Page 19 of Bedrest Blues & Otherworldly Clues
"That tracks with what we're seeing," Aidon noted.
Jean-Marc nodded. "The accounts warn about increased instability during the third trimester. As the babies develop more control over their magic, paradoxically, it becomes harder to contain because they respond to each other. One baby's magical outburst triggers the others, creating cascading effects."
"Like a magical feedback loop," I said.
"Exactly. And according to these records, it only gets more intense as the pregnancy progresses." He flipped to another page, showing illustrations of what appeared to be protective circles. "Historical accounts suggest that as you approach delivery, you might need magical containment measures just to prevent widespread disruption."
"Disruption? What kind of disruption are we talking about?" I asked.
Jean-Marc hesitated, then pointed to a passage in the book. "One account from 1764 describes a witch carrying magical twins whose labor triggered storms that plagued the countryside for days. Another mentions spontaneous transformation of objects within a mile radius of the birth."
"That's just fantastic," I muttered. "So not only do I have a psychotic witch trying to steal my babies' magic,but I might accidentally trigger an apocalypse while giving birth to them."
"We'll handle it," Aidon assured me. "We've faced worse."
"Have we though?" I challenged. "Because magical hurricanes and reality-warping birth contractions sound pretty high on the 'worst things ever' scale to me."
Before Aidon could open his mouth, a crash echoed from downstairs, followed by raised voices. Stella's high-pitched tone cut through the chaos like a foghorn on steroids. Crap on a cracker.
I tried to get out of bed, but Nana stopped me. Stella didn't do distress. My bestie was the ridiculous kind of perpetually chipper morning person. She could make you want to dump your coffee on her head. And even contemplate how much jail time you'd get for duct-taping her mouth shut. Yet she sounded like someone had just set fire to her vintage shoe collection. This was so not good.
"Go," I urged Aidon. "Find out what's happening."
He hesitated, clearly torn between staying with me and investigating the disturbance. "I'm not going anywhere," I promised. "Jean-Marc and Nana will stay with me." With a nod, Aidon swept from the room.
"Are you okay?" Jean-Marc asked quietly.
"Ask me after I've delivered these three without turning the town into a giant novelty snow globe and kept them safe from Lyra," I replied. "How are you holding up? What about school?"
He shrugged. The gesture reminded me of when he was a teenager. It made my heart ache despite our supernatural crisis. He wasn’t that young man anymore. "I'm missing some important exams, but my professors have been understanding. I told them there was a family emergency."
"That's one way to put it," I said dryly.
The teacup on my nightstand began to levitate again asMelaina rolled in my belly. "Here we go," I sighed. "Round two of 'Defying Physics with the Duedonne Triplets’."
But instead of the chaotic display from earlier, the teacup moved with purpose. It drifted to Jean-Marc and hovered before him expectantly. "I think Melaina wants you to take it," I suggested.
Cautiously, he reached out and grasped the cup. The moment his fingers touched it, a golden glow transferred from the porcelain and traveled up his arm. His eyes widened. "Whoa," he breathed. "That's... intense."
"What? What's happening?" I demanded, sitting up straighter.
"She's trying to show me something." His eyes unfocused slightly, like he was looking at something very far away. "I can see connections I missed before."
The glow faded after a few moments, leaving Jean-Marc staring at the teacup in wonder. "I need to check something," he said abruptly, setting down the cup and reaching for his notebook. He began scribbling frantically and muttering under his breath.
I smiled despite everything. Melaina was helping her big brother with his research. These babies were determined to be part of the family's efforts. It fit with our stubborn, determined nature.
Nana opened her mouth to say something and then left when the sound of raised voices grew louder downstairs. Whatever was happening, it was escalating. I focused on the vanity mirror, using my newly discovered ability to see what was unfolding.
The mirror surface rippled and showed our living room. Stella was there in torn and dirty clothing. She looked like she'd been through hell. Murtagh stood beside her. His normally immaculate appearance was similarly disheveled. Both had a haunted lookin their eyes.
"—were trapped for days," Stella was saying. Well, screeching really. "The whole thing was a setup from the beginning."
"How is that possible?" Aidon demanded. "You haven’t even been gone for two hours."
Stella laughed bitterly. "Two hours here. Where we were, time moves differently. That thing we were tracking? It was a decoy. It led us straight into a pocket dimension."
"It was a trap all along," Mom mumbled.
