Page 28

T he drive home from Madame Rosewood's was tense.

My back ached, and the babies were doing their best impression of a traveling circus while Sarah's voice continued through the car speakers.

Each word she spoke added another layer of dread to the knot in my stomach.

The last thing I needed was another group trying to control my babies' destiny.

"The pattern is undeniable," Sarah was saying as Aidon navigated a particularly nasty pothole. The bounce made me wince. "We've documented over thirty cases of miscarriages in magically powerful mothers across New England in the past year alone. All of them showed signs of Keeper interference."

My hand went protectively to my belly. "What kind of interference?"

"Magical suppression so severe it destabilized the pregnancies.

The Keepers would show up offering 'protection' or 'guidance’.

Within weeks, the mothers would start losing their natural defenses.

Of course that caused their magical cores to destabilize.

Then..." She paused, and the rustle of papers echoed through the speakers.

"The youngest was nineteen. A girl in Portsmouth.

Her family had a strong line of weather magic.

The Keepers claimed they were helping her control her powers for the baby's safety.

By the time we realized what was happening, it was too late. "

Aidon's knuckles went white on the steering wheel. "That ends now."

"It might not be that simple," Jean-Marc cut in. He must have joined the call while I was lost in thought. "I've been going through my research notes with Dr. Harrison. She’s a supernatural professor Emmie discovered at the University. There's something you all need to know."

"What is it?" I asked, not sure I wanted to hear the answer. The babies responded to the tension in my voice and stirred restlessly.

"I didn’t know this before, but Dr. Harrison is part of a Keeper splinter group.

But before you freak out," he added quickly as Aidon's power darkened the car interior enough to make Mom squeak in protest, "she thinks the main faction has completely misinterpreted the prophecy.

She's been collecting evidence for years. "

"Evidence?" Stella leaned forward from the backseat. "What kind of evidence? And how do we know we can trust her?"

"Because she's been helping magical mothers escape the Keepers' influence," Jean-Marc explained. "Her group has been documenting cases of magical suppression going back centuries using archives she has access to through the University."

Mom shifted behind me. "I wouldn’t have thought she could access information about the magical world through a mundane college. What exactly did they find in those archives?"

"Even the magical world has an academic side. It’s even bigger than you think.

The jobs you can find in paranormal research are endless.

Anyway, she found patterns and correlations.

Every time the Keepers gained influence in a region, reports of maternal magic would decline.

But here's the thing. They also found records of resistance.

Mothers who developed marks similar to Mom's.

There have also been countless women who managed to protect their children despite everything the Keepers tried. "

Pain shot through my abdomen. It was sharp and sudden. The mark flared beneath its concealment and sent pulses of energy through the car that made the electronics go haywire. The radio cycled through stations at random while the dashboard lights flickered like a disco.

"Phoebe?" Mom's hand found my shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Before I could answer, the world shifted.

It was like looking through two sets of eyes at once.

I could still see the car interior while also looking at a nursery.

The latter was painted in soft yellows. A sharp kick made my hands - but it wasn’t my hands – go to my belly.

It wasn’t as big as mine, though. I was in someone else’s head or something.

The other woman's fear and confusion mixed with my own as she felt the same connection.

“Who are you?” My heart began racing with the rough voice. The thought wasn't mine.

“I'm Phoebe,” I projected back, wondering if I'd finally lost it. “ I think my babies or my magic are somehow connecting us.”

“You’re the new Pleiades. I'm Rebecca,” she responded. Her relief was palpable. “ I live on Cedar Street. These surges... they started last week. The magic keeps building, and I can't control it. These men came to my house...” She lived in Camden. Was she a coven member?

There was no doubt in my mind who had paid her a visit. “They’re Keepers,” I informed her. “ And they’re dangerous. ”

“They wanted to bind my magic.” Rebecca's thoughts carried her rising panic. “ They said it was becoming unstable. But ever since they visited, I've been having these dreams about ancient symbols. And women fighting back. There’s also a song that feels familiar somehow...”

The dual vision faded as suddenly as it started. I was left gasping. Aidon had pulled over, one hand gripping mine while the other rested protectively on my belly. "What happened?" he demanded. "Your mark was pulsing like a beacon."

"We need to find Rebecca," I said as the car's electronics returned to normal. "She lives on Cedar Street. The Keepers are planning to bind her magic. Just like they did to that girl in Portsmouth that Sarah told us about."

"How do you know that?" Stella asked.

"Because I was just in her head. Or she was in mine. The magic or the babies somehow connected us during that surge. She's scared, Stella. The Keepers have already approached her, and she's starting to show signs of magical instability."

"That shouldn't be possible," Clio said through the phone. "The magical barriers between individuals are usually impenetrable without specific spells. Unless..." She trailed off thoughtfully.

"Unless what?" Mom prompted. "Clio, if you know something..."

"Unless the mark really is acting as a conduit for ancient protective magic.

Which actually lines up with my latest test results.

I've been analyzing the energy patterns surrounding Phoebe.

They're not what we thought at all. The mark isn't controlling or channeling power.

With this latest information, my guess is that it's creating a kind of magical immune system.

“ It’s protecting the babies from outside influence while allowing them to safely develop their own abilities ," Tarja reassured me when my fear ratcheted up several notches.

"Like magical antibodies?" Nina asked, and I jumped. When had she joined the call?

