Afterword

THE END — FOR NOW…


Stay tuned for part two of The Sassy Goddess coming June 2021!

Here’s a teaser into book 2, The Sassy Queen!

The Sassy Queen

Part Two

Chapter One


Go on vacation they said. Go out and find yourself they said. I did those things and look where it got me? On my ass in a dimension no one knew about just to be told I’m the long-lost princess. That’s what I get for listening to people.

What feels like months now, I had stumbled through a portal to a world covered in snow, met the man destined to be my mate, by the way, he’s hot as hell and amazing in the sack, and now I’m headed toward the castle where my dying father laid, having no idea I even exist.

I’m pretty sure I’ve covered everything. Oh, wait, people here are dragon fae and there are purple chickens that think they’re some kind of lapdog. Yeah, it’s weird. Oh, and water’s off limits so bathing was difficult and there’s no Starbucks or coffee.

I cringed and ran my hands down my face. What I wouldn’t give for the taste of a white chocolate mocha on my tongue. I needed an IV of caffeine, or hell, give me more of that energy invoking dragon fruit.

I ran a few of the scented oils through my hair. Since I couldn’t exactly shower there, I needed to do something. The hot springs were great for bathing, and sex, hell yes for the sex, but I needed to thoroughly wash everything with soap and water. We’d returned to Greyson’s home later that afternoon and cleaned up for our travels to the kingdom. Getting dressed had been particularly hard when he’d wanted to claim me once more on the bed. I couldn’t deny my attraction to the man, I wanted him just as much.

Rather than fighting the need for each other, we embraced it.

I paced the floor of the bedroom and gnawed on my nails. It was a dirty habit that only occurred when I was stressed or freaking out about something. All the information I’d recently learned about being a princess to a world I knew nothing about, then to have my life changed by the best sex I’d ever had that resulted in being mated to a Fae who shifted into a dragon—it was a game changer.

So, let’s tick off everything I learned today: I’m the long-lost princess to a royal line of Light Fae. My boyfriend was the best friend to my deceased brother. My mother died fighting for her country. And my father was still alive.

I stopped pacing and held onto that last thought. My father was still alive.

My father was alive.

I had a father.

“Are you all right?” Greyson asked.

I looked over at him and shook my head. “I-I don’t know,” I stuttered. “I have a father. I’ve never had anyone before.”

He smiled and closed the distance to me. He brushed the loose strands of my braid behind my ears. “You have me, now and always.”

I stood on my toes and lightly pressed my lips to his. “I’m so glad I do.” I shook my head, thinking over everything, and it was giving me a headache. “You came to find me to help you find a Fae princess. Now we’re here and we happened. Then I found out I’m that Fae princess and I’m about to walk in on a fight between two clans.” I sighed. “What did I leave out?”

“You’re my mate now,” he added.

“Yes, there’s that.” I crossed my arms over my chest, my braid hanging over my left shoulder. “I need to ask. What all does that mean, me being your mate? Will I change into an animal or something?”

He brushed his fingers across my cheek. “Or something.”

“Wait,” I took his hand away from my face. “What do you mean, or something?”

“Your blood is from your lineage, Cesha. What you felt in the pool? Your eyes lit on fire just as mine did. Our souls have been drawn to one another since we were born. It took me coming to find you to awaken what was inside me. Call it fate that I found you the way I did.”

I knew exactly what he meant. A part of me awoke the moment we became one. Since I’d discovered this feeling inside me, I didn’t want to let it go. “So, I guess there are things we need to discuss about us once this fight is over.”

“Oh?” he asked. “Like what?”

“Well, for starters, are we going to live here or on Earth?”

“I don’t see why we have to choose. Why not both? If it means that much to you to have a life on Earth, we can do that.”

I smiled and my heart lifted in so much love for this man. “I will introduce you to my very good friend, Zelda, and the other love of my life called Starbucks.”

He rubbed at his chin, the scruff sexy as sin on his cheeks. “I think I saw a green sign that said Starbucks.”

“Coffee, baby, coffee.”

He chuckled. “As soon as this fight is over and the curse on our water supply is lifted, we can make as much coffee as you can drink.”

I grinned. “And proper showers!”

“Yes,” he laughed. “That, too.” He took my hands in his. “Are you ready to go meet your father?”

And just like that, the nerves were back. “Greyson, how do I present myself to a man and claim to be his daughter? What if he denies me?” The threat of tears stung my eyes. The all too familiar feeling of being dismissed resonated within me, causing a soreness in my chest. “I can’t handle another rejection.”

“Come here,” he said and pulled me into a hug. He squeezed me tightly then pressed his lips to my forehead. “He will know who you are. The village woman was right, you look like your mother. You have her eyes.”

I pulled back and wiped at the dampness under my lids. “I wish I could have met her. Not having parents or siblings or anyone to call your family was hard.”

