The Fae Queen’s ice-cold smile froze everyone in place. Her diamond wings sparkled with deadly beauty.
"You want our children too?" Elara asked, exhausted. "Get in line."
"We don’t wait in lines, mortal," the Fae Queen said. "We take what belongs to us."
"Nothing belongs to you," Kael snarled, his Alpha power blazing.
But before the Fae Queen could respond, Elara doubled over in pain.
"Mom!" Luna rushed to her side.
"Sothing’s wrong," Elara gasped. Her hands clutched her stomach. But she wasn’t pregnant. She hadn’t been pregnant in years.
"Not you," Frost said urgently. "It’s not you."
"Then who?" Phoenix demanded.
A scream echoed from upstairs. A woman’s scream, full of pain and fear.
"Lydia," Ronan whispered. His face went white.
He bolted toward the stairs. Darian was right behind him.
"The human woman is giving birth," the Fae Queen said, amused. "How... ssy."
"Shut up," Ronan snapped without stopping.
They burst into the bedroom. Lydia lay on the bed, writhing in agony. Sweat covered her face. Her breathing ca in short gasps.
"It’s too early," she panted. "The babies aren’t due for two months."
"Supernatural children don’t follow human tilines," Tobias said from the doorway. "Especially not these children."
"What do you an?" Darian demanded.
"Feel the power in this room," Tobias said quietly. "Your mates are giving birth to gods."
The air around Lydia shimred. Heat waves rose from her skin. Frost crystals ford on the windows.
"Fire and ice," Frost whispered. "Like Luna and Phoenix, but different."
"How different?" Ronan asked, grabbing Lydia’s hand.
"One will see all truths," Frost said. "One will burn all lies."
Lydia scread again. The heat in the room spiked. The wallpaper started smoking.
"The fire child is coming first," Frost announced.
"Get everyone out," Darian ordered. "If this child has fire power, the whole house could burn down."
"We’re not leaving you," Kael said from the doorway. The whole family had followed them upstairs.
"Then stand back," Ronan said.
Lydia’s scream turned into a roar. Flas erupted from her skin. Not burning her, but surrounding her like a cocoon.
And then, silence.
A baby’s cry filled the air. But it wasn’t a normal cry. It crackled like a campfire.
"It’s a boy," Lydia whispered, exhausted.
Ronan reached through the flas. They didn’t burn him. The fire recognized its father. He lifted his son carefully.
The baby’s eyes were bright orange. Tiny flas danced on his fingertips.
"He’s perfect," Ronan breathed.
"What’s his na?" Elara asked softly.
"Blaze," Ronan said without hesitation. "Blaze Blackwood."
But Lydia wasn’t done. She gripped Darian’s hand so hard her knuckles went white.
"The second one," she gasped. "He’s coming now."
This ti, the temperature dropped. Ice covered the walls. Their breath ca out in white puffs.
"Truth child," Frost said.
The second baby arrived in a whirlwind of snow and ice. But when Darian held him, the cold stopped imdiately.
This baby’s eyes were crystal blue. They seed to look right through everyone.
"What do you see, little one?" Darian whispered.
The baby stared at his father. Then he smiled. And sohow, everyone in the room knew he was saying, "I see you love ."
"His na is Sage," Darian said. "Sage Blackwood."
"Fire and Truth," Timothy said from the corner. "The perfect combination to fight lies."
Downstairs, sothing crashed. Shouting voices echoed up the stairs.
"The Fae are getting impatient," Tobias said.
"Let them wait," Kael said firmly. "Family cos first."
"They won’t wait long," Tobias warned.
As if to prove his point, the temperature in the house began shifting wildly. Hot one second, freezing the next.
"They’re fighting with the children," Frost said. "Luna and Phoenix are trying to keep the Fae out."
"We should help them," Elara said.
"No," Lydia said weakly. "Look."
She pointed at baby Blaze. He was staring at the door with intense orange eyes. Tiny flas flickered around him.
"He knows there’s danger," she whispered.
Baby Sage was also alert. His crystal blue eyes moved from person to person, like he was reading their thoughts.
"They’re already protecting the family," Darian realized. "And they’re only minutes old."
A new voice drifted up from downstairs. Cold and beautiful and definitely not human.
"Bring us the newborns," the Fae Queen commanded. "We know they’ve arrived. We can feel their power."
"Over my dead body," Ronan snarled.
"That can be arranged," the Fae Queen replied sweetly.
Suddenly, baby Sage started crying. But it wasn’t a normal baby cry. It was desperate, like a warning.
