Page 31 of Bedrest Blues & Otherworldly Clues
"Behind you!" I shouted instinctively, though they couldn't hear me.
Aidon sensed the danger a second too late. As he turned, the shadow creature lunged. Stella spun, but not quickly enough to fully avoid the attack. The creature's claws raked across her shoulder, sending her staggering backward into the water.
Aidon's power erupted in a furious wave and engulfed the attacker. The clash of power was spectacular. Darkness against evil darkness. Stella scrambled to her feet with blood streaming from her shoulder. My bestie was a badass and her expression was one of determination rather than fear. She called up her magic as she joined the fight.
Together, they battled the shadow monstrosity. Their combined power barely kept it at bay. Stella's spells slowed it while Aidon's energy tried to tear it apart. Unfortunately, the creature seemed to absorb each attack and grow stronger.
"Nothing's working!" Stella yelled, frustration edging her voice as she narrowly avoided another swipe of those deadly claws.
"Its core is protected," Aidon replied as his shadows pulsed with effort. "We need to breach its center!"
I watched in helpless horror as Stella was driven back, step by step, until she was pinned against a crumbling column. The creature loomed over her. Its form rippled with malevolent darkness. Aidon's attacks seemed to pass through it without effect now. As if it had adapted to his divine power.
"No!" I snarled, my protective instincts surging. Nyssa responded instantly to my distress, her shadows darkeningthe room around me. I felt her power seeking a connection and knew when she reached her father across the magical viewing space.
The mirror image wavered as her magic pushed through the boundary between watching and participating. I should have fought it and maintained magical separation. I couldn't just watch Stella die, and my gut told me this wasn’t going to hurt any of us.
Through the mirror, I saw Aidon's head snap up in surprise as Nyssa's shadows joined with his. His power suddenly doubled, then tripled, gaining new properties that cut through the creature's defenses like they were tissue paper. "What the hell?" Stella gasped as the shadow creature shrieked in genuine pain for the first time.
"Nyssa," Aidon said with grim satisfaction. "She's amplifying my power."
The enhanced shadows sliced through the creature's protective layers and exposed a pulsing core of corrupted energy. Stella didn't waste the opportunity. Her spell struck true and detonated the core. She reduced the monster to wisps of rapidly dissipating darkness.
Relief flooded through me, followed immediately by concern as I felt Nyssa's strength falter. The connection had drained her significantly. Within my belly, Thaniel and Melaina shifted closer to their sister. Their magic supported hers a second later.
"Did you know that was going to happen?" Nina asked from her chair.
I blinked, realizing she'd been watching me the entire time. "No. Nyssa acted on instinct when she sensed Aidon was in danger."
"Jean-Marc said something similar happened during his research yesterday," Nina said. "He hit a difficulttranslation, and suddenly time around the text slowed down. He could see connections in the ancient language that were invisible before. Thaniel was helping him."
The images in the mirror shifted without my conscious direction. It showed Jean-Marc in the library. He was surrounded by open books and scrolls and had a perplexed expression on his face. The air around him shimmered with Thaniel's distinctive blue energy.
"And then there's me and Melaina," Nina continued softly. "I didn't realize it at first, but she's been enhancing my abilities for days now. We already knew that was why I could see the shadow creature. She helped me see the structure of that last one."
"I love that they're already forming bonds," I said.
"It's more than that," Mom interjected. She and Nana had paused in their work to join our conversation. "The babies are actively enhancing natural abilities. Nyssa's shadows complement Aidon's. Thaniel's magic accelerates Jean-Marc's analytical mind. Melaina's resonance amplifies Nina's intuitive power."
"They’re experts at magical synergy without even trying," Nana said approvingly. "Smart little nuggets. They’re creating their own protection network through the family."
A wave of maternal pride washed through me, followed quickly by concern. "But that bond was taxing for Nyssa, even from inside the womb. What happens after they're born? If they're separated from whoever they're bonded to and they try to help?"
Mom's expression grew troubled. "The grimoire mentions something about this. Magical bonds like these create vulnerabilities when stretched or broken. If Aidon is too far from Nyssa when she needs his strength..."
"Or if Jean-Marc isn't around when Thaniel tries to manipulate time," Nina added worriedly.
"It goes both ways," Nana pointed out. "The babies strengthen their chosen adults, but they also draw on their power when necessary. They're creating a magical ecosystem. Balanced when together?—"
"But dangerously unstable if they try to use it when separated," I finished grimly. "Which is exactly what Lyra wants to do. Take the babies away from us, disrupting these bonds at their most vulnerable point."
The images in the mirror shifted again. It showed Aidon and Stella making their way back to a vehicle. Both were battered but alive. Stella's shoulder had been hastily bandaged, but her movements were stiff with pain.
"We need to get back," Aidon was saying urgently. "That creature was a sentinel, guarding this site specifically. Lyra knows we're tracking her movements."
"Which means she's accelerating her timeline," Stella agreed grimly. "She might try to make her move."
The mirror's surface rippled and returned to normal reflection as my connection wavered. The effort of maintaining the magical viewing while supporting Nyssa's intervention had drained me more than I'd realized. I settled back against my pillows with forced calm. "Lyra could be making a move soon. I’d say we might have a few days. Hopefully, she doesn’t try in a few hours."