"Exactly," Clio confirmed. "The mark adapts to threats. It strengthens protective magic and neutralizes attempts at binding or control. That's why the Keepers' usual tactics aren't working on Phoebe. The mark is actively fighting back against anything that tries to suppress their natural magic."

That made me feel better. And felt right. I thought back to all the times the mark had flared in response to threats. Even the weird technological glitches could be seen as the mark preventing outside interference with the babies' development.

"There's more," Nina said as we pulled into our driveway. "I found something in Hattie's journals. You know, the ones we found hidden behind that ridiculous painting of the dancing lobsters."

"The ones I didn’t want to read?" I asked as the call switched to the phone in my hand. I put it on speaker while Aidon helped me out of the car.

"Yes. There's an entry from 1973 about a pregnant witch she helped.

The woman was having problems with her powers.

Hattie wrote that a group tried to magically bind the baby's powers.

Hattie helped the mother conjure what she called 'the mother's shield'.

She details the ritual and potion here," Nina reported.

“Why didn’t she put an end to the Keepers?” I asked.

“She wasn’t able to discover who was behind the threat.” Nina’s voice echoed through the phone and house as we entered.

I hung up, and we made our way to the kitchen room. Nina and Selene had transformed the space into a research command center. Papers and magical texts covered every surface. The scent of Mom's calming tea filled the air along with Mythia’s cinnamon scones.

"That tracks with what Dr. Harrison told me," Jean-Marc said as he emerged from the office with a stack of papers.

"The splinter group believes the Keepers got it all wrong.

The prophecy isn't about power awakening.

It's about protection returning. The First Song was never meant to be controlled.

It was meant to protect magical bloodlines.

It should help mothers shield their children from those who would harm or bind them. "

"Which explains why the Keepers want to stop it," Selene added.

"If that kind of protective power returns to magical mothers, their whole system of control falls apart.

Given what Clio said and what happened when you connected to Rebecca, I think every time your mark activates, it sends out a pulse that affects protective magic in other pregnant witches nearby. "

"Like a magical chain reaction," Nina mused. "The babies’ magic is somehow kickstarting other mothers' protective abilities."

"But why now?" Stella asked as she brought me a cup of tea. "Why these babies?"

"Because they're special," Sarah's voice came through the speaker.

I'd forgotten they were likely still on the call.

"Three magical children, born of both divine and mortal power who also carry the essence of the First Song.

They're a catalyst, awakening what the Keepers tried to bind away centuries ago. "

The babies moved and made the mark pulse beneath its concealment.

A wave of connection washed over me. It wasn’t as intense as before.

This time, I was able to sense other magical mothers across town.

I could feel their worry, their hope, and their fierce determination to protect their children.

We were all linked by something ancient and powerful.

"We need to warn Rebecca," I said as the room spun alarmingly. "The Keepers-"

"Will have to go through us to get to her," Aidon interrupted, gently but firmly. "But right now, you need to rest. You don’t need to push yourself to the point those magical contractions start again."

"He's right," Clio added. "You need to keep these babies from making an early appearance."

"I'll go check on Rebecca," Stella offered, already grabbing her keys. "Nina and I can bring her here where it's safe."

"Take Murtagh with you," Mom insisted. "If the Keepers are watching her house..."

"I already texted him," Nina confirmed. "He's waiting for us outside. And Tseki is patrolling the perimeter here in case they think they can breach our wards."

"I'll contact Dr. Harrison," Jean-Marc added as he pulled out his phone. "If the splinter group has been gathering evidence against the Keepers, we need to see it. Maybe there's something in their research that can help us protect Mom and the babies."

I wanted to argue, to insist on helping, but another wave of magical energy rolled through me. A sharp, burning sensation radiated from my core, making me gasp. The familiar pain brought back memories of the earlier contractions. Fear gripped me. I couldn't risk going into actual labor.

"Fine," I conceded as Mom pressed a fresh cup of tea into my hands. "But I want updates every five minutes. And Sarah," I called out. “We need to know everything your midwife network knows about these marks."

"I'll reach out to my contacts," Sarah offered. "The midwife network extends throughout New England. If that coven still exists, we'll find them."

"And I'll analyze more of the energy," Selene added. "If we can understand how the babies are connecting magical mothers, maybe we can use it to our advantage. We might be able to create some kind of early warning system when the Keepers target someone new."

"Like a magical underground railroad," Nina said excitedly. "We could help mothers escape before the Keepers can bind their magic!"

"One thing at a time," Aidon cautioned. "First, we need to make sure Phoebe and the babies are safe. Then we can work on dismantling the Keepers' entire power structure."

I settled on a stool and snagged an apple from the basket of fruit.

One hand went to my belly where the triplets had finally calmed.

We had allies now in Sarah's midwife network, Dr. Harrison's splinter group, and the other magical mothers like Rebecca.

We might be able to stop these Keepers after all.

The babies kicked my palm, sending little ripples of power through me that made the nearby crystals chime.

For the first time in days, the power felt less like chaos and more like a conversation.

They were trying to tell me something. Not about prophecies or ancient powers, but about family and love.

Maybe that was the real power of the First Song. It wasn’t about control or dominance, but the simple, fierce magic of a mother's love for her children. The kind of power that couldn't be bound or corrupted or controlled. The kind of power that could change everything.