"We need to count on less," Nina corrected grimly. "Their energy is building faster." That was the last thing I wanted to hear. A glance out the window showed Tseki shifting into his dragon.
"We need to focus on the lighthouse," Selene insisted, pressing the papers into my hands with trembling fingers. "These mention something about 'the original binding.' Whatever's in those archives, they're terrified we'll find it."
I scanned the documents quickly, my eyes catching on phrases like ‘fractured power’ and ‘preventing total control’. My breath caught as realization dawned. "They didn't just bind the First Song," I said slowly, looking up at my family. "They intentionally broke it. They scattered its power so no one group could control all magic." My free hand went to my belly where the babies power began pulling back. "And now our babies are somehow putting it back together."
"Which explains their desperation," Mom said. "If they lose control of how magic flows..."
"They lose everything," Stella finished. "Their whole power structure collapses."
Another crash shook the house. This one was strong enough to rattle windows. Outside, the wards flared like aurora borealis as they absorbed the impact. "We need to move. Now," Aidon growled as he grabbed my arm.
"I was able to rest and will be ready to handle anything you might need me for," Clio said from her spot behind Selene. She had healed the witch while we were talking. "All I ask is that you use caution at the Lighthouse."
“I always do,” I assured her. “If I’m lucky, the babies’ protective magic will be even stronger now, too.”
“Don’t put even more pressure on your poor babies,” Stella cautioned. “We will be with you, so you don’t have to take any risks.”
Mom nodded in agreement and gestured to the window. “Tseki and Murtagh are already in position. They'll run interference while we make for the lighthouse."
"I've been saving these babies for a special occasion," Nana grinned, patting her oversized purse. The distinct clink of glass vials made me seriously question what she considered 'herbal remedies.' "Nothing like a little botanical warfare."
We piled into the SUV and Aidon raced down the driveway right as Tseki and Murtagh attacked the destroyers. The sound of growls mixed with inhuman shrieks as Aidon gunned the engine. I gripped the 'oh-shit' handle. My stomach did flips that had nothing to do with pregnancy as we swerved around a destroyer that got too close. The thing's face peeled back in a scream before Stella threw a blast of power at it and reduced it to ash.
"Three more on our six," Nana called from the middle seat.
"Hold on," Aidon growled. The SUV lurched as shadows enveloped us. They allowed us to slip through the battle like smoke. My knuckles went white as we emerged on the coastal road. The Lighthouse's beam cut through the darknessahead. Not for the first time, I wished we could just teleport. Thankfully, we didn’t encounter any other problems as we pulled into the parking lot ten minutes later.
"This place feels wrong," Nina muttered as we approached the weathered structure. "The magical currents are all twisted up. Like someone took a knife to them."
"They probably did," Selene said grimly. "If this is where they fractured the First Song..." She let her observation trail off. We had already learned that was precisely what they’d done.
We were almost to the entrance when a familiar presence washed over us like spring rain. Persephone materialized in a swirl of flower petals. My stomach twisted into a knot when I noted her grave expression. The vines around her wrists writhed with agitation.
" I found the ritual site," she said without preamble. "The place where they originally bound the First Song." She gestured to the lighthouse looming above us. "It's directly beneath us. They built this structure to hide and protect it."
"That’s why we’re here," I muttered as a cramp seized low in my belly. It was sharper than the magical Braxton Hicks I'd been dealing with. This one meant business.
I kept my breathing steady, refusing to let my face show the spike of pain. Because of-freaking-course my body would decide now was the perfect time to mess with me. The triplets' magic pulsed in time with the contraction. I prayed they weren’t trying to send an SOS through my uterus.
"You good?" Aidon asked as his eyes flicked to me.
"Peachy," I lied through gritted teeth. We had bigger problems to deal with. Like the mass of dark energy swirling around the Lighthouse ahead of us. "Let's just get this shit show over with. It doesn’t look like it’s going to be easy."
"Easy is boring," Nana quipped as her grip on her walking stick tightened. "Though I wouldn't mind slightly less dramatic for once."
A magical blast shattered the night. It forced us to duck behind a low wall. The destroyer faction had arrived. Their desperate energy crackled through the air like lightning.
"You cannot stop this," a voice called out. It held the weight of centuries and the brittleness of fear. "The power must remain bound. The bloodlines must be controlled. If the First Song returns in its entirety..."
"Then what?" I challenged. Making a decision, I dropped the concealment and let my mark's tricolored light shine freely. "Magic will flow as it should? Mothers can protect their children? Your precious control slips away? News flash, asshole. You’re going to lose. You cannot control powers of this magnitude. They will always find a way to return to their natural rhythm."
"You understand nothing," the voice spat. "The Song was fractured for a reason. Its power was too vast, too pure. It answered only to need and love and truth. There was no room for authority, or hierarchy, or proper order."
"Sounds perfect to me," Nina shot back with all of her teenaged sass. "You're just afraid of losing your power over others. I can see the corruption in your magical signatures. There are centuries of twisting something natural into chains."
"The arrogance of youth," another voice sneered. "You think you can understand forces that existed before the gods themselves?"
"No," I answered as the babies' power surged through me. "But I understand what it means to protect what matters. To fight for those you love."
