Chapter 20 #2
The babies fought every step of the way. They didn't want to leave the womb. They'd already learned that walls meant safety and the outside world meant predators. Time became meaningless. Minutes stretched into eternities that were punctuated only by Bridget's increasingly urgent instructions.
Just when I thought it was never going to end, everything started happening faster.
"There we go," Bridget said with satisfaction as one final, particularly aggressive manipulation sent shockwaves through my entire torso.
"Melaina's finally cooperating. She’s head down and ready to make her grand entrance. "
"Come on, Melaina," I panted as I felt my daughter finally starting to move down the birth canal, her heat blazing a trail that made every nerve ending sing with fire. "Come meet your family. We're not going to let anything hurt you."
The pressure was indescribable, yet familiar from when I had my first two babies.
It was all that was the same. I felt every inch of her descent.
The burn and stretch made me understand why women used to die doing this.
My vision blurred as another contraction seized me, and I bore down with everything I had left.
"I can see her head," Bridget announced, her voice tight with concentration. "One more push, Phoebe. Give me everything."
I screamed. It wasn’t the polite, movie-style groan, but a sound that came from someplace primal and desperate. Something gave way with a sensation like tearing silk. And then Melaina was sliding free in a rush of fluid and relief so intense I nearly passed out.
She emerged in a blaze of golden light hot enough to make the air dance.
Her tiny fists were glowing with power that could have lit up a small city.
The temperature in the room spiked twenty degrees in an instant.
But the moment Bridget placed her on my chest, something shifted.
The wild heat gentled to warmth, and for the first time in months, I felt something other than terror flowing through our connection. Pure, uncomplicated love.
"There's my brave girl," I whispered, tears streaming down my face as Melaina's golden eyes found mine. "You're safe now. Mama's got you."
But the moment was brutally short-lived. Another contraction hit, reminding me we were nowhere near done.
"Nana," Bridget called urgently, already moving to prepare for the next arrival. "Take her."
My grandmother had been next to the bed, encouraging me the entire time.
She immediately scooped Melaina from my chest. "Well, aren't you a little firecracker," she cooed to the baby, then shot me a look that was pure sass.
"One down, two to go, sweetheart. Try not to burn down the house before we're finished. "
I would have sassed her back, but I had to concentrate on pushing again already.
Thaniel came next. Where Melaina had blazed her way into the world, he fought for every breath.
The contractions felt different this time.
They were sharper, more jagged. Like my body was trying to expel lightning.
When he finally slipped free. I saw why.
He was smaller than his sister. His tiny chest was working overtime as electricity danced across his pale skin.
The air around him crackled with raw power, turning sharp with the scent of ozone and making my hair stand on end. But it was his breathing—or lack thereof—that made my blood turn to ice. It was coming in shallow, stuttering gasps that didn't sound like they were bringing in enough air.
"Bridget," I started, panic creeping into my voice.
"I've got him," she said. As a seasoned nurse, I could hear the concern she was trying to hide. Her hands moved over his tiny form with practiced efficiency. She used the suction to clear his airway, which stimulated his reflexes. "Come on, little one. Work with me here."
Aidon and I held our breaths as we watched and prayed.
It seemed like it took forever but was likely less than a minute.
When he finally took a proper breath, the relief knocked me flat.
Blue sparks cascaded across his skin like captured starlight.
When his eyes opened—eyes like summer lightning, brilliant and wild—my heart stopped and restarted in a rhythm that matched his irregular breathing.
"Hey there, little man," I breathed. My voice broke as Mom carefully placed him in my arms for just a moment. "Welcome to the world. You gave Mama quite a scare there."
He made a sound—not quite a cry, more like the whisper of wind through power lines—and I felt tears I didn't know I was holding back spill over. He was so small, so fragile.
"Alright, sweetheart," Mom said gently, taking him back as another contraction seized me. "One more to go."
Nyssa was last and most reluctant, as if she'd been listening to everything happening outside and had decided the womb was infinitely preferable.
Her shadows fought the birth like they could pull her back inside, where the darkness was safe and familiar.
Each push felt like I was wrestling with Cerberus.
Her power clung to my insides with desperate fingers.
"She doesn't want to come out," I gasped between contractions. Exhaustion was making my vision swim.
"Can't say I blame her," Aidon murmured. His voice was rough with emotion as he watched his children. "They learned far too early that the world's a dangerous place. It’s okay, Little Shade. Mama and Daddy will protect you. And grimpops took the bad lady away."
That seemed to entice her, and she stopped fighting. It didn’t take as much pushing before she emerged from her cocoon of shadows. Her purple eyes immediately locked onto Aidon. And she made a cooing sound that brought tears to Aidon's eyes.
"That's my girl," I whispered, pride and exhaustion warring in my chest. "Already wrapping Daddy around your little finger."
"You have three healthy babies," Bridget announced. She was smiling as she and Clio completed their final checks.
"All vitals strong, all magical signatures stabilizing. That was..." Clio shook her head, looking between my children like they were miracles she couldn't quite believe. "That was the most intense delivery I've ever assisted with."
I looked down at my children. Melaina was nestled in Nana's arms, Thaniel was tucked against Aidon's chest, and Nyssa was wrapped in Mom's arms. All three of them were staring up at their respective holders. They were perfect. Bloody, wrinkled, and absolutely perfect.
For the first time in months, the constant knot of terror in my chest had loosened to something manageable. It wasn’t gone. It would never be completely gone. Not with children this powerful. One thing was absolutely certain. I would burn the world down before I let anything happen to them.
"They're perfect," Jean-Marc breathed, his voice filled with the kind of wonder usually reserved for discovering new galaxies.
He reached out with trembling fingers to stroke Melaina's downy head.
His touch was feather-light as if she might shatter.
"Look at those tiny fingers. Oh! Look at the way Thaniel's sparks are already responding to emotional stimuli. "
But then his expression shifted. That familiar furrow appeared between his brows.
His brilliant mind had stumbled onto something decidedly unpleasant.
"Though I'm worried about the creatures that slipped through when those dimensional barriers collapsed during the eclipse. Should we come up with a plan to protect the babies?”
"Jean-Marc," I said, exhausted beyond belief after pushing three babies from my body, "I love you dearly, but if you don't stop talking about interdimensional monsters while I'm trying to have a moment with your sisters and brother, I'm going to scream.
"There are plenty of beings outside that will be keeping an eye out," I continued more firmly, taking Thaniel from Aidon. "That's a worry for another day."
Jean-Marc nodded in agreement as he accepted Melaina from Nana.
The triplets made soft sounds of contentment, and their powers finally calmed to gentle whispers.
Whatever horrors were stirring out there could wait their turn.
I had babies to bond with. For once in my chaotic life, that was going to be my only priority.