Page 29 of Postpartum Spells & Infant Hells

"Ava warned me not to leave the babies alone with her long enough to use the bathroom. And here I am, propping the door open for her anyway. I might as well cut her a key," I grumbled.

"Nobody is getting a key." Stella shouldered into the doorway with a chocolate muffin already half-unwrapped, because somewhere along the line, she'd folded snacks into her personal theology of surviving a crisis. She broke the muffin and pushed the bigger half at me before I could ask.

"I've been turning it over since I drove home last night,” she continued. “Elena, Wilhelm, Astrid, and Brenna are all in the air, and Claire's patching in over video. I know you're picturing five strangers stepping over our wards while something's out there actively hunting us. Don't. We let the wards earn their keep. That's the whole plan," she said to my questioning look.

"Your mother and I walked every line twice before sunup, and I'm not doing it a third time for your nerves, baby girl," Nana informed me as she propped a hip against the doorframe behind Stella and arched a brow at me. Her voice was dry as week-old toast. "They're cranked to DEFCON 5, which means anyone who crosses with murder in their heart gets a few thousand magical volts for the trouble. One bad intention and they'll light up like a porch bug in July."

That earned a chuckle out of me. "I like it." I took a grateful bite of the muffin, glad Stella had come early. It was always better to be surrounded by your entire tribe when facing the unknown.

"Tseki's already out hovering over the airport, so he'll have eyes on them before they have eyes on anything," Aidon added. Tseki was a dragon that the evil witch who'd made Hattie's life hell had cooked up. Because of that, he came with extras that most dragons didn't. Chief among them was the trick of making himself invisible.

"Layla and Murtagh have the tree line," he continued as he changed Melaina’s diaper and put her clothes on her. "We will test every breath against a cold glass at the threshold and keep a shifter at their backs from the gravel to the door. Nobody walks through the house unwatched."

The windows rattled, making my heart leap in my chest. I was up in a flash. “Tseki is home,” I relayed when everyone else joined me. We were all a little on edge.

The downward shove of air from Tseki’s massive wings rattled the glass in their frames and bent the wet grass flat across the lawn. He dropped out of the gray sky and folded onto the yard. His massive body was big enough to throw the whole nursery into shadow when he stood on his legs. His scales were the slick green-black of a beetle's back in the gloom. On a sunny day, he was all green.

Because they were ours and apparently feared nothing, the babies shrieked with pure delight instead of terror. Nyssa and Thaniel’s bodies mimicked little starfish as their hands flew up, waiting to be picked up so they could see their dragon.

"Alright,” Stella cooed as she hauled Thaniel from his crib. “Down we go, troublemakers." His greedy fist closed greedily in her hair as his eyes went to the window, but Tseki was already gone.

“Come on, maybe we can convince him to shift back,” I said as I lifted Nyssa out of her blankets and tucked her under my chin. We hustled for the stairs with Aidon holding Melaina and coming behind us like a thundercloud with shoulders.

Tseki had poured himself back into the shape of a man by the time we hit the porch. He was bare-chested and steaming faintly in the drizzle. Before anyone could get a word out, he jerked his chin toward the road. "They're close. Three minutes, maybe four. They arrived close together and are sharing a couple of rental vehicles. They had to have planned that."

“I bet Elena did that as soon as she hung up with us,” Stella muttered around a mouthful.

“Makes sense since she’s like their leader.” Tseki inclined his head. "I sat on top of every one of them from the terminal to the turnoff, and I didn't catch a single thing. There’s no other scent riding under theirs. I didn’t pick up any spell work wrapped around them. Or tucked in the luggage. If any of them are carrying something, it's buried deeper than I can dig."

"Your timing was a bit off, Tseki. They’re here,” Nana pointed down the drive. “And I’ve got the glass." Tseki took the glass from her while we stood on the porch.

The first car crept up the gravel slowly. The driver was plainly prepared to possibly be swallowed whole. Murtagh and Layla’s wolves loped out of the trees and joined Tseki as he reached the driver’s door before the engine even died. I watched from the porch as the old man unfolded himself out of the seat. He was tall and stooped with hair as gray as ash. He clutched a leather roll under one arm like it was the only thing in the world he trusted.

"He's clean." Tseki walked him up the path. "He fogged the glass."

"Wilhelm." The old man stopped at the foot of the steps and looked past me at Aidon. "I felt your power from the main road. It’s impressive and intimidating. You might have a chance to stop this. Put me wherever you like. Don't worry, I won’t touch anything of yours until you give me leave. May I see the back acreage?"

"We will head out as soon as everyone is here." I held the door and stepped aside. "There's coffee on, and we've got snacks."

"Coffee would be wonderful, then we need to see the land," Wilhelm replied as he climbed the porch stairs. "I appreciate your hospitality. I can sleep on floors, so don’t worry about me."

The second car was already nosing up behind the first before Wilhelm reached us. And a third turned in off the road behind that one. The drive filled up with engines and headlights in the gray afternoon. Astrid, Elena, and Brenna all arrived at the same time. Tseki tested them with the glass before they approached the porch. Wilhelm waited with us for the others.

"I'm Astrid. You've got an impressive house here, Pleiades." Her gaze swept over everything like an appraisal more than a compliment. She cataloged everything, including my wards in one unhurried sweep.

Bouncing Thaniel against my chest, I gave her a smile. "Thank you for coming. Elena told me I'm supposed to point you at a problem and then get well out of your way — that should come in handy."

"I prefer getting things done. Honestly, I have a hard time sitting still." Astrid rolled her shoulders like the flight was still trapped somewhere in them. "I crossed an ocean on airline pretzels and a temper worse than my usual, which is saying plenty. Point me at your yard, feed me well after, and we'll get along better than most."

Footsteps doubled behind her before I could reply. "I hope you're braced for this, Pleiades, because we are about to invade your house top to bottom." Elena was already talking before she'd cleared the top step. The young woman behind her had to be Brenna. She was a half pace back. Elena's bangles slid to her elbows as she flung an arm toward us, and the warmth in her grin didn't take a single ounce off the threat underneath it.

"Fair warning, getting this many stubborn people to work together is going to be every bit the headache that building the bridge will be." Elena patted my cheek on her way past like she'd known me a decade instead of one day.

"You haven't met my family. Working with you guys will be like a vacation," I told her. The laugh she tossed back was the first thing all evening that sounded like a friend rather than a soldier reporting for a war. “Let’s head inside. You can put your bags down.”

They filed in after me, boots, bags, and travel-creased trousers all funneling through the door. My kitchen smelled like Mythia had been baking since before the sun came up. Mugs stood in a row down the counter, and platters of pastries crowded the island. And three of my favorite women in the world were waiting.

Nana got to the newcomers first. She got to everyone first. "Well, would you look at this. Fresh blood walking right through my front door." She propped a fist on her hip and gave each new face a slow once-over, not bothering to hide one second of it. "I'm Amelia. Pretty doesn't earn you a thing in this kitchen, so you'd best be useful or entertaining. I'll forgive you if you can only manage the one."