Rhea was feeling jelly. This was understandable since her body was now a gelatinous mass of scales and tentacles. All that remained of her old self was a slight hint of humanity in her reptilian eyes, but the way her ivory scales draped over her serpentine frame could have resembled her maiden robes by coincidence. After days of horrifying changes, weeks of painful metamorphosis, her body had settled in this strange but graceful form. In the end, she had been one of the lucky ones. Rather, she was the lucky one. She had avoided becoming a Pisaca.
Perhaps the gods had rewarded her for her faith. Maybe there was just something about her that allowed the Duke's blood to flow through her veins in relative harmony, while the other girls became failed abominations. She could hardly remember how she had almost become Hollow in the Duke's prison, nearly succumbing to dread as she waited for her turn as one of the Duke's test subjects. She had stopped feeling frightened after the first Transfusion, when she accepted the gods simply didn't want her to live as a human. If she was going to going to live on as a monster, at least she was a pampered monster.
Now the experiments were almost over. She could feel the Duke's eggs resting in warmth and safety underneath her. It was her first clutch, and they were due in a few more days. Once the eggs were able to hatch and the children were healthy, it would prove she was viable. The Duke would then link his Soul with her own, sharing the secrets of immortality with her for the rest of eternity. The Duke was confident she could repopulate the world with their kind, creating a new breed that would make the Everlasting Dragons look like a small footnote in history. Some might consider her a goddess of creation, but even in this form she would never compare herself to the true divine ones.
Her wings fluttered softly as her husband's scaleless arm brushed her side. The two Dragons nestled their snouts together in a mutual sign of affection. Rhea knew this moment of peace wouldn't last forever. The Chosen Undead would come back, persistent as ever. He had already been to the nest countless times, trying to steal the Duke's eternal Soul. She wasn't afraid, however. Combining the Duke's Cursed magic with the Duchess's Holy breath made the two invincible. The Chosen Undead had only survived a measly 18 seconds in his most recent invasion. Part of her was looking forward to seeing if he would bring allies for his next attempt.
Rhea had lost her family, her friends, and her own humanity, but now that all seemed like a small price for her new life.