He nodded. “I know. When I lost Caston, it was like losing a brother.”

“Shit,” I whispered. “Here we are talking about my family and I haven’t bothered to ask about yours. I’m so sorry. I’m such an asshole.”

He chuckled. “You’re not an asshole. My parents are just fine. They don’t live close to where I am, but when this is over, we’ll make a trip over and I’ll introduce you. I think my mom will love you.”

I grinned. “Really?”

He nodded. “Absolutely. So, you ready?”

I took in a deep breath and slowly let it go. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready for this, but I’m nervous and excited at the same time.”

“Come on, there’s something I want to do with you. I think you’ll enjoy it. The trip to the kingdom is quite a distance. On horseback it would take three to four days.”

I could use something fun right now. I stopped into the bathroom to make sure I had everything I needed while we were gone. What did one bring when one was meeting their father for the first time? I sighed and looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was braided, and I had on a white tunic with a leather corset vest and leather pants. I had on my boots over the pants and I looked every bit the huntress. The corset did amazing things for my tits, too. And my waist. Hell, I could get used to looking like this.

I stepped out of the bathroom but didn’t see Greyson. I peeked down the stairwell of books, but didn’t see him there, either. He must have already headed outside. I grabbed our duffle bag filled with clothes for the trip, food, and other essentials.

Closing the door behind me, I heard a snarl and I screamed. I turned with my back to the door and before me stood Greyson in dragon form.

Don’t worry, it’s just me. We’re going to ride dragon style to the kingdom.

I gasped and held my hand over my mouth. I shook my head and took a step forward. “I can hear you in my mind!”

His enormous head bobbed once, and he lowered it to the ground. Come here, beautiful, and kiss me. The mind sharing happens once we became mates. Only in dragon form, though.

I walked over to his large snout, ran my hand across his brown, scaly skin, and made my way back toward his beautiful brown eyes. “You are simply magnificent, you know that?”

So you’ve said. I heard him chuckle, it was a deep throated growl.

I smiled, then lowered my face by his eye, pressing my lips to his skin. “I love you,” I whispered.

I love you, too. Now climb up. You can sit between the spikes on my back.

“Spikes?” I walked around his front leg to look up at his massive body. How had I missed the spikes before? He expanded his leathered wings and I had to duck to not be hit in the head. “How do I get up there?”

You’ll have to climb, Princess. Wow, princess has so much more meaning now.

I didn’t say anything to that. Instead, I quickly picked up the clothes he had on before he shifted and put them into our duffle bag. I looked around his gigantic body, for something to give me a boost. There wasn’t exactly a ladder sitting around to climb with. I came back around his front and his large eyes watched me as I planned.

“I could climb up on your leg and maneuver my way up. Yeah, let’s do that. Lay your leg flat for me. I’ll climb up and grab on to one of your, um, spikes, as you called them, and figure out what to do once I’m up there.”

Greyson, my great and beautiful dragon slash boyfriend, laid his front leg out straight. I looked at my heels, then back to him. “My shoes won’t hurt you? It’s not like I’m wearing stilettos.”

I won’t pretend to know what those even are. No, you can’t hurt me. Only sharp objects like daggers, swords, or spears could pierce my skin.

He has no idea what a spiked heel could do. I stepped up on his leg and waited for any signs of discomfort from him. I was a small thing compared to his size, but still. Then I stepped with the next foot, then continued to climb. I reached for his wing and grabbed hold of it to help with my balance. I made my way up to his back and stood between two large sets of spikes that ran parallel down his back. This would be easier than I first though. I could sit snugly between the rows and just hold on.

“So,” I said and sat down on my knees, then folded my legs in front of me. My knuckles turned white as I gripped the spikes on his back. “No loop-de-looping the air, please. Until we get you a saddle, no goofing off.”

You are not putting a saddle on me, woman. All right, hold on tight. No one has ever flown on me before.

“Well, shit, now you tell me.” I took in a deep breath. It was like getting ready to ride a rollercoaster for the first time ever in your life, but it was a ride without rails and had unplanned turns and dives.

Greyson stood and started toward a clearing. I held my breath and waited for him to take off. I wasn’t sure how it would happen . . . would he run or just leap into the air?

“Shit,” I screamed as the latter happened. He flapped his thick wings and up into the air we went. We headed toward the top of the trees, and when I looked down, fear clamped in my chest and I screamed. “I’m so going to die up here!”

You’re not going to die. Calm down and just hang on. Leave everything else to me.

He was so confident. Well, he was the dragon. I closed my eyes and the wind blew against my face. It wasn’t hard, or whipping, but it reminded me of being at the beach. When the breeze came in off the ocean and the saltiness in the air hit my nose, for me, it was home.

I wanted to look, to experience everything we were doing. Gradually, I opened my eyes. I gasped when I realized we were so high in the clouds. My hair felt damp and I laughed. It wasn’t a sane laugh, more maniacal.

