"The old way is finished," added another whose temporal distortions made the air ripple around her. "We're taking back our birthright."
The destroyer faction's leader stepped forward. His voice carried centuries of bitterness. "You understand nothing. The Song's power nearly destroyed everything once before. We did what was necessary to preserve life."
"By shattering it?" demanded yet another mother. "By breaking magic so fundamentally that it's taken centuries just to begin healing?"
"Look around you," Helena called out as she stepped onto the porch. Several of the attackers actually stumbled back in shock at seeing her. "The world is already unraveling. The Song remembers what it should be. It's trying to restore itself through every compatible bloodline it can find. We can either help guidethat restoration safely or watch everything we sought to preserve tear itself apart."
Another contraction hit then. Clio was on it and her healing powers cut it off before the pain could fully register. The tricolored light blazed like a beacon as the babies' combined power reached out to something vast and ancient. For a moment, every portal in the house aligned and showed the same scene - a vast chamber of singing crystals.
"That can't be in Tartarus," I said, frowning as I studied the crystalline chamber through the nearest portal. "Stella and I went all through there when we were trying to save your stubborn ass," I told Aidon. "This feels... different. The energy signature isn't the same."
"You're right," Stella confirmed. “It doesn’t feel like Tartarus.”
"Jean-Marc," Nina called out. "Check that text again. Are we sure about the location?"
Before Jean-Marc could answer, the First Song's power surged through the room. I felt it calling. It reached out to me, to the babies, to every magical mother it had marked. Even the destroyer faction felt it. I saw it in their faces as ancient power resonated through their magical cores. I hoped it reminded them of what they'd helped break so long ago.
CHAPTER 19
The ancient power of the sections of the First Song slammed through the room like a tidal wave. It made my magical core vibrate in response. Everyone in the room seemed transfixed by the beauty of the partial song. Their faces softened with wonder as they leaned forward, eager to hear it in its entirety. My fascination died quickly as reality set in.
How the hell had these assholes breached our wards? Had this old magic, this First Song, or my magical mark somehow allowed them to breach our protections? I'd been so confident in those measures. Hell, I had practically preened over their strength. I counted on them to keep me and my loved ones safe.
Gods, how foolish could I be? There was always a way around magical barriers if someone was determined enough, had enough time and courage, or maybe just enough stupidity. Because really, who in their right mind would push past my wards when I had a literal god, a dragon, and a pack of powerful shifters at my back?
Shaking my head, I refocused on the matter at hand. "Jean-Marc," I called out, keeping my voice steady despite anothercontraction building. "Check that text again. What exactly does it say about the heart's location?"
He flipped frantically through the weathered pages, muttering under his breath. Nina leaned over his shoulder, tracing symbols that glowed at her touch. I hadn’t ever seen them working together like this because he was usually away at school. It warmed my heart to see.
"Here," Jean-Marc said. Excitement made his voice crack. "Listen to this. 'While the entrance lies within Tartarus, the chamber itself exists in a pocket between realms. The Keepers used Tartarus to hide it, knowing few would dare venture deep enough to find it’." He looked up, eyes bright with discovery. "There's more. The text mentions something about 'bridges between worlds' and 'paths that only the pure of heart may walk’."
"Great," I muttered, rubbing my belly where the triplets were doing their best impression of a magical rave. "Because nothing says 'let's hide the source of all magic' like stuffing it in supernatural maximum security and adding some cryptic nonsense."
"We need Father," Aidon said. His power was crackling around him like dark lightning as he watched the enemies trying to get to our front door. "He knows Tartarus better than anyone."
"I will call him," Persephone stated, her voice echoing with divine authority. She closed her eyes and released a single, pure note that filled the room with the warmth of a spring afternoon. The floor beneath us shuddered as her power gathered. Golden light spun from her fingertips and wove complex patterns in the air around us.
The babies kicked happily and the light dissolved into mist. A breath later, the air grew thick with power. The space between one heartbeat and the next seemed to warp. A tear developedand it widened into a doorway of deep shadow. Through it wafted the rich scent of pomegranates and ancient stone, along with a wave of dry, earthen warmth.
Hades stepped through with his usual fluid grace. Each movement was calculated and precise. His perfectly tailored charcoal suit whispered of wealth, while his pristine silver cufflinks caught the light like captured stars. His presence filled the room with the weight of eons, and the authority of someone who had witnessed empires rise and crumble to dust.
His dark eyes fixed immediately on my belly where the mark pulsed in waves of purple, gold, and electric blue. It then traveled to the Keepers fighting in my yard. "Interesting timing," he observed dryly. "I was just dealing with some rather unusual activity in the deeper levels. It seems my grandchildren are awakening powers many want to remain dormant. Demons and gods are quite put out about it."
"Yeah, about that—" Pain sliced through my middle, making me hiss. Clio materialized at my side. Her healing magic surged into me like waves breaking on a shore. My instincts screamed for rest, but the smarter part of me knew it wouldn't make a damn bit of difference. This magic was going to mess with me whether I played hero with the Keepers or sat on my ass eating bonbons. Given the mark on my belly, I knew I had to be involved in solving this.
"The contractions are getting stronger and closer together," Clio warned quietly. "We need to move quickly. Your magical reserves won't hold forever."
Nodding in agreement, we filled Hades in on everything we had discovered. Mom finished with, "There has to be a way to access the heart's chamber without going through Tartarus. Phoebe can't make that journey right now. Not in her condition."
"I wish I had more information on how to reach the chamber where this heart is located," Hades replied at the same time hiseyes had that calculating look I'd come to recognize. It usually meant something terrifying for me. "Unless..."
As if on cue, the babies' power surged. New portals ripped open around the room to different locations. The kitchen now had a lovely view of what looked like ancient Rome, while the living room window opened onto some kind of crystalline cavern. A particularly enthusiastic portal in the hallway showed what appeared to be the surface of Mars.
"Close that one," Stella yelped as she cast a spell to shut it before our air could get sucked out into space. "I don't think we need an interplanetary incident on top of everything else."
Hades' laughter rolled through the house like thunder, deep and full of power. The walls trembled, and shadowy doorways blazed into existence around us. Each one was a tear in the veil leading to places unknown. The God of the Underworld's eyes gleamed with fierce pride.
"Perfect," he purred, laying a hand on my swollen belly. The triplets surged toward his touch. Their movement was so intense I swayed. "Already mastering the paths between worlds. They take after their grandfather, I see."
