This was my army. This motley collection of blood family, chosen family, and allies who'd become something more. Gods and shifters, witches and familiars, teenagers and ninety-year-old badasses who'd only recently come into their power. Whoever was hunting my children—Miranda Ashford, the Thessmark, anyone else who thought my babies were resources to be harvested—was about to learn exactly how dangerous a mother's love could be.
CHAPTER 7
Dr. Reeves's waiting room smelled like lavender and lies. Or maybe the latter was my bias, knowing what the staff here had done to my babies. I bounced Melaina gently against my shoulder, her warm weight grounding me even as my pulse hammered.
"Settle down before you give us away," Nana whispered beside me, flipping through a parenting magazine with one hand. The other rested on the handle of the double stroller where Nyssa and Thaniel dozed, their tiny chests rising and falling in perfect rhythm.
I wanted to point out that she was the one being suspicious, openly cataloguing every person in the room. The receptionist—a young Fae with pointed ears barely concealed by glamour—typed away at her computer, occasionally glancing up with practiced smiles. This "routine checkup" had been my idea. A calculated risk that made my stomach clench. We'd spent an hour the night before arguing about how deep the rot went.
"It can't be the entire place,"Clio had insisted."The collective was built by supernaturals who wanted something better. A safe place for our people to get medical care without risking exposure to humans."
She hadn't been wrong. Not everyone had access to a healer. Corvus Medical Group was supposed to fill that gap. Progressive healthcare for magical families who fell through the cracks.
"That's what makes it perfect,"Stella had said, her fingers flying across her keyboard."Hide a conspiracy inside an institution people trust. Who's going to question the doctors helping their kids?"
"We need to know how deep it goes."I'd shifted in my seat, already dreading the appointment I'd scheduled for the next morning."But the pattern Jean-Marc found means it's more than a couple of rogue staff."
Clio's expression had crumpled. Just a little. Enough that I knew she was starting to see it too."What are we saying? Is the entire collective compromised? That every doctor, every nurse, every person working there is part of this?"
"Institutions can be corrupted from the top down,"Aidon had said, his voice measured and careful."Most of the staff could be completely innocent and oblivious."
"Someone is clearly giving those orders,"I'd said quietly."And whoever they are, they've been doing it for a long time."
I couldn't afford to second-guess my decision now. We'd made it, and here I was with Nana as we'd agreed. Stella waited in the car outside at the ready. Jean-Marc was monitoring remotely through the phone tucked in my diaper bag. I’d left whatever app he was using to scan magical signatures open.
Tarja was back at the house, likely curled on her bed, but she was at the front of my mind. I could feel her presence thrumming through our bond like a second heartbeat. Her consciousness pressed against mine, steady and watchful. She usually gave me more space, but she wanted to get a feel for the situation.
“All clear so far,”I thought at her, knowing she'd catch the thread of my awareness.
“That means little. Someone there identified the babies.”Her voice was tinged with impatience. She didn't like being left behind, but we couldn't put her at risk.
"Melaina, Nyssa, and Thaniel Duedonne?" The nurse stood in the doorway—not Miranda, thank the gods. This was someone new, young, with kind eyes.
I rose, shifting Melaina in my arms. Nana stood too, slinging her enormous purse over her shoulder as she pushed the double stroller. Knowing her, that purse probably contained everything from an incendiary potion to a taser.
The nurse smiled as we approached and led us back. I catalogued details like my life depended on it—because it might. Security cameras in the upper corners. Two examination rooms on the left, one on the right. A supply closet at the end of the hall. An exit sign glowing red above the second door on the right.
The nurse showed us into the first room on the left. "If you can remove their clothes, the doctor will be in shortly. I'll grab their weight after she's done."
Dr. Reeves entered minutes later, her usual warm smile in place, salt-and-pepper hair pulled back in a ponytail. "How are our little firecrackers doing?"
She washed her hands at the small sink while I settled Melaina on the examination table and removed her outfit. Nana automatically put her hand on my daughter's warm belly while I grabbed Thaniel from the stroller.
"They're growing like weeds." I injected all the maternal pride I felt into my voice. It helped stop me from barking questions at the doctor. "Though we've had some... challenging nights."
"Oh?" Dr. Reeves's hands began their gentle exploration, checking reflexes, muscle tone, and the way their eyes tracked movement. She was nothing but professional. Still, I watched those hands and searched for any hint of deception.
Through the bond, Tarja sent me her impressions. “She genuinely cares. But there's something hidden underneath.”
Anxiety threatened to crack my calm surface. "Something is frightening them. All three of them, actually. Last night, they started screaming in perfect synchronization at 2 AM. Strangest thing."
Dr. Reeves's eyebrows rose. "That's unusual for infants this young. Any other symptoms? Fever, loss of appetite, changes in magical manifestation?"
Beside me, Nana had gone very still. The kind of still that meant she was listening to every word and filing it away for later dissection. "Why would you ask that?"
"We found magical residue on the nursery window," I said before the doctor could answer. "Marks that weren't there at bedtime."
Something flickered across Dr. Reeves's face. There and gone so fast I would have missed it if I hadn't been watching her so closely.
