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I stared at my belly, which looked like it had been tagged by a graffiti artist with a Ph.D. in ancient runes. My heart was doing the cha-cha faster than the weird-ass symbol pulsing on my skin. So much for a boring Wednesday afternoon check-up.

"Well, son of a biscuit eater. That can't be good," I muttered and ran my shaky fingers over the shimmering mark.

It felt warm, as if it was alive. The babies were probably plotting ways to hunt down Lyra.

With three of them in there, I could practically feel them scheming. "Aidon's gonna flip his lid over this."

Tarja leapt onto the exam table beside me, her silver-tipped tail twitching as she studied the mark. " This is old magic, " she projected into my mind. " Older than anything I've encountered. "

Clio cocked her head to the side and regarded me. "He shouldn't be too upset. Everything else looks perfect with the babies. No unusual auras or shadow-casting abilities developing... yet."

Rapid footsteps echoed down the hall before Aidon appeared in the doorway.

His blue eyes were wide with concern. He'd clearly felt my spike of worry through our bond and dropped everything to get here.

"Phoebe? What's wrong? Are you and the triplets okay?

" The tension in his voice made it clear he was imagining worst-case scenarios.

I gestured to my stomach with all the nonchalance of someone pointing out a new throw pillow, while Tarja pressed closer to my side, her fur bristling with protective energy. "Looks like the kids are getting an early start on their tattoo phase."

Aidon's face went whiter than a ghost at a bleach convention. He knelt beside me with his hand hovering over my belly like it might bite. "That's not... That can't be from Lyra."

"Gee, thanks for the reassurance, honey," I drawled. "Because my first thought was definitely that my psycho stalker decided to give me a magical tramp stamp."

Before Aidon could respond with his usual mix of fierce protectiveness and promises to make whoever upset me pay dearly, the cavalry arrived.

Nana led the charge, followed by Mom, Nina, Selene, and Layla.

It was like a parade of concerned faces.

Each one added another knot to the anxiety pretzel in my chest.

" Stay calm, " Tarja advised, though her tail was still twitching. " Your anxiety feeds the babies' magic. "

"What in tarnation is going on in here?" Nana demanded while eyeing us like we were teenagers caught making out in the back of a pickup. "You two better not be fooling around. I've told you that much jostling can't be good for the babies at this stage."

I snorted as my cheeks heated and no doubt turned bright ruby red. "Thanks for the mental image, Nana. No, we're not fooling around. We've got a magical tattoo situation."

Mom gasped like she'd just seen Evanora, our resident ghost, twerking on the ceiling. "Oh, sweetheart. What is that?"

"That's what we're gonna find out," Aidon growled as he went into full protective god-mode. "I'm calling in every favor from Mount Olympus to Asgard if I have to."

Tarja's ears flattened at his tone. " The ancient powers don't give up their secrets easily, " she warned silently.

Layla cracked her knuckles as she examined the mark. "Let's not lose our shit just yet. We need to approach this systematically and research the symbol."

"Research?" Nana asked in a voice that was tight with worry. "Sweetheart, our family is no expert on this magical world, but everything we've seen so far tells me a little panic might be warranted here when there's a strange mark glowing over my great-grandbabies."

She wasn't wrong. Our track record with the supernatural wasn't exactly stellar.

I'd been cursed after trying to help someone.

Nana got hexed by a designer purse of all things.

Stella and I were kidnapped and sent to an island where we had to find a way to escape.

Mom was taken by Lyra and turned into a tribred.

Aidon was poisoned by Lyra's vile wife and Stella and I had to venture into Tartarus for a cure.

Not to mention we'd faced down two poltergeists and more evil witches than I cared to count.

Stella swept into the room then with her signature megawatt smile, practically radiating sunshine and sparkles.

If joy could take human form, it would look exactly like my best friend in that moment.

"Hey, guys! What's with the family pow-wow?

Ooh, is this about the baby shower? Because I have some amazing ideas involving glitter and.

.." She trailed off, finally noticing our grim expressions.

"What'd I miss? Did someone die? Please tell me we don't have to leave for another case.

We really need to get the nursery ready. "

A chuckle escaped me as I shook my head and then filled her in.

