Page 61 of Bedrest Blues & Otherworldly Clues
"Lyra!" he roared in a voice that carried the weight of the Underworld. "Release her now!"
Lyra spared him a contemptuous glance. "You're too late, son of Hades. The connections are already established. Even if you reach us now, you cannot undo what I've begun."
To prove her point, she twisted her magic deeper into me. She tried to infiltrate my bond with the triplets. I felt something fundamental shift. My heart skipped several beats as magical pathways were established. They were fragile and would direct a portion of their power to Lyra from the moment of their birth.
"It is done," she announced. Her lips curled into a smile that didn't reach her ice-cold eyes. "When these little magical batteries draw their first breath, their raw power will flow straight to me. Like cosmic Wi-Fi, but better. I’ll have an unlimited data plan with no throttling. Every milestone, every magical growth spurt? That'll be my account balance getting fatter." She ran a finger down the binding sigil etched into her forearm, making it glow an angry red. "And honey, there isn't a spell, potion, or divine intervention in three realms that can sever this connection."
"We'll see about that," Aidon snarled, his shadows lashing out like sentient weapons. They sliced through three more of her twisted constructs. The creatures dissolved into puddles of oily darkness. Their death shrieks echoed against the chamber walls.
Lyra's laughter bubbled up. It was genuine amusement mixed with the kind of confidence that comes from holding all the cards in a rigged game. "Look at you—still fighting when you've already lost. It's adorable, really." She gestured to the pulsing barrier she had erected again. It was keeping them from me. The surface rippled with ancient symbols this time. "But the clock's run out. These babies are mine on cosmic layaway, and you can't break through my final ward before I drain every last spark of power from those precious little bundles of joy. So by all means," she added with a mocking bow, "keep trying. I could use the entertainment."
CHAPTER 20
Another impact shook the barrier Lyra had thrown up between us and the rest of my family. The magical membrane vibrated like a plucked guitar string. The hollow feeling in my chest expanded with each failed attempt to breach it. Something was trying to drag me under. It went beyond fear and exhaustion. It was deeper and more insidious. Hopelessness was so foreign to me it had to be planted. Part of Lyra's magic.
I pushed back against it with gritted teeth. Outside our magical prison, the sounds of battle had transformed. My family was kicking ass and taking names regardless of how many Lyra kept putting in their path. I clung to that thought like a drowning woman to driftwood. I used it to battle the whispers in my mind that said we'd already lost. Aidon and his parents had torn through Lyra's first shield like tissue paper. This one wouldn't hold them for long either. But would it hold long enough? No, I refused to think it.
Another contraction tore through me. The crushing pressure left me gasping for breath. As had been happening from the beginning of this ordeal, the triplets' magic surged inresponse. Once again, their combined power created visible distortions in the air around us.
"They're getting stronger," Lyra observed, her void-like eyes fixed on my belly with predatory fascination. "The approach of birth amplifies their natural abilities. Exactly as the ancient texts predicted."
I barely heard her through the haze of pain. I felt her corrupted magic probing deeper as she tried to establish permanent connections to my unborn children. The sensation was revolting. It was like having parasitic tendrils burrow into my soul. My magic automatically fought her, and so did the babies’.
"Get... away... from me," I managed between gasping breaths. She had done something to my Pleiades power, but she hadn’t taken it from me. I was able to create a barrier between us. It was weak, but there nonetheless.
Lyra laughed an evil sound that grated on my fraying nerves. "Your resistance is admirable but futile. These connections are beyond your ability to sever." She gestured to faintly glowing threads that extended from my belly to her. "Each contraction strengthens them. Each surge of your children's magic feeds them. By the time they're born, the bonds will be unbreakable."
A particularly massive impact against the barrier drew her attention away from me. The entire structure shuddered, and for a brief moment, its opacity faltered. Through the momentary window, I glimpsed something that made my heart leap. Hades was standing there in his full divine glory. He was surrounded by an army unlike anything I'd ever seen.
The forces of the Underworld had arrived. There were legions of legendary warriors who had pledged themselves to Hades' service after death. Heroes from ancient times fought alongside skeletal guardians and creatures of divine darkness.
"Impossible," Lyra hissed, genuine alarm flickering across her features. "The ritual should prevent direct Underworld intervention!"
My snort was fueled by pain and defiance. "You picked the wrong family to fuck with, Lyra. That's not just my mate out there. That's the son of the Underworld gods who are here themselves. My in-laws don't send fruit baskets when they're pissed. They send plagues, catastrophes, and extinction-level events." I managed a vicious smile. "Go ahead. Tell me again how confident you are while Death himself is hammering at your door."
Another devastating blow struck the barrier. This time, the cracks remained and continued to spread slowly but inexorably across its surface. "Return my mate and children, or I will tear this dimension apart with you inside it," Aidon promised
Lyra's composure fractured for the briefest moment. She hadn't anticipated this level of opposition. "Arrogant godling," she spat, weaving complex patterns in the air to reinforce her failing defenses. "You have no conception of what I've become, what I'm becoming."
The effort of maintaining the barrier while simultaneously trying to finish the ritual was taking its toll. Sweat beaded on her translucent skin. The corrupted energy surrounding her flickered with instability. I seized the opportunity provided by her divided attention. Channeling what remained of my strength into the bonds I shared with my children, I pushed back against Lyra's parasitic connections. Instead of trying to break them completely, I concentrated on weakening them. I believed her when she said I couldn’t break them. My gut told me doing so wouldn’t be safe, so I created flaws that might be exploited later.
Lyra felt my interference immediately. "Stop that," she snarled and tried to send a pulse of corrupted magic through our unwanted link.
Another contraction seized me. They'd been coming for hours now. While I had managed to slow them, they were now increasing in frequency again. It was a terrifying reminder that my body was preparing for birth despite my desperate attempts to delay it. I managed to suppress a scream, but couldn't hide my grimace of pain. A wave of primal fear washed through me. I was in active labor, and Lyra was standing next to me, waiting to claim my children.
"Perfect timing," Lyra purred, her momentary anger replaced by triumphant satisfaction. "The final phase can now begin."
She turned her attention fully to the ritual, abandoning her efforts to maintain the barrier in favor of taking what she needed from my unborn children. It was a calculated risk. One that assumed her defenses would hold long enough for her to complete the most critical elements of her plan.
It was the wrong calculation. Aidon would never allow her to harm our kids. And before I had another contraction, the barrier shattered in a spectacular display of magical backlash. Fragments of corrupted energy dissipated like smoke in a high wind. Through the opening stepped Hades and Aidon. Father and son looked terrifying. Their combined power radiated with such intensity that even Lyra took an involuntary step back.
"Phoebe!" Aidon moved toward me, his shadows extending ahead of him like searching tendrils.
Lyra interposed herself between us. "Not another step," she warned. "I've established direct connections to those children. Any interference now could have... catastrophic consequences."
She wasn't bluffing. I could feel the parasitic bonds pulsing with malevolent energy and responding to her will.If severed incorrectly, they might well cause irreparable harm to the triplets.
Hades assessed the situation with the cold calculation of an ancient deity who had witnessed countless magical confrontations. "What have you done, witch?" His voice reverberated with divine authority that made the very air vibrate.
