Page 12 of Bedrest Blues & Otherworldly Clues
I sighed. "Is it that obvious?" She wasn’t wrong. I was just more worried about my babies.
"Only to someone who's seen how much you love each other," she replied, her hands hovering over my belly. "He'll be fine, Phoebe. Hades and Murtagh are with him, along with a dozen of our best fighters."
"It's not just that," I admitted, leaning closer. "Before he left, I noticed something wrong with his powers. His shadows moved erratically, rippling with unusual patterns. The protective spell around my bed fluctuated throughout the night, strengthening, then weakening at random. At first, I thought it was his anxiety about leaving us, but now I'm not so sure."
Clio's brow furrowed. "I won't pretend to understand the depths of a god's power, but even immortals can be affected by emotional strain."
"He's torn," I explained, voicing the realization that had come to me during the night. "Part of him needs to hunt down Lyra, to eliminate the threat at its source. But another part can't bear to leave me and the babies unprotected, especially now that we know what she's planning."
"Such fundamental opposing instincts would challenge anyone," Clio said carefully. "Even a god."
I rubbed my temples, frustration mounting. "And there's nothing I can do to help him from here."
"That's where you're wrong," Clio countered, her voice firm but gentle. "The best thing you can do right now is exactly what you're doing. Resting, recovering, and protecting the triplets. Rushing into action would only give him one more thing to worry about."
It wasn't the answer I wanted, but I knew she was right. Our attention was diverted when the bedroom door burst open without warning. Stella stumbled in, disheveled and breathing hard. Her clothes were torn and smudged with what looked like soot.
"Stella!" I gasped, automatically trying to rise before Clio's firm hand on my shoulder kept me in bed. "What happened?"
"Found... Lyra," she panted, collapsing into the chair beside my bed. "Or at least, one of her meeting places."
Clio immediately poured a glass of water and pressed it into Stella's hands. She drank deeply before continuing. "Layla and I separated from Aidon's group to follow a magical trail I recognized. It was similar to the energy signature from when Lyra kidnapped us before. It led to an ancient stone circle about twenty miles north."
My heart raced with a mixture of fear for my friend and eagerness for information. "Whatdid you see?"
"Lyra," Stella confirmed grimly. "But she wasn't alone. She was meeting with... I don't even know what to call them. Shadow beings, but they were nothing like we’ve seen before. These felt older and more primal." She shuddered visibly at the memory. "They spoke in a language I couldn't understand. It didn’t sound exactly like ancient Greek, but it was close."
"Could they have been shadow beings that predate the Titans?" Clio asked sharply, her usual composed demeanor slipping to reveal alarm.
Stella lifted a shoulder. "Lyra called them the Forgotten Ones. Layla said they ruled before the gods rose to power, before Zeus and his siblings overthrew Cronus."
"That's impossible," Clio whispered. "Those entities were bound at the creation of the current world order. They couldn't possibly be free."
"Well, they looked pretty free to me," Stella retorted. "And they weren't the only ones there. I saw a lot of other monsters. Beings I've only read about in the oldest grimoires. Lyra's building an army and promising them a return to power if they help her with the ritual."
The implications were staggering. Lyra was planning to upset the supernatural order. She wanted to overthrow the gods themselves. "Where's Aidon now?" I asked, suddenly desperate to know he was safe.
"Following another lead with Hades. Layla and I came back to bring this information. We almost didn’t get out of there when something with six arms came after us," Stella explained, her voice steadying as she recovered. "Layla went back with Murtagh and the shifters. They’re maintaining surveillance on the stone circle, but I doubt she will stay there long now."
The air in the room suddenly thickened, carrying the scent of pomegranates and spring soil. A shimmer of goldenlight materialized beside my bed and coalesced into the regal form of Persephone. Her expression was grave as her eyes met mine.
"Phoebe," she greeted me with a quick embrace. "I'm sorry to disturb your rest, but we have a situation developing that cannot wait."
"Is it Aidon?" I asked, fear gripping me.
"No, no," she assured me quickly. "He and Hades are still in the field. This concerns the Underworld itself."
That was hardly reassuring. "What's happening?"
Persephone perched on the edge of my bed as her expression grew grave. "The deepest levels of the Underworld are experiencing unprecedented disturbances. Ancient beings imprisoned there since before human civilization have become agitated. They're pounding against barriers that have held for eons."
"Could it be related to what Stella just saw?" I asked, gesturing to my still-recovering friend.
Quickly, Stella recounted her observations of Lyra's meeting with the shadow entities. With each detail, Persephone's frown deepened. "The Forgotten Ones," she murmured when Stella finished. "So, it's true. Somehow, Lyra has found a way to contact them across the barriers."
"Who exactly are they?" I pressed.
Persephone's gaze grew distant, as if looking back through millennia of memory. "They were the first beings to emerge from Chaos at the dawn of creation. Neither gods nor titans, but something... other. They ruled the primordial world until Gaia and Uranus established the first order. The power later passed to the Titans, and then to the Olympians."
