Chapter 8
The silence that followed our victory against Lyra's abominations lasted exactly long enough for me to think we might actually catch a break. Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking either. Lyra was still out there and not going to stop anytime soon.
"The attack was designed to test us, but it’s not good that it exhausted the babies," Thalia observed, studying the creature remains scattered across our lawn like some demented art installation.
"She now knows how much power they can manifest before depleting themselves. That’s dangerous information in her hands. "
"Shit, shit, shit," I muttered as the triplets' energy signatures dimmed to barely detectable whispers. They'd given everything they had to protect us, and now they were sleeping harder than teenagers on summer vacation.
Thalia turned to face me, her storm-gray eyes intense with sudden purpose.
"This is actually perfect. With their power temporarily dormant, I can attempt a purification ritual.
The idea is to weaken the parasitic connections.
It's a technique I learned from watching Lyra's experiments. Only I’ll be doing it in reverse. "
"I am not okay with using Lyra’s method," Aidon said immediately. "It feels like we’re back to you being a Trojan Horse. Our defenses are down, and now you move in for the kill. We're not experimenting on Phoebe with untested magic."
"It's not untested," Thalia protested. "And I’m not on her side. I've seen exactly what Lyra does to strengthen connections. I can take her corruption rituals and turn the tables. It’s easy to use purification rather than the opposite."
Clio stepped forward, her healer instincts clearly warring with caution. "What exactly would this ritual involve?"
"Channeling cleansing energy through the parasitic bonds to try and burn away their hold," Thalia explained. "Think of it as if I were cauterizing a wound to prevent infection. The ritual targets the foreign magic specifically without affecting Phoebe or the babies."
I could feel everyone's eyes on me, waiting for my decision. The rational part of my brain screamed that this was dangerous. But the desperate part—the part that was tired of being Lyra's magical snack bar—found the idea appealing.
"How long would it take?" I asked.
"Not long," Thalia replied. "But it has to be done while the babies' power is dormant. If they try to interfere, it could backfire spectacularly. And that would be devastating."
"What exactly do you mean by that?" Nina demanded, crossing her arms in a gesture that reminded me of myself at that age.
"The connections could multiply instead of weakening," Thalia admitted reluctantly. "Or they could become permanent immediately instead of gradually."
"Those are some shitty odds," Nana observed with her usual bluntness.
"Everything we're dealing with has shitty odds," I pointed out. "At least this gives us a chance to take the offensive."
Aidon moved closer, his hand finding mine. "Queenie, if something goes wrong—"
"Then we deal with it," I interrupted. "We always do. Besides, I know Nina and Jean-Marc will be casting a protective barrier around them before we even know something went wrong."
Clio sighed, clearly unhappy but recognizing the futility of arguing with a determined pregnant woman. "If we're doing this, I am going to be monitoring them the entire time. The first sign of distress, we stop immediately."
"Agreed," I said before Aidon could voice another objection.
Thalia clapped her hands together with entirely too much enthusiasm for someone about to perform experimental magic on a pregnant woman. "Wonderful! Now, let's get you set up properly. You should get back in bed. It’ll make this easier."
Aidon was at my side immediately. “For the record, I’m going to worry myself into an ulcer,” he grumbled as he picked me up and helped me maneuver my increasingly unwieldy body back onto the bed.
“Somehow, I think you’ll live. I won’t let anything happen to the babies,” I promised.
He fussed with the pillows, adjusting them behind my back and under my knees until I was comfortable, his touch gentle. “That’s why I’m not stopping it.” He sat next to me, and we watched as Thalia bustled around my bed.
She was like a magical interior decorator who'd just discovered the perfect feng shui arrangement and couldn't contain her excitement.
"I'll need the silver bowls from the kitchen cabinet.
The ones with the engravings on them. And grab that bundle of herbs hanging by the window.
The one that smells like someone set a garden on fire. "
“Auntie Stella did set these on fire,” Jean-Marc shared as he grabbed the herbs on the windowsill.
At the same time, Nina scurried off to collect the bowls while Thalia continued her preparations. It looked as if she’d done this before, which was reassuring. At least she wasn’t fumbling right away.
