"Let me guess," I said dryly. "Three vessels?"
"Actually, four," she corrected, adjusting her reading glasses. "Three children and their mother."
The symbol pulsed at her words. It sent a wave of warmth through me that made the triplets punch my bladder. Great. Now I had to pee. I began to waddle toward the bathroom as I pondered Nana’s information. It seemed like the answer, but it didn’t feel quite right to me.
"Later," Aidon interjected. "First, we make sure Phoebe and the babies are healthy. Then we can worry about how the Fates have orchestrated things."
"I agree,” I said as I hurried to the bathroom.
Mythia was waiting for me by the back door with a container. “I know you'll get hungry since you didn’t eat much breakfast. There’s an egg sandwich in with a muffin and some strawberries.”
My eyes widened in appreciation. “Ooh. Thank you.” I beamed at her and then allowed Aidon to help me into the car.
The coastal drive to Pen Bay Medical Center in Camden was uneventful, which immediately made me suspicious. Nothing in my life had been normal since getting my magic. It had really gone off the rails when I got pregnant. The fact that we made it there without a single magical incident felt like the universe was just winding up for something big.
The brick hospital sat nestled among pine trees. Its modern wings stretched out toward the bay. We made our way through the sliding glass doors of the emergency department, where a nurse at the intake desk looked up from her computer.
"Can I help you?" she asked, reaching for a clipboard.
Clio appeared from around the corner. Her white coat was crisp against her dark shirt. "They're here for a follow-up with me, Stephanie," she said smoothly, then turned to us with a warm smile. "Please come back."
I clutched Aidon's hand as we followed her past the nurse's station. My senses tingled as I picked up protection magic. It would be surprising if her office in the emergency department had wards—we kept the magical world hidden from mundies. "I see you brought the whole cavalry."
"Just the essential personnel," I said as Mom, Nana, and Stella filed in behind us. Nina was taking her test, or she would have been there too. "You know, in case shit decides to go haywire."
"After yesterday's excitement, I don't blame you," Clio said as she paused outside an exam room. It was the source of the magic I felt. Why had she warded the space? It was awfully risky in a mundie setting. When we entered the room, I understood. It looked like someone had merged a doctor's office with a witch’s Sanctuary. There was a circle of crystals that looked like a miniature Stonehenge. It hummed alongside modern medical equipment. There was a standard ultrasound machine had runes etched into its casing. "Your friends have been doing research on ways to combine tech with magic, and I thought I would try it. Hopefully, it will handle whatever power surges we might encounter thanks to your tattoo."
“It’s not going to blow up, is it?” I asked as I eyed it warily. The first thing I had been told was how tech and magic did not mix. I trusted Fiona and Nylah and the Twisted sisters, whom I knew had been tinkering with the idea, but I had no idea they’d made so much progress. I needed to talk to them more often.
As I settled onto the exam table, movement in the hallway caught my eye. An elderly woman was passing by. She glanced in, then froze mid-step. Her eyes went wide as she stared at mybelly. I’d taken off my jacket so the symbol was visible through my shirt. The mini-Stonehenge began to chime in response to her presence.
"The mark," she breathed as her face went pale. Her hands trembled as she clutched her handbag. "It's true. They're coming. The old ones wake." Before anyone could react, she turned and fled. Aidon was up and out the door before I could blink. It would not look good for a man of his stature to be chasing a woman who looked to be about a hundred years old.
I was still trying to get off the table. Not easy in my current state. "Friend of yours?" I asked Clio, who was frowning at the doorway.
"Mrs. Stavros. She's been my patient for years, but I've never seen her react like that." Clio shook her head as Aidon returned.
Shaking his head, he crossed to me. “I couldn’t find her.”
“She isn’t evil, and I can’t imagine her posing a risk to Phoebe,” Clio informed us as she turned to her equipment. "Let's focus on you for now. I want to get a complete reading of the babies' magical signatures."
She started up her enhanced ultrasound. Things immediately got weird. The screen flickered. Ancient Greek text began scrolling across it faster than I could read. "That's... new," Clio muttered as she adjusted controls that caused several runes on the machine to glow. "The babies' energy is interfacing with the equipment somehow. It's like they're trying to communicate."
"Can you read what it says?" Mom asked, watching as Aidon leaned closer to the screen.
"I can if it would slow down," he said. His blue eyes scanned the ancient text. Being the son of Hades and being alive for thousands of years meant he was fluent in more languages than I could comprehend. "But this... can't be right." His voice held a mixture of awe and concern. "It speaks of the First Powers. They were reportedly beings that existed before the gods. Yes, beforeeven the Titans. There are mentions of 'The Primal Song' and 'The Weaving of Worlds’."
The symbol flared suddenly, and every piece of equipment in the room lit up like Times Square. Readings and charts appeared on multiple screens. "Extraordinary," Clio breathed as she frantically took notes. "The triplets aren't just channeling power. They're weaving it into something entirely their own. Like watching three stars being born inside a mortal body. Each pulse echoes with both divine and earthly rhythms."
Aidon moved closer, placing his hand on my belly. Energy radiated from him as he tried to shield the babies from whatever was happening. The moment his power touched the symbol, everything changed. The room filled with a light that wasn't quite right. Power surged through me. It was ancient and vast. And it made my skin tingle and my heart race. Through it all, the babies responded to Aidon's presence. Along with something else. If everything we’d heard of since the mark appeared, it was likely old enough to make gods seem young.
"So," I said into the stunned silence, "I'm guessing that's not typical for a prenatal checkup?"
"Nothing about this pregnancy is typical," Clio replied, still staring at her readings. "These energy patterns are growing more complex by the day. It's like watching evolution happening in real time. Only this is with magic instead of biology. Look here," she pointed to one screen. "Their individual signatures are distinct, but they're also creating something new together. Something unprecedented."
"Is that dangerous?" Nana asked as she gripped my hand. Her magic flickered anxiously around her.
"I don't think so. The babies are healthy. Thriving, actually. Their development is perfect for this stage. It's just..." Clio trailed off, searching for words.
