Page 40 of Bedrest Blues & Otherworldly Clues
"I'll reinforce the wards," Persephone added. Her divine power exploded around her like a solar flare.
"And I'll try to cleanse more of our emergency supplies," Nina said.
Aidon hesitated, torn between joining the fight and staying with me. I grabbed his hand. "Go," I told him. "They need you out there. I've got Clio, Nana, and three very pissed-off babies in here."
He leaned down, kissing me with fierce intensity. "We'll push them back," he promised. "And then we see about ending this bitch. Once and for all."
Clio and Nana remained close to the window. Nana’s shotgun was loaded and in her hand. I could seethe sky but not what our ground troops were doing. The sight of massive green dragon wings made me say a prayer for Tseki’s safety as he took off for the ritual site. He didn’t get far. The mass in the sky intercepted him.
The wave split and half hit our barriers while the rest engaged our dragon. Combat magic lit up the sky like the Fourth of July as Aidon and the others engaged as well. Through our connection, I felt his savage determination as his shadows ripped through Lyra's forces.
But beneath the chaos, I sensed a subtle magical current probing our defenses. It was searching for weaknesses. It was far sneakier than a frontal assault. "She's looking for a way in," I told Clio and Nana. "This attack is just the opening move."
"She can look," Nana replied. Her eyes gleamed with dangerous promise as she readied her considerable power. "What she'll find is a magical fist to the face. It’ll be the biggest mistake of her miserable existence."
The dark mass outside pressed harder. Within my protective circle, surrounded by family and wrapped in layers of magic, I felt something unexpected. It wasn’t fear. It was fierce determination.
CHAPTER 13
The world outside our windows had become a chaotic battlefield of magic and monsters. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the horrific scene unfolding beyond our protection barriers. The dark mass Lyra had sent crashed against our defenses like a tsunami of corrupted energy. It broke into smaller pockets of concentrated evil that attacked from all sides.
"They're breaching the southeastern corner!" Nana shouted, pressing her face against the glass. Her weathered hands gripped her shotgun with practiced familiarity.
Rising to my knees on the bed, my gaze sought those I loved. My breath caught as I spotted Stella in the thick of the fighting. She stood in the gap where our wards were weakening. She was casting spells to strengthen the failing barrier. Magical energy crackled around her in vibrant arcs of power.
"She's exposed," I whispered, panic clawing at my throat as three shadow creatures converged on her position. Aidon was too far away and engaged in his own battle on the opposite side of the property. As I watched, one of the creaturesdarted through her defenses. Its claws raked across her back, tearing through fabric and flesh. Her scream carried across the battlefield. Blood blossomed through her shirt as she staggered forward, barely maintaining her footing.
"No!" The word exploded from me with such force that the windows rattled in their frames. Heat surged through my veins as once again my magic responded to my rage and fear. The triplets joined me. Their magic was making mine grow even more.
Clio rushed toward me. "Phoebe, you can't?—"
I didn't hear the rest. I knew what she was going to say, and I tried to dial it back. Power roared through me like a wildfire anyway. It obliterated every restriction Clio had carefully constructed to keep me and the babies safe. It was like a dam breaking after days of pressure. The magic poured out of me in a torrent that I couldn't have stopped if I wanted to. I did try, and that was the only reason shit didn’t go completely sideways at that moment. Well, that and Clio’s healing energy flowing into me.
My vision tunneled until all I could see was Stella fighting for her life. My best friend. My sister in all but blood. The woman who'd stood by me through everything. The bedroom windows shattered outward as my power escaped its confines. Without conscious thought, I channeled a protective shield directly around Stella. It materialized around her like crystallized light. It pushed the shadow creatures back long enough for her to regain her footing.
"Holy shit, Phoebe!" Nana exclaimed. "That's not supposed to be possible!"
"Tell that to your great-grandkids," I gasped, feeling the triplets amplifying my magic. They were drawing on my reserves. They were turning my protective instinct into a raw, destructive force.
"Goddamn," Nana breathed, watching with somethinglike reverence. "I knew these kids would be special, but this is some next-level shit."
The strain was immense. Sweat poured down my face as I maintained the connection. Through our bond, I could feel Aidon feeding me his energy. His mother and father’s joined his. It eased the pressure on me and thus Clio.
"Phoebe, stop!" Aidon shouted across the yard. "You'll hurt yourself and the babies!"
"They're helping me," I gritted out as another wave of power surged through our connection. "We're stronger together."
Outside, the pattern of attack suddenly shifted. Lyra's forces began targeting other points along our protective barrier with frightening precision. The creatures struck at exact locations where our wards connected.
"They know," I realized with dawning horror. "They discovered exactly where our weak points are."
"That's impossible," Clio argued. "We redesigned everything after the last attack."
"It shouldn't be possible," I agreed, "unless?—"
"Unless someone told her," Nana finished grimly, her finger tightening on the trigger of her shotgun as her eyes narrowed dangerously. “There was no way they discovered them that fast. Even a god wouldn’t have been able to.”
The implications hit me like a physical blow. Someone had betrayed us. Someone with intimate knowledge of our defenses was working with Lyra. The thought was so devastating that my concentration wavered, which made my magical protection flicker.
