Page 53 of Bedrest Blues & Otherworldly Clues
The paralysis wore off, and I was able to stumble away from her. The Forgotten Ones maintained their positions around me, ensuring I had nowhere to run. "They'll find me," I promised her. "Aidon will tear apart every realm there is to get to me and the babies. So will his parents."
"Let them try," Lyra replied with serene confidence. "This place exists between dimensions. It’s anchored to multiple points in space and time simultaneously. Even if he suspected where to look, he couldn't breach its defenses without destroying you in the process."
She approached me slowly. Her magic swirled around her like a poisonous aura. "Besides, he doesn't have much time. The alignment is less than forty-eight hours away, and then..." She smiled, revealing teeth that had sharpened to points. "Then your children's power will be mine, and I will become the most powerful god. I’ll make him forget about you and the babies."
As she turned away to address the Forgotten Ones, I cradled my belly protectively. The triplets were unnaturally quiet now. Had they been stunned by the sudden transition? Or perhaps affected by whatever strange magic permeated this place?
"It's okay," I whispered to them. "Daddy will find us. Everyone will be looking. We just need to stay strong and find a way to reach out to him."
CHAPTER 17
I'd been Lyra's prisoner for less than twelve hours, but it felt like an eternity. The strange, windowless chamber made it impossible to track the passage of time. The only indication was the gradual intensification of the magical energy surrounding us as the celestial alignment drew closer.
I paced the perimeter of my confinement with one hand pressed against my lower back where a dull ache had been building steadily. The triplets had remained unusually quiet since our arrival. Their magic was muted—whether from some property of this place or self-preservation, I couldn't tell. That worried me more than the Forgotten Ones who maintained their silent vigil around the chamber's edge.
"You should rest," Lyra advised as she entered through a doorway that hadn't existed a moment before. She carried an ornate bowl filled with a liquid that glowed purple. "The ritual will be... taxing."
"Go to hell," I replied, refusing to show weakness despite the growing discomfort in my abdomen.
She smiled, though the expression didn’t reach her eyes. "How original. I've already told you—I'll pass."
Placing the bowl on a table that materialized from the stone floor, she began arranging various items around it. There were crystals, herbs, and objects I couldn't identify. I’d never seen anything like them.
"Your family is quite persistent," she remarked casually. "They've already eliminated three of my guardians trying to locate you."
My heart leapt, but I kept my excitement hidden and lifted one shoulder. "I told you they'd come for me."
"They're trying," she corrected in a dismissive tone. "But this place doesn’t exist entirely on Earth. Their efforts are... misdirected."
A sudden, sharp pain lanced through my abdomen. It was different from the previous discomfort, and I was helpless to hide it from her. A gasp escaped me as I doubled over as my muscles contracted violently.
Lyra turned and clapped her hands together. "Ah. Right on schedule."
"What did you do to me?" I demanded through gritted teeth as the contraction eased.
"Nothing yet," she replied, approaching with clinical detachment. "But with the magical trauma of transportation, combined with the ambient energy of this place, labor was inevitable. It’s fortunate timing, actually. It saves me the trouble of inducing it artificially."
Horror washed over me as her words registered. "No. It's too early."
"Early for a normal pregnancy, perhaps," she conceded. "But these children are far from normal. And their power will be more accessible in the transitional state between womb and world."
Another contraction seized me. This one was strongerthan the first. With it came a surge of wild magic that exploded outward in a concussive wave. The triplets were waking up and responding to the danger with raw, uncontrolled power.
The burst struck one of the Forgotten Ones. It staggered back, emitting a sound like tearing metal. Lyra frowned. "That’s inconvenient, but manageable." She traced a symbol in the air. "The containment measure won't stop their magic entirely, but it will redirect it."
Despite the contraction building within me, I chanted a counter spell to deflect hers under my breath. The air around me thickened and formed an invisible barrier that shimmered faintly when touched by the next magical surge. I felt the triplets' magic rise up protectively, but then—surprisingly—they seemed to shift tactics. Instead of reinforcing my shield as they had done countless times before, their energy was subtly redirected.
To my horror and confusion, I felt them purposely create a small opening in my defenses. Lyra's spell appeared to breach my protection, and her face lit with triumphant malice as the energy was channeled into the bowl she had brought. The liquid inside bubbled and glowed brighter, exactly as she'd intended.
Only I could feel what was really happening. The triplets were feeding Lyra's spell with a decoy energy. They were letting her believe she'd won while keeping it from hurting us. I struggled to maintain my shocked expression while fighting the urge to smile. My clever babies were playing their own game.
"What is that?" I asked as I kept my eyes fixed on the roiling substance.
"A conduit," she explained. "Magic in its raw state is difficult to harvest effectively. This provides focus."
She resumed her preparations and carefullyarranged various components around the chamber. Symbols appeared on the floor beneath us. "The alignment approaches," she continued, not looking up from her work. "When it reaches its peak, the barriers between bloodline magics will thin. The normal protections that prevent Pleiades power from being forcibly extracted will weaken."
"And you think I'll just stand here and let you do this?" I challenged, despite another contraction building.
