Page 24 of Bedrest Blues & Otherworldly Clues
"Absolutely not!" Clio objected immediately. "The triplets are already dangerously reactive to the storm. Using your magic could trigger premature labor."
"My magic is the only thing Lyra isn't prepared for," I argued. "She's planned for your abilities. But she's counting on me being magically sidelined."
"It's too risky," Aidon insisted with a low growl.
I met his gaze steadily. "We're past 'risk' and into 'desperate measures' territory. I'm not suggesting I go out there and blast away. But I can channel a portion of my power through Nina. It will give us an edge that Lyra won't be expecting."
Nina approached the bed cautiously. "Are you sure? We shouldn’t do anything that will risk you or the babies."
"No," I admitted with a wry smile. "But it beats sitting here waiting for those bastards to break through and take me to Lyra."
After a moment of tense silence, Aidon nodded reluctantly. Clio sighed and placed her hands on my belly, then said, "A small portion only. And if you feel even a hint of contractions starting?—"
"I'll cut the connection immediately," I promised, extending my hand to Nina.
Our fingers intertwined, and I closed my eyes. Drawing on the Pleiades magic that had become an integral part of me, I let it flood me. It responded eagerly and flowed through our connected hands. The rush of power made Nina gasp.
What I hadn't counted on was the triplets adding their own contributions. Nyssa's shadows curled around our joined hands, while Thaniel's magic created a strange bubble around us. Melaina's golden energy wove through it all, binding the disparate powers into aharmonious whole.
"Holy shit," Nina breathed, her eyes wide as the combined magic settled into her. "That's... intense."
"Be careful," I cautioned. "The babies added their own twist, and we don’t know enough to know how that will work."
She nodded, a look of fierce determination replacing her awe. "I won't waste it."
As Nana and Nina left, we observed the shadow creatures attacking our property. I didn’t have a great view, which was probably for the best. I would run out there if I saw my daughter in danger.
"They're smarter than before," Mom noted grimly as if she could read my mind.
"And more powerful," Persephone added. "Each wave appears stronger, as if evolving in real-time." Not what I wanted to hear at the moment. Not when those I loved were out there putting their lives on the line fighting them.
Lightning cracked the protective dome. "We can't maintain this much longer," Persephone warned. "She’s going to find a way around our suppression."
"Lyra's using natural weather patterns to her advantage, and we can’t control that," Aidon added.
Through my connection with Nina, I sensed our defenders barely holding on against increasingly dangerous shadow waves. "We need to break the cycle," I suggested as the thought came to me. "The storm feeds off the triplets' magic, which responds defensively, making the storm stronger."
"Right. You haven’t figured out how to do that yet," Clio pointed out.
I touched my belly, feeling the babies respond. "I need to redirect them."
"You want to channel their magic into something else," Aidon realized.
"The shadow seeds," I explained. "Nina said they're dormant. What if we use the triplets' magic to neutralize them completely?"
"That requires precision," Clio cautioned. “Directing their power, coupled with the storm, could send you into labor. It’s too early for them to be born.”
"I won’t have to do much. They can do the heavy lifting. Nyssa can find the seeds, Thaniel can isolate them, and Melaina can neutralize them."
Another bolt made Persephone and Aidon’s dome crack further. “We need to try,” Persephone said. “My grandbabies are brilliant. They won’t hurt their mother.”
I placed my hands on my belly, focusing the triplets' attention. "Okay, little ones," I murmured. "We're going to play seek and destroy." Not quite as innocent as hide and seek, but our babies were special.
I closed my eyes and projected vivid images of the shadow seeds into our magical connection. The dark, malignant specks pulsed with dormant malice. At first, nothing happened. Then I felt a cool ripple of awareness brush against my consciousness like midnight silk. Nyssa was extending her shadow senses beyond the confines of my womb.
Her presence stretched outward. Dark tendrils of her perception slid through walls, seeking the familiar resonance of shadows not hers or her father’s. She even went into the earth to make sure there weren’t any beneath us. Each time she located a seed, I felt a tiny pulse of triumph flow through our bond.
Thaniel was right behind her. His magic manifested as a strange displacement that made the air around me shimmer and distort. The seeds Nyssa found froze when his temporal magic touched them. Literally. He suspendedthem in a pocket that separated them from everything else. They were like insects trapped in amber.