"What about candles?" I asked as she arranged what looked suspiciously like ritual implements on my nightstand.
"Aren't there any in here?” she asked as her gaze skipped around the room.
I gestured to the jar on my nightstand. “Unless an Ocean Mist one will work, no.”
“Nina!" she called out. "We'll need four white candles from the dining room. And that bottle of spring water from the fridge!"
Nina appeared a few seconds later with an armload of supplies. The speed with which she had gathered all of that and climbed two flights of stairs made me jealous. It took me fifteen minutes to waddle ten feet to the bathroom.
"Perfect." Thalia began setting the silver bowls on the bed. "Now, when we start this, don't fight the cleansing energy. Let it flow through the connections naturally."
Clio scooted her chair right next to the mattress and placed her hand on my abdomen. Her healing warmth sank into me. Meanwhile, everyone else hovered like anxious relatives in a waiting room. That wasn't helping my nerves one bit.
"What will it feel like?" I asked, settling back against the pillows that Aidon had arranged to support me.
"Like liquid sunlight burning away poison," Thalia replied, lighting candles with a snap of her fingers. "It shouldn't hurt, but it will be intense. Which, now that I say it out loud, sounds like complete bullshit, doesn't it?"
"So reassuring," I muttered, watching the flames dance. "Really filling me with confidence here."
“There’s a hole burning through the lining of my stomach,” Aidon griped.
Ignoring his outburst, Thalia began chanting in what sounded like ancient Greek.
Her voice carried power that reminded me of mine.
The magic vibrated through my bones. Each syllable resonated like a tuning fork struck against my soul.
The herbs in the silver bowls began to smoke, releasing a scent that was nauseating.
At first, nothing happened except for the growing weight of magic pressing against my skin like invisible hands.
Then warmth began building in my chest. It was a gentle heat that spread outward like I'd swallowed a miniature sun.
The sensation was pleasant, almost euphoric.
It felt like sinking into a hot bath after a long day. I let myself relax into it.
The cleansing energy moved through me with purpose.
It followed pathways I couldn't see but felt.
White threads of light traced the parasitic connections with surgical precision.
It tickled at first, then grew stronger, like warm honey flowing through my veins.
I could actually sense the foreign magic being identified and catalogued.
For a moment, everything felt perfect. Safe. Like it was working. That's when everything went sideways.
Instead of gently burning away the bonds, the purification energy hit the babies like a wrecking ball. They jolted to awareness. Holy shit. The connections weren't weakening. They began writhing like angry snakes and fighting back against the cleansing magic with vicious intensity.
Pain exploded through my belly as the first contraction hit. It felt like someone had wrapped my uterus in barbed wire and then decided to give it a vigorous shake. I couldn't breathe through it. It was impossible to think past the agony that turned my world white-hot.
"Stop the ritual!" Clio shouted. Her voice sounded as if it were coming from underwater.
The contraction peaked and faded, leaving me gasping. "False alarm," I panted. "It's okay, I—"
Another contraction slammed into me, stronger than the first. This one brought friends. Nausea, dizziness, and the unshakeable certainty that my body had decided now was a fabulous time to evict its tenants.
"That's not false labor," Clio said grimly as her hands heated up. Her healing magic moved deeper into me. "The purification energy destabilized something. Your body thinks the babies are in distress."
"Are they?" Aidon demanded as his power wrapped around me like protective armor.
"They're fine, but—oh, shit." Clio's expression went from concerned to terrified in the span of a heartbeat. "The contractions are triggering a cascade effect. If I can't stop this, you're going to have these babies right now."
"No, no, no!" Thalia's voice cracked with panic. Her hands fluttered uselessly over the smoking herbs. "This wasn't supposed to happen! I didn't mean—I wasn't trying to put you into labor! I swear on my grandmother's grimoire, I had no idea this would—"
"Thalia!" Aidon's voice cut through her rambling like a blade.
"I know what you're thinking," she continued frantically, backing away from the bed with her hands raised. "But I'm not working with her! I would never—this isn't what I wanted!"
“It wasn’t your magic,” Clio assured her.