Page 52 of Pregnancy Pains & Mystic Chains
"Can you use their power?" I asked as hope rose. "Maybe you can create a direct path to the entrance?"
"Now that's a clever plan." Hades' smile held the same wicked delight I'd seen in trickster gods. He lifted his hands, and ancient power rose around him like heat from desert sands. "I can guide them to channel this new force that's claimed them. Their power mixed with mine should be enough to bend these doorways to our will."
The babies responded instantly. Their tricolored light pulsed in perfect sync with Hades' power. Nyssa's shadows twined with his darkness while Thaniel's temporal energy stabilized a gateway that was just forming. Melaina's golden resonance wove it all together into something permanent.
"The magical resonance is incredible," Nina breathed. Her new sight allowed her to see layers of power most of us could only feel. "The way your power compliments and guides theirs. I can see the threads they inherited from you."
A massive portal took shape in the center of our living room. Beyond it, I could see a temple that practically hummed with ancient power. Its white marble columns seemed to glow with their own inner light. There were also symbols similar to my mark carved into every surface. The air that drifted through crackled with magical potential.
"That's definitely not in Tartarus," Stella observed as she peered through. "At least, not any part I remember from our last visit. And trust me, that's not something you forget."
"It's the entrance to the pocket realm," Helena breathed, her aged hands trembling slightly. "I never thought I'd see it with my own eyes. The texts speak of its beauty, but this..." She gestured helplessly at the magnificent structure.
"The portal's stable," Hades confirmed as he studied his handiwork with satisfaction. "The babies' power actually makes it stronger. They really are something special."
Another contraction hit, stronger than the last. The babies' power flared in response, making the portal's edges ripple like heat waves. "We need to move," Clio insisted. "These contractions aren't stopping. If her water breaks, I can’t stop them from coming."
"Ladies first," Hades said with an elegant bow, gesturing to the portal. "Though I suggest we hurry. The veil doesn't appreciate having holes poked in it for too long."
Aidon pressed a kiss to my lips and then nudged me toward the temple. "You guys go through. Hold it for a few more seconds, Father. I want to make sure Tseki and Murtagh have the help they need."
Nana nodded and started toward the portal while calling over her shoulder, "Don't dawdle, boy. Some of us aren't getting any younger. Though I suppose that doesn't apply to most of you lot." She walked through like she was walking into her favorite coffee shop.
I followed her through with Clio's steadying hand at my elbow. Persephone was beside us with that otherworldly grace of hers. The moment we crossed the threshold, the air hit us like a wall of pure energy. The ancient magic was so thick it felt like breathing starlight.
The babies stirred within me. Their excitement was palpable as their power reached out to touch something vast and sleeping in the temple's bones. The structure itself seemed to wake at their presence. Sections of solid stone simply ceased to exist. With walls gone, we looked into chambers that had been hidden since the first stones were laid.
"Sweet baby Zeus," Nana breathed. Her usual sass was momentarily forgotten as she watched golden symbols ignite along the walls. "Now this is what I call a welcome party."
"Fascinating," Persephone agreed as she trailed her fingertips over symbols that brightened at her touch. "The temple recognizes them as its own."
Jean-Marc pulled out his phone and was frantically documenting everything he could see. "The architecture shouldn't be possible," he muttered. "These angles and the way the light moves are confusing."
"Focus on finding the heart of the Song and the ritual requirements," Nina reminded him. "What did those texts say we needed?" She pulled out her own notes, comparing them to the actual temple around us.
Ancient defenses suddenly flared to life. Magical constructs formed from light and shadow rose from the floor while runic arrays blazed along the walls. I tensed, ready to shield my belly.Something extraordinary happened. Instead of attacking, the temple's guardians bowed. They recognized the babies' power as something fundamental to their own existence.
"The First Song knows its own," Helena explained. "These defenses were created from its power. They serve its will, not the Keepers who tried to bind it."
"That's a relief since we have three of you here," Nana said dryly. "Now, can we focus on getting everything ready? These babies seem pretty determined to make an entrance worthy of their heritage. The only problem is it’s way too early."
A blast of offensive magic interrupted the moment. Shit! The destroyer faction had followed us through. Their attacks met the temple's defenses in a cascade of power that started a fire. The magical constructs moved to intercept them, but some attacks still got through.
"Get her to the central chamber," Aidon growled as his shadows rose around him. "We'll hold them here."
"Like hell you will," I shot back and gathered what magic I could. "I'm not letting you face them alone."
"You don't have a choice," he replied, his voice softening as he pressed a quick kiss to my forehead. "The babies need you focused on the ritual. We've got this."
Mom and Nana moved to flank him with Nina and Jean-Marc right behind them. When had my mother, grandmother, and children become bad asses? Selene moved to join Stella when she took up a position by the entrance. Layla shifted to her wolf form. It was gratifying to see the destroyer faction hesitate at the sight of so much magical might arrayed against them.
"This way," Helena urged, taking my arm. "The chamber with the heart should be at the temple's center. According to the texts Jean-Marc found, we need several things to prepare the ritual space correctly."
"Like what?" I asked as we hurried deeper into the temple. I hadn’t even grabbed my bag of magical trinkets before I went through the portal. Hopefully, Nina or Jean-Marc brought what we needed.
The mark on my belly pulsed in harmony with the structure's energy. Each step brought us closer to something vast and ancient that called to the very core of magic itself. "We need a representative from all three factions," she explained. "Each must contribute their power willingly. The destroyer's power breaks the original bindings, the controller's channels the release safely, and the protector's – that's my part – guides the Song back to its natural state."
"And what about me and the babies?" I asked as we entered a chamber that took my breath away.