"What’s wrong?" Darian asked, rocking him gently.
Sage’s eyes fixed on Tobias. The baby’s cry got louder.
"He sees sothing," Frost said urgently. "Truth children always see what others miss."
"What do you see, Tobias?" Elara demanded.
Tobias shifted uncomfortably. "I don’t know what you an."
Baby Sage’s cries beca screams. Baby Blaze joined in. The room filled with heat and cold at the sa ti.
"They’re trying to tell us sothing," Lydia said.
"Tell us what?" Kael asked.
Luna and Phoenix appeared in the doorway. Their faces were grim.
"The Fae Queen isn’t the real problem," Luna said.
"What do you an?" Elara asked.
"She’s working with soone," Phoenix said. "Soone who’s been lying to us."
All eyes turned to Tobias. Baby Sage was staring right at him, still crying.
"The babies know," Frost said slowly. "They can see his truth."
"What truth?" Ronan demanded.
Tobias sighed. The sound was ancient and tired.
"I’m not here to help you," he admitted. "I never was."
The room went dead silent except for the babies’ cries.
"Then why are you here?" Kael asked dangerously.
"To collect my great-grandchildren," Tobias said. "All of them. Luna, Phoenix, Blaze, and Sage."
"For what?" Darian snarled.
"For the Ti Council," Tobias said. "The children are too powerful. They’re breaking the barriers between worlds. If they’re not controlled, everything will collapse."
"Controlled how?" Elara whispered.
"Their powers will be bound," Tobias said. "Forever. They’ll live normal lives as normal children."
"No," Ronan said firmly.
"It’s not your choice," Tobias said sadly. "I’m sorry. I do love you all. But the universe is more important than one family."
He raised his hand. Ti magic swirled around his fingers.
But baby Blaze suddenly stopped crying. His orange eyes blazed brighter. Flas shot from his tiny hands.
The fire hit Tobias’s ti magic and burned it away like paper.
"Impossible," Tobias breathed. "He’s just a baby."
"He’s a Blackwood baby," Ronan said proudly.
Baby Sage stopped crying too. He stared at Tobias with those crystal blue eyes. And suddenly, everyone in the room could see what the baby saw.
Tobias wasn’t their ally. He wasn’t even their family. He was sothing else entirely. Sothing dark and hungry.
"What are you?" Elara gasped.
Tobias’s appearance began to change. His kind face twisted. His eyes turned black. His skin beca gray and mottled.
"I am the Collector," he said in a voice like grinding stone. "I take powerful children and feed their magic to the Ti Council. I’ve been doing it for centuries."
"How many children?" Luna asked, her voice shaking with rage.
"Thousands," the Collector said. "But none as powerful as you four."
"You’re not taking them," Kael said.
"I already am," the Collector replied.
The room filled with ti magic. But this ti, it was different. Darker. Hungrier.
The babies started crying again. But their cries were different now too. Blaze’s flas grew bigger. Sage’s truth-sight spread to everyone in the room.
And through that sight, they saw the horrible truth.
The Collector hadn’t just been lying about helping them. He’d been feeding information to all their enemies. The humans. The witches. The Fae.
He’d orchestrated everything. Every attack. Every betrayal. Every mont of danger.
All to make the children use their powers. To make them stronger. So when he finally took them, he’d have more magic to steal.
"You monster," Elara whispered.
"I’m a survivor," the Collector said. "And now, it’s ti to collect my prize."
He reached toward the babies.
But Lydia, exhausted from giving birth, found strength she didn’t know she had. She grabbed a lamp from the bedside table and smashed it over the Collector’s head.
"Don’t touch my children," she snarled.
The Collector stumbled. His magic wavered.
And in that mont of weakness, baby Blaze’s flas exploded outward. Baby Sage’s truth-sight pierced through every lie the Collector had ever told.
The room filled with fire and crystal light.
When it cleared, the Collector was gone.
But in his place stood sothing even worse.
A woman made of shadow and starlight. Her eyes were holes in reality.
"Hello, children," she said sweetly. "I’m the Void Queen. And I’ve been waiting so very long to et you."
"Who are you?" Phoenix demanded.
"I’m the real enemy," the Void Queen said. "The Collector was just my servant. The Fae Queen, the witches, the humans - they’re all just distractions."
"What do you want?" Luna asked.
The Void Queen smiled. It was the most terrifying thing any of them had ever seen.
"I want to unmake reality," she said. "And your children are the key to doing it."
The babies’ cries filled
the air. But this ti, they weren’t just crying.
They were calling for help.
And from sowhere far away, sothing answered.
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