Page 42

P ain ripped through me as Hades attempted to create a portal home. "Something's wrong," I managed to gasp out as another contraction seized me. This wasn't normal labor. This was like being torn apart from the inside out.

"Damn it all to Tartarus," Hades growled, his dark power pulsing as he fought to hold the gateway steady. "Their power signature is unlike anything I've encountered in millennia. Even Zeus's brats weren't this strong in the womb."

Clio's warm hands pressed against my lower back. "Hold on," she ordered as her healing energy flowed into me like a mountain stream. "I've got you, but we need to get you out of here. Now!" Her voice sharpened. "The power is too much."

The temple's ancient magic swirled around us like a living thing that was hungry and wild. My fingers dug into my swollen belly where my uterus was trying to squeeze the triplets. It wasn't clear if that was making their power pulse and surge or if it was the First Song.

"Focus, little queen," Hades commanded, his voice strained as their combined energy slammed into the forming gateway. It twisted its edges, making his work harder. "Channel their power through you—they're your children. They'll listen to their mother."

“I really hope you’re right because if they don’t, we’re in trouble,” I replied as I tried to cajole my little nuggets.

The marble columns surrounding us groaned in protest of the amount of power flowing around.

No wonder my body was trying to have these babies.

Even these age-old enchantments had a hard time fighting against the chaos we'd unleashed.

It had been necessary to save the world, but that didn't mean it was safe. Particularly in the eye of the storm.

I watched in horror as rainbow-colored fractures spread through the portal's darkness like cracks in a mirror. "The babies—their magic is—" Another wave of agony cut me off. They were nothing like the contractions I'd felt before. This was pure fire in my veins, and it was getting worse.

"Their power is destabilizing the pathway," Persephone said as her spring-bright energy joined her husband's darker force to stabilize the gateway.

Flower petals manifested around her. They wilted instantly in the chaotic magic.

Her usual serene expression was replaced with intense concentration.

"The normal rules of transportation don't apply anymore.

These children are already breaking the laws of magic before they're even born. "

"Just like their mother," Hades muttered as pride mixed with the frustration in his voice. "Always defying the impossible."

Instead of the usual smooth oval of darkness, this one writhed and twisted like a living thing.

Multiple openings spawned and collapsed within it.

Each one showed glimpses of different parts of our house.

Through one opening, I caught a glimpse of our kitchen.

Through another was the garden. A third showed our living room. At least they were all my house.

"Hold on," Aidon whispered in my ear, his breath warm against my skin. "I won't let anything happen to you or our children. We'll get through this together, just like everything else."

"The contractions are affecting their magic," Clio observed as her healing power probed gently. "And their magic is affecting everything else. It's creating a cascade effect I've never seen before. Each surge of power amplifies the next, like a magical feedback loop. We need to stop it."

"Can you stabilize it?" Mom asked, her tribred nature making her eyes glow. The changes Lyra had forced upon her months ago now seemed to give her unique insight into the magical chaos surrounding us.

Clio shook her head. "Not here. The temple's energy is too volatile. It seems to be interfering with my healing magic. Every time I try to establish a stable connection, the ambient power shifts and breaks it."

"This is as stable as it's getting," Hades announced, his jaw clenched as he poured more power into the writhing gateway.

Sweat beaded on his forehead—something I'd never seen before and it made my heart race.

"I've navigated the currents of the Underworld for eons, and even I can barely hold this. Everyone through. Now!"

"Together," Mom said, reaching for Nina and Jean-Marc's hands. "Don't let go." She looked over at my best friend and said, "Stella, help Nana through.”

"Oh please," Nana scoffed, twirling her walking stick like a majorette's baton.

"After everything I've seen since joining this magical circus, a wonky portal doesn't even make my top ten list of weird anymore.

" She strode toward the gateway with a swagger that belied her age.

"Though I must say, this is putting a serious damper on my evening plans.

I was going to demolish the competition in my online poker tournament. "

The portal swallowed her before anyone could respond, with her laughter echoing behind her.

Aidon pulled me close as we stepped through next.

The moment we entered, the triplets' magic exploded outward, shattering our group's connection despite our desperate grip on each other. Then the world went sideways.

The void between spaces felt like swimming through thick honey that fought against our every movement.

Our group scattered through the fractured gateway.

Through the breaks in reality, I caught glimpses of them all.

Mom and Nina crashed toward the kitchen.

Their transformed power created a shield that warped around them like a soap bubble in a hurricane.

Stella and Jean-Marc spun toward the garden and were trailing protective spells that looked like cosmic ribbons streaming behind them.

Selene and Layla vanished upstairs in a burst of silver light.

"Hold onto me!" Aidon's voice anchored me as his shadows wrapped around us like armor. Clio grabbed my other hand. Her healing power threaded through the chaos like a golden lifeline.

We emerged in the living room, and I doubled over as another contraction hit.

Through the haze of pain, I registered something terribly wrong.

The sounds of fighting still echoed around us.

That couldn't be right. The Keepers should have stopped when we restored the First Song at the temple.

That's what happened at the temple before they fled.

"No," Aidon snarled in a strained voice. The hours of fighting and maintaining stability had taken their toll. The temperature dropped as his power flickered around us, responding to his rage. "She's here. She's corrupted our home."

"It's impossible," Persephone whispered, leaning against Hades.

Both of them were drained from creating and holding the portal through the chaos.

Her spring-bright power barely managed to flare as she sensed the danger.

I was struggling to follow their train of thought through the pain.

What had them upset? Tseki and Murtagh would battle back the Keepers soon enough.

A low laugh that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere echoed through the room.

I recognized the smug tone. My heart slammed against my ribs as terror gripped me.

Not just for myself but for my scattered family and the babies I carried.

Where were Mom and Nina? Stella and Nana? Had they made it through safely?

"Welcome home." Lyra's voice dripped with malice as she stepped into view.

Aidon moved with the fluid grace of a predator, despite his exhaustion.

He positioned himself between Lyra and me.

His body was coiled with protective tension.

One hand reached back to steady me while the other raised.

He was ready to channel what remained of his power. Clio pressed closer to my side.

My stomach clenched with more than just contractions as I took in Lyra's appearance.

Her normally beautiful features were marred by traces of magic that crawled beneath her skin like living tattoos.

Power radiated from her in waves that made my skin crawl and my unborn children surge restlessly within me.

I curled my hands protectively around my belly, feeling their agitation grow. Or maybe that was mine.

"I've been waiting for this moment." Her eyes fixed on my swollen stomach with disturbing intensity.

"You're so noble, Phoebe. Willing to sacrifice yourself for others.

What do you think you'll choose when it's not just your mother's life at stake?

" Her smile stretched wider. "Your babies' power calls to me.

Such potential. I have faith that you'll give me what I want to protect them. "

Aidon's growl rumbled through his chest. "She'll never give you her power. And you’re not touching our children. You have failed every time." The promise of violence in his voice would have terrified me if it hadn't been fueled by his desperate need to protect his family.

"Is that so?" Lyra's eyes gleamed with a madwoman's certainty.

"Why do you think I went to such lengths to kidnap Mollie and experiment on her?

Or use all that power to send Phoebe and her beloved best friend to my island?

I understand her breaking point. And now?

" She gestured around the room. "I have everything I need to make her choose exactly what I want. "