You okay up there?

“Yes, I’m okay. Just a little delirium.” I smiled, but kept my hands firmly locked onto his spikes. I thought back to our time in the hot springs and the memory surfaced of me flying on Greyson’s back. Well, the first one has come true. I think I’m even wearing the same outfit. Next was a wedding. Shit, was I ready for that? I looked down at the man I was flying on and knew that answer was yes. He was my mate for life. There was no hesitation in that.

Just ahead on the left you’ll see one of our oceans. One day we’ll head over there and take in the sea creatures.

“Do you have unicorns? Tell me you have unicorns.”

His throaty chuckle resonated in my head. No, Princess, no unicorns. That’s only in fairytales.

I thought about what he’d said about me being like the other Fae here. Was I a Fae with powers who also had the ability to transform into another form? I suppose time would tell, but how and when? Does it hurt? How do you change back? I had so many questions about this.

Cesha, before we go in, we’re going to use your magic to glamour ourselves. We’ll have to. My face is known in the kingdom. If I’m found to be anywhere near the king, they would put my head on a spike.

“Good call. I can do that. Preference on hair color?”

Nope, just make us look different.

I’m not sure how much time had actually gone by, but riding on the back of a dragon was now on the top of my “most amazing things I’ve ever experienced in my life” file. We began to descend from above the cloud cover.

Over to the right you’ll see the Vale Kingdom. It was once beautiful, but since Prince Theo and his big bitch, it’s not the same as it used to be.

Sure enough, in the distance stood a large castle with towers and a mote surrounding it. This was once my home. A place I didn’t remember. I’d been a baby when I’d been kidnapped and taken to Earth. I’d love to know why that had happened and by whom, but first things first: disguise, then my father.

The landing was not as graceful as the takeoff. He hit the ground with a thud, and it reminded me of a plane touching down in a rough landing amid turbulence.

Come on down, Cesha. I’ll shift back and get dressed. Glamour us and we’ll be on our way from here on foot.

Once my feet hit the ground, a part of me wanted to kiss it and scream out, “land!” Surprisingly, my ass was quite sore. He was a hard dragon, and next time I’d need pillows or something.

Greyson took a few heavy steps back and his magic shimmered around his body. He screamed out and I closed my eyes. He went from the size of a football field to a tall, maybe six foot three man. I’m sure it hurt like a mother fucker.

Once I heard Greyson’s human voice, I opened my eyes and he was crouched on the ground. I picked up the bag we had packed before leaving and jogged over to him. I bent down and tilted his head up. His eyes met mine.

“Are you all right? Do you need food or wine?”

He shook his head no. “Just my clothes. I need, I need to rest for a bit. That took a lot out of me.”

I nodded and opened the bag. I pulled out his attire for the day and laid it on the ground in front of him. “What can I do?”

“Give me five minutes. I just need to rest, and then we’ll go. I want to get there before nightfall.”

“Okay.” I took a few steps back and waited. Greyson stood and his skin was red like before. “Once this is over, I’ll see what I can do to make a salve for your skin.”

“That would be nice.” He began pulling his clothes on, pants, followed by his tunic and jacket. I pulled my jacket closer around my own body while I watched him. Once he was dressed, we sat for a few minutes in the shade of a nearby tree while he rested.

A few birds chirped but, otherwise, it was quiet around us. I could hear my heart beating in my ears.

After a few minutes, Greyson spoke. “I’m ready.” He picked up our duffle and slung it over his body. Held his arms out to his sides. “Glamour us.”

I shook out my hands and closed my eyes. I focused on the form I wanted him to take and thought of the man who’d played the Winter Soldier in the Marvel Comics movies. I held my hands out in front of me and the magic moved through my veins and out of my fingertips.

“Whoa, it tickles,” he said. “I don’t feel anything else. Is it working?”

When I opened my eyes, I gasped. The actor who portrayed the character stood in front of me, and I grinned. “Oh, yes, it definitely worked.”

“Okay, you’re next.”

I thought of the actress who’d played Queen Anne Boleyn in the cable series The Tudors. She was beautiful, and I hoped I could pull it off. I, once again, closed my eyes and focused on myself. Never having glamoured anyone or myself before, the worst I could do would be to muddle my features.

I placed my hands over my face and pushed them outward, over my hairline, down the back of my head, then out to the sides of my body.

“Holy hell,” he whispered. “You look very different.”

I opened my eyes and tugged at my braid. My hair was brown rather than blond. I met his gaze and grinned. “Well, it’s still me, Pervyderby.”

He chuckled. “Yes, indeed. Let’s go. Castle Vale awaits the return of their princess.”


To check out all the side-splitting books in the Magic and Mayhem Universe, go to https://magicandmayhemuniverse.com/

And if you would like to read the book that started all the madness, Switching Hour is FREE!

https://robynpeterman.com/switching-hour/