“Will the souvenir thing affect the stone?” Mom asked Clio.
The healer shook her head. “Unless the person carving it used magic on it, its innate powers would not have been diminished.”
Mom nodded slowly. "Then I can brew it. But you need to understand this primordial fire will reduce things to the state they were before they existed. If you use this wrong, if you get even a drop on yourselves..."
"We won't exist anymore," Aidon finished.
"No, you won’t. And I don’t want to be responsible for that.” She frowned.
"How long do you need to make it?" I asked.
"Four hours if I start now." Mom took a deep breath as if steeling herself. "You have to promise me not to handle this potion directly. Use a containment vessel, and you do not, under any circumstances, just throw the vial."
"I promise." I lifted my hand.
Mom's jaw set in that stubborn line I'd inherited. "Nana, I need your help. Get your totem and meet me down in the Sanctuary. Tseki, come with me."
Nana headed for her room, and Tseki followed Mom down to the basement, where we had our magical Sanctuary. Stella and Aidon returned to the blueprints in the dining room. Thaniel chose that moment to let out the loudest fart. Mythia and I started laughing as I picked him up.
Carrying him into the living room, I put him on the changing table to check his diaper. I could hear Mythia in the kitchen singing to Melaina and Nyssa. Why did life have to be so hard? I would love for a year where no one was trying to kill my kids or me.
Guilt swamped me when part of me called myself a liar. I loved the chaos of my new life. Had from day one. Being the Pleiades and handling the craziness and danger had come naturally to me. I didn’t want to give it up, but I wanted my children to be safe.
"You're allowed to be scared," Tarja said, appearing beside me.
"I'm terrified," I admitted. "What if we don't make it back? What if?—"
"What if you succeed?" Tarja interrupted. "What if you destroy the Scythe, expose the Thessmark, and save every magical child who comes after?"
That was why I was doing this. "I will stay connected with you tonight," Tarja continued.
"Promise me," I said, my voice cracking. "If something happens to me, you'll watch over them. Help them understand who their mother was."
"I am not the only one who would share you with them, but nothing is going to happen to you." Tarja's tail wrapped around my ankle. "They already know, as do I, that their mother was a warrior.
CHAPTER 11
The afternoon dragged like molasses. Every minute felt like an hour as we waited for night to fall. I tried to maintain normalcy for the babies. To an extent, it wasn’t difficult. Their feeding schedules, playtime, and baths were demanding. My hands shook through every diaper change. And I caught myself staring at them, memorizing details I already knew by heart.
The curve of Melaina's smile. The exact shade of Thaniel's eyes. The way Nyssa's shadows played when she was content. As if I could ever forget. Nothing was going to steal these memories from me.
"Phoebe?" Mythia appeared in the living room with a gentle expression. "I can take over if you want to go help Mollie."
I looked down at Thaniel, who I'd been holding for the past twenty minutes even though he'd fallen asleep fifteen minutes ago. My arms were starting to ache, but I couldn't seem to make myself put him down.
"Yeah," I replied, liking that idea. "Yeah, okay."
I transferred him carefully to his crib, and the pixie positioned the blanket over him. She'd been helping with thebabies since they were born, despite being a fraction of their size. They knew her almost as well as they knew Aidon and me.
"They'll be safe with me," she said softly. "I promise."
“I know they will. Thank you.” I crossed to where Melaina and Nyssa were sleeping in their cribs and pressed a kiss to each of their foreheads. Their skin was warm beneath my lips. Melaina was almost too warm. Nyssa was slightly cool. They were perfect.
I found Nina in the kitchen, hunched over her laptop with an energy drink can and a biology textbook beside her. She looked up when I entered. "Gammy's about to start making the primordial fire," I said. "I'm going down to watch. Want to come?"
Nina's eyes widened. "Really? I figured you wouldn’t want me anywhere near it."
"Knowledge is power. And right now, we need all the power we can get." I held out my hand. "Come on."