Aidon studied the symbol intently, his brow furrowed in concentration.

"Layla has a point. We need to identify what this is.

It's not like anything I've seen before," he said, his voice thoughtful.

"And while Lyra's our primary concern, this doesn't match her magical signature. I don’t think it’s from your last encounter with her. The energy feels older. It reminds me of when I was a young boy.”

"So, you’re saying it’s ancient magic,” I teased.

Aidon sighed and tried to give me a harsh look. His expression betrayed all the love he had for me and our unborn babies. “That raises the question of who else would target you, and why now?" He continued.

His question caused a chill to zip down my spine like a squirrel on a frayed power line.

I didn’t need more enemies. Lyra was enough.

Outside, Tseki and Murtagh were patrolling the perimeter with focused intensity.

"Something's shifted in the magical field," Tseki called out then. It was no surprise they’d heard the conversation. They were shifters.

It took more effort than it should have to push my body up so I could see out the open window. “What makes you say that?” I asked as I watched them.

Tseki’s usual calm demeanor was edged with concern. "I can’t explain it, but I feel a new presence."

"Aidon is right. It's ancient magic," Murtagh confirmed. "We need to strengthen the wards." That was not exactly reassuring, considering whatever it was had already breached everything to touch the babies in my uterus.

"Alright," I pushed myself up from the settee. My determination overrode the dizziness. Thankfully, the room didn't spin like a carnival ride very long. I wobbled like a newborn giraffe as I tried to head downstairs. Aidon and Clio materialized at my side faster than I could open my mouth.

Aidon propped me up like an unfairly attractive crutch while Clio went all ET on my belly. Her healing mojo seeped into me like warm honey, and any remaining dizziness vanished. "Let’s add new layers of protection.”

Selene cocked her head to the side as she considered the situation. “We’re going to need different kinds of wards. Ones we haven't tried before," she said.

Nodding in agreement, I said, "Precisely what I was thinking. This thing got through all our defenses to mark my unborn babies. Whatever this is, it walked right through our usual safeguards, and none of us had any idea."

That's when Stella's face lit up like a kid who just found the secret prize at the bottom of a cereal box. "Ooh! Ooh! I've got it! Why don't we combine our magic with Fae power like Fiona and the girls do? You know, similar to the potion they taught us about seeing through Dark Fae glamour."

I considered her words carefully. Despite Lilith teaching us that witchcraft didn't mix with other magics, we had proof it could work. Fiona and the Backside of Forty had proven that when they were in Eidothea. The information wasn’t widely known.

"You know," Nana said thoughtfully, "their mix of Fae and witch magic isn’t a bad idea. We just need a Fae we can trust. Do we know if Mythia's pixie magic will work for something like this?"

I nodded, feeling a spark of hope for the first time since this whole mess started.

"Fiona's been doing it successfully. And let's face it, that could be a quick way to get the answers we need so we can get back to hunting down Lyra.

Unless anyone's got a copy of 'How to Decipher Ancient Belly Tattoos for Dummies' lying around? "

Aidon looked like he was considering smiting something. "It's risky," he growled, his protective instincts clearly warring with our desperate need for answers.

"Life's risky, big guy," I shot back. "Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Don't say that!" everyone in the room chorused, looking at me like I'd just volunteered to juggle nitroglycerin.

"Fine, fine," I grumbled. "But seriously, we need to do something. And this... well, it's something. And it probably won’t blow up on us."

Mom was the voice of reason. "We should at least talk to Mythia about it. It’s a moot point if the pixies can’t help."

I nodded, relief washing over me at having a concrete next step. "Alright, let's go find Mythia."

"She's probably in the kitchen," Nana said. She was already heading in that direction. "I smell her famous elderberry scones." My stomach growled like a hangry grizzly bear waking from hibernation, reminding me I hadn't eaten since breakfast.

The need for food had me moving far faster than moment before.

My nose carried me to the cooling rack where Mythia was adding more scones.

Grabbing one, I broke off a piece and popped it in my mouth.

Mythia chuckled when she heard my groan.

“I figured you would be hungry soon,” she said with a smile that died when she saw Aidon’s face. "What's happened now?"