both leapt into the air, shifting and landing on top of them with howls. Phoenix clung to Cadmus when he held her in his arms, capturing her lips in a slow, sweet kiss.

I thought I’d lost you,he projected between breaths. I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry.

She pulled back, grasping his shoulders.You have nothing to be sorry for, my love. It’s over. Gorgo is gone.

Thunderclouds darkened his eyes. What did he do to you?

I’d rather not talk about it.She choked on a sob, her eyes welling with tears, as she thought about her mother.

I let you get captured.

She ran her fingers through his hair, thick with dust.You think you could’ve controlled millions of demonic spiders? I wouldn’t have survived this nightmare without you.

He cupped her cheek, a question in his eyes.Your mother?

Gone.That was all she could say before she fell back into his arms.

He kissed and rocked her. Her other mates circled them, rubbing her back and kissing her head while she buried her face against Cadmus’s chest.

Helius took her from Cadmus, frowning at her bloody chest. He placed a hand over her ripped skin and infused her with healing warmth. By the time he’d finished, she had a hard time keeping her eyes open.

I want to go home,she said, the grief she felt over her mother threatening to sweep her into oblivion.

He hoisted her into his arms.Then let’s go.