"That's not enough time to research a counter-spell," Jean-Marc shrieked. He’d been thinking about how long we’d already been looking without an answer. "We need a completely different approach."
"Like what?" Nina asked, her voice small against the weight of impossible odds.
"We use the connections against her," I said suddenly, the idea forming as I spoke. "She opened a two-way bridge. Magic flows in both directions. We use her weapon to our advantage."
"Absolutely fucking not," Aidon said immediately. "We're not letting you engage with her directly through those bonds. The risk is astronomical."
"I'm not talking about having a chat," I clarified as I pulled on every ounce of patience I had. "I'm talking about magical interference. If she can draw power through the connections, maybe we can send power back. Overload her system. Maybe even break her from the inside."
"That's incredibly dangerous," Clio warned. "Any magical surge from your end could trigger labor. You could lose the babies. Or worse."
"Everything's dangerous right now," I pointed out as my frustration boiled over. "At least this gives us a chance to take the offensive instead of just playing defense while hoping we're fast enough."
Before anyone could argue further, Mythia's voice drifted up from downstairs. She was cheerful despite everything going to hell in a handbasket. "Dinner's ready! And I made all of Phoebe's favorites. No stalling. Everyone needs to eat."
"We should continue this downstairs," Mom suggested, recognizing wisdom when she heard it. "She’s right. Everyone needs food, and the others should hear about these developments."
Nodding, Aidon helped me up. I was the size of a small house, and it was difficult to move. Seriously, I felt like I was smuggling a small planet under my shirt. Each step sent minor earthquakes through my body. It reminded me just how precarious everything had become.
The smell of food made me forget my plight halfway down the stairs. A smile spread across my face when I saw what waited for us. Mythia had outdone herself. The table groaned under comfort foods that made my mouth water despite the stress. Pot roast with vegetables, fresh bread still warm from the oven, and apple pie cooling on the counter. Food therapy for the win.
"This smells like heaven decided to take up cooking," I said as Aidon guided me into my chair with the kind of careful precision usually reserved for handling cranky dragons.
"Figured we all needed a taste of normal before the world goes completely sideways again," Mythia replied, fluttering around the kitchen like the determined fairy she was. "Besides, you've been stress-eating crackers and forgetting actual meals. Can't have you turning into a twig when you're busy growing three magical powerhouses in there."
I let out a very undignified snort while Nana cackled. "Magical powerhouses?" She shook her head, eyes twinkling with mischief. "Honey, those babies are gonna rule this family with iron fists the size of peas. Mark my words—they'll have everyone wrapped around their little fingers before they're even born. Hell, they're already doing it."
"I can't wait to spoil them rotten," Nina grinned, practically bouncing in her seat. "Two little sisters and a baby brother to corrupt with sugar and mischief."
"It's been too long since we've had babies in this family. They're going to be so loved," Mom added with a warm smile.
Aidon placed a warm hand protectively over my stomach as everyone began filling their plates. The ancient ritual of having a meal together began weaving its quiet spell. The tension didn't vanish—it wasn't that kind of miracle—but it loosened its death grip on our shoulders.
Stella and Selene drifted in a few minutes later, looking like they'd been tag-teaming the forces of darkness. With our luck,they could have been. My best friend actually had some color back in her face, thank the gods. The vicious corruption that had been creeping up her arm like some kind of magical gangrene was finally retreating. It was disappearing inch by stubborn inch, thanks to Selene's purification marathon.
Tseki shuffled in behind them, moving like every step was a negotiation with pain. This was his first appearance since we'd hauled ass out of that nightmare. He had on designer clothes but his pristine appearance was surface. Seeing him like this made my chest tight. The burns covering his skin when he'd shifted back had mostly faded to angry pink lines. His usual energy had been dialed down to the enthusiasm level of wet cardboard. We'd been keeping Clio away from the healing rotation because everyone was paranoid the babies might need her magic. Nobody wanted to risk her being tapped out when it counted.
"How are you holding up?" I asked, watching how he kept favoring his left side like something was still tender under there.
He managed a smile that wouldn't have fooled a blind person. "Like I got intimate with a flamethrower that had commitment issues. But Murtagh's been taking care of me.
"Trust me, sweetheart," Tseki went on, his voice rough but genuine, "having you here is doing more than any magic could."
The new arrivals filled their plates, and the transition into our usual dinner chaos felt like slipping into a well-worn sweater. It was familiar, but somehow not quite the right fit tonight. Everyone was working overtime to pretend this was just another family meal. Their performance would've made Broadway proud. Voices rose and fell in the comfortable rhythm of people who'd shared countless dinners together. It was punctuated by laughter that was maybe trying a little too hard to sound natural.
It was when I was eating a bubble waffle with strawberry gelato, fresh strawberries and white chocolate when thatsomething extraordinary happened. I was laughing at one of Nana's outrageous stories about her youth when I felt movement in my belly. It wasn’t the usual baby gymnastics. Their individual magical signatures suddenly began harmonizing like a supernatural boy band finding their groove.
The sensation was overwhelming and beautiful. Melaina's brilliant gold magic made every enchanted object in the kitchen sing in perfect harmony. Thaniel's electric blue power crackled through my system like lightning through storm clouds. Nyssa's deep purple energy coiled through it all like living shadows, her true child-of-the-Underworld heritage already showing as darkness bent to her will.
Instead of operating independently like they usually did, they were working together. Melaina and Thaniel's auras locked into perfect sync while Nyssa's shadows wove protective barriers around them both. Time seemed to slow around us—Thaniel's doing, no doubt—giving us precious extra seconds to process what we were seeing.
"Oh," I gasped, my hand flying to my belly as the magical convergence intensified.
"What's wrong?" Aidon demanded, half-rising from his chair with divine power sparking around him like contained lightning.
"Nothing's wrong," I breathed, eyes wide with wonder. The magical convergence within me intensified, and something remarkable happened. The parasitic connections that had been a constant source of dread suddenly felt... distant.
"The bonds," I added, hardly daring to believe it. "They're weaker. The babies are blocking them somehow."
