Chapter 4 - Bella

“Mmm, that smells good,” I say, coming up behind Jamal and wrapping my arms around his waist, resting my head on his shoulder. He’s at the stove with all kinds of things cooking.

Jamal smiles, setting down the spatula and turning in my arms. “Hey, Bells. How was the meeting with the elders?”

“Good,” I say, leaning in and kissing him soundly.

“Mmm,” he moans, his irises beginning to bleed into the whites of his eyes. “We could continue this in the bedroom.”

I chuckle. “What about everything you’re cooking?” My words say one thing, but my body presses into his, and my hands slide into his hair.

He grins wide, knowing I’m teasing him. “I’ll turn it off. It can wait an hour or so.”

I’m just about to agree when Amethyst, one of our youngest twins, walks into the kitchen.

“Gross! Get a room—preferably after you finish making lunch,” she grouses.

“So selfless, Aemy. Thanks,” Jamal says, turning back to the stove. “Lunch will be ready in about five minutes. Set the table for me?”

“Sure. What are we having?” she asks.

“I felt like Puerto Rican today. The ancestors were speaking to me and told me to make some mofongo,” Jamal tells us.

“Oh, shit! That’s awesome,” Aemy exclaims.

I glance over Jamal’s shoulder again, this time actually paying attention to what’s on the stove—garlic shrimp, stewed chicken in tomato sauce, escabeche, and chicken broth. On the counter I spot a salad and sliced avocado.

“Damn, baby. You’ve made a feast,” I say, grinning.

Jamal’s smile turns smug. “Told ya. The ancestors were speaking to me.”

Axel, Amethyst’s twin, walks in, sniffing the air. “Mofongo? Awesome!”

Laughing, I say, “Get the drinks. Food’s about to be plated.”

Quickly, we get everything together and sit down at the table, ready to eat.

Just as I’m reaching out to fill my plate, I’m whisked away from our kitchen—instantly deposited on Olympus. Jamal appears beside me, just as confused.

We’re surrounded by gods in the middle of a brightly lit arena. And then I hear Hecate.

“I’m sorry about the abrupt transition, but I need you here. I’ve already let your children know so they won’t freak out,” she says. Her three handfasted males surround her, her pregnant belly protruding in front of her.

“What’s happening?” I ask, while Jamal grabs my arm and keeps close.

Loki casts a bubble of privacy around us, making sure no one can hear us—and the other gods don’t even notice we’re there.

Hecate wastes no time. “Josefina just showed the assembly a prophecy.”

“Wait, didn’t she just have her pups this morning? What the hell is she doing here already?” Jamal asks.

Baldur rolls his eyes. “Zeus the high and mighty said it couldn’t wait.”

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” I groan.

Hecate throws her hands up in exasperation. “Focus, guys! The prophecy was about Lucifer. He’s back—and at full power.”

It’s like the air’s been punched out of me. I literally struggle to breathe.

“What?” I croak.

“Yeah, it’s a total mind fuck, isn’t it?” Vidar mutters.

“So what do you want us to do? Get the supernatural council together to start making plans? Are we headed to the Underworld?” I ask, my brain already turning over logistics.

“No. I’ve had a prophecy myself. You need to help me hide this child. And we need to send delegations from the wolves and witches to the fae worlds—Seelie, Unseelie, and Shadow courts. We need armies and total cooperation from the fae to defeat Lucifer—and to ensure our child can play their part,” Hecate explains.

“What exactly is your child supposed to do?” I ask, not loving the idea of hiding a literal goddess.

A strange look flickers across Hecate’s face. “They are a failsafe. That’s all I can say.”

I really, really don’t like the sound of that.

Before we can push for more, she continues, “We’ll have Freya, Mikela, Meredith, and Fatima decide which wolves and witches will go. My handfasteds will speak to them now and pass along the information. But I need the two of you with me. We have powerful magic to work.”

She kisses each of her handfasted males goodbye, then teleports us to her home—straight into her spell room.

The cauldron already boils, and from the scent alone, I know what’s in it: rue, obsidian dust, crushed sulfur crystals, and garlic skins. Two other potions sit waiting on the table.

These are powerful workings. For what purpose, I can only imagine.

“Jamal, I need a few drops of your blood for this potion,” Hecate says calmly. “What this will do is make you my protector. If Lucifer—or any of his minions—can find us and get through all the wards, then you and Bella will be the last line of defense to protect this child.”

Jamal meets my gaze, and we share the same worried look. But what else is there to do? Of course we would lay down our lives for Hecate and her child.

He holds out his hand. Hecate slices his finger with a small knife and massages a few drops of blood into the potion.

The air pressure in the room drops sharply before equalizing—a clear sign the potion worked.

Hecate nods, satisfied. “Good. We’ll steep this silver thread in the potion for a few hours. Then we’ll weave it together with the threads from the concealment and memory protection potions—alongside sunflower seeds—into a spiral pattern. We’ll lay it over the entrance to our hiding place.”

“And just where are we hiding?” I ask, trying to keep the frustration out of my voice. Hecate clearly has all this figured out, but she’s giving it to us in pieces, and it’s driving me nuts.

She meets my eyes. They shimmer like the stars themselves.

“In a pocket of magic outside of time and space,” she says, “in the shadow of the moon.”