Tseki nodded and took off with Layla and Murtagh. Aidon and I headed back to the house. By the time we made it, the eastern sky was starting to lighten. Inside, Mom stood at the stove making breakfast while Nina sat at the table with her laptop open. The screen displayed what appeared to be medical records. Pages and pages of data scrolled past.
"You're up early," I said, moving to check the baby monitor. All three babies were still sleeping, thank the gods.
"Couldn't sleep," Nina admitted. "Stella sent over the research Clio, Jean-Marc, and Lilith compiled."
I pulled out a chair and sat. Exhaustion was starting to catch up with me now that the adrenaline was fading. "What did they find?"
Nina turned the laptop so I could see. "They went through supernatural archives, old coven journals, and news articles from magical communities. Going back over fiftyyears, they tracked powerful infants who died under suspicious circumstances."
My stomach dropped. "How many were killed?"
"Confirmed? Eighty-three." Nina's voice cracked. "But Clio thinks there are more. These are just the ones with solid documentation."
Mom set a coffee mug in front of me with shaking hands. "So many babies."
"Death clusters," Nina continued, pulling up a graph, "happen every few years. Lilith says it corresponds with specific lunar cycles."
Nana entered wearing her bathrobe, her hair in rollers. "I heard voices. Please tell me there's coffee."
I gestured to the coffee maker where a pot sat. "The Thessmark have been doing this for at least fifty years."
Nana sat down heavily and pulled the laptop toward her. She read in silence, her expression growing harder with each line. "Son of a bitch."
"People tried to investigate," Nina said quietly. "Families asking questions. Parents demanding answers. But the deaths were ruled natural causes. Genetic disorders. Tragic accidents."
"Because the people investigating were part of it," I said. "The medical collective controlled the narrative."
The front door opened, and Stella walked in without knocking, her usual grin in place. "My network's mobilized. Forty-three families are ready to fight."
"Good," I said. "Because we're breaking into that place soon. Tonight, preferably."
Stella's eyebrows rose. "That's fast."
"They were here last night. Six of them. Scouting our defenses." I took a sip of coffee. "We caught three of them about an hour ago."
"You what?" Nina's eyes went wide.
"They came back for another look," Aidon explained. "Bad timing on their part."
"What did you do with them?" Stella asked.
"Sent one back with a message. The other two won’t be bothering us anymore." I shrugged. "Tseki, Layla, and Murtagh are looking for the other three."
Nana cackled. "That's my girl."
The baby monitor crackled to life. Melaina's distinctive pre-cry whimper, followed immediately by Thaniel and Nyssa joining the chorus. "I'll get them," Mom said, already moving toward the stairs.
“I’ll help,” Nina offered.
"What's the plan?" Stella asked, pulling out her phone.
"We find the hidden room. I think they’re hiding the Scythe there," I said. "If we can’t destroy it, I can have Nylah take it. And we make sure every supernatural family knows what the Corvus Medical Group has been doing."
"Exposure," Nana said. "You want to burn them publicly. But what about a medical group for the families?"
"We will make sure another is created. One that is not corrupted. I want to make sure they can never do this again," I replied as I accepted a cup of coffee from Aidon. "Destroying the Scythe would only stop them temporarily. Exposing them would stop them permanently."
Mom came back downstairs carrying Melaina, with Nina carrying Thaniel and Nyssa. "These three need breakfast. And some cuddles."
