~ Chapter Twenty-Five - Part 2 ~

Before anyone could say anything else, a flash of light momentarily blinded them. Then, after their vision recovered, they saw Cerberus. He had somehow made himself smaller. He still had his three heads but was now the size of a great day.
Damien shrugged and started heading towards his room with Katalina in his arms. “Jacques, with me. Roman, find Ben and Axel quickly.”
Damien rushed up to his room with Jacques and Cerberus at his heels. Once he walked into his room, he went straight to the bathroom. He turned the faucet on and let it run until it was hot. He plugged up the tub before sitting on the floor with Katalina. Damien moved her around until her back rested against his chest. He carefully pulled Jacques’s shirt over her head. He couldn’t get enough air into his lungs as he took in the wounds on her back and arms.
Tears shamelessly slid down Damien’s face as he pulled her bra off. His breath shuddered as he moved to her pants. He unbuttoned them and carefully lifted her enough to push her pants and panties down her thighs. Damien tossed them aside and wrapped his body around hers as he stood up. He was setting her into the tub of steaming hot water when Jacques finally walked into the room. “I know how bad she looks,” Jacques said as he slid to the floor next to the door. “She looked worse when I first found her in Tartarus. I couldn’t heal her. I barely had enough blood to survive myself,” he sighed as he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.
Damien frowned as he carefully started washing Katalina’s body. “How are her wounds partially healed then?” He asked.
Jacques chuckled. “Artemis,” he said. “Katalina prayed to her for help, and she had Asclepius heal her just enough to be functional. He also made sure that she had enough blood to help me.”
Damien moved on to Katalina’s hair as he asked. “Why is she ice cold?”
Jacques was silent for a few minutes before he finally started speaking. “It’s a new power,” he said as if speaking too loud would attract the wrong attention. Even in the safety of Damien’s own home. “Yet it’s as old and ancient as the gods themselves,” he shook his head. “Long ago, before the war with Atlas, there was a kingdom to the west of here. On the throne of that kingdom sat the most powerful couple in the world. At that time, anyway.”
Jacques watched as Damien carefully picked up Katalina and drained the tub. He had her wrapped in a towel while the tub filled again. “Give me just a minute, Jacques,” Damien set Katalina back in the tub with fresh hot water. Then he cleared his mind and spoke to Sebastian through their mind link. ‘I need you to get the doc and come to my house right now.’
Sebastian didn’t ask any questions. ‘Be right there.’
Damien looked at Jacques. “The doc is on his way. He’ll look you over and help in any way he can.”
Jacques shook his head. “No need. Now that we’re out of Tartarus, I’ll heal in no time,” he ran a hand through his hair. “Now, back to this new power of Katalina’s,” he clicked his tongue. “I was young at the time and didn’t care, but legend says that the king was a powerful fae and the queen was a demigod. Her mother had been a goddess, and her father had been a powerful warlock. Both gifts would have made her a powerful being, but they made her almost invincible. She had gifts from both of them. And she also got something else. She got a power that was a combination of them both. It was light, and everything was good in the world. Yet it was also quite terrifying. It could heal any wound, no matter how close to death a person was. Or it could level an entire city in a single devastating wave,” he shook his head. “There had been a war. It wasn't enjoyable. So many lives on both sides. The war lasted for years,” he sighed as he closed his eyes. “At the beginning of the war, the queen had gotten pregnant. No one knew about it. She kept herself hidden for the duration of her pregnancy. Everyone thought that she was sick. They prayed for her health and never questioned it. So when she finally died protecting her beloved city, the world thought she was the end of her bloodline. Only a very rare few knew of the child by the time she passed away. And it seems that Katalina is a descendant of the queen.”
Damien sat in astonishment for a minute. Then he shook his head and washed Katalina up again. When Damien was sure she was clean, he carefully pulled her out of the tub. He wrapped a towel around her before holding her close to his body. Damien grabbed another towel as he walked into the bedroom. He sat down in front of the fireplace. He kept Katalina on his lap as he started drying her hair. “Could you get a fire going?” He asked Jacques. “She’s still freezing.”
Jacques started a fire as quickly as he could.
Damien held Katalina close as the fire roared to life and Cerberus and Daemon lay at his feet.
Jacques sighed heavily as Benjamin, Axel, Sebastian, Roman, and Nathan entered the room. “I see Kat brought home another stray,” Axel said with a smile as he studied Cerberus. He tilted his head slightly. “I thought he’d be bigger.”
Jacques scoffed. “Cerberus has some magic that allowed him to shrink down so he can fit through the doorway.”
Axel chuckled. “I take it he didn’t want to leave her side,” he said as he sat next to Damien.
Jacques shrugged. “Well, she does have a way with creatures like him,” he laughed. “Not to mention she saved his life in Tartarus.”
Benjamin looked at Cerberus with wide eyes. “How did that happen?” He asked.
“Jacques will tell us everything that happened while they were in Tartarus as soon as we know that Kat is okay,” Damien said firmly. He looked between Axel and Benjamin. “I want one or both of you to check on her with magic,” he looked at Nathan. “I want you to check her medically. Though there’s something, you all should know. For now, it stays in this room. This information does not leave this room until she’s awake and we talk about it. Does everyone understand?” He demanded.
Everyone nodded their agreement.
Damien gently moved Katalina’s hair out of her face. “Kat’s pregnant,” he said in a soft voice. “We’re having a baby,” he said in awe.
Jacques frowned. “Katalina told me that she’s pregnant with twins,” he said in confusion.
Damien’s forehead creased in confusion. “That doesn’t make sense,” he gently lifted Katalina as he grabbed the sonogram. “There’s only one baby in this sonogram,” he said as he showed everyone the picture.
Jacques’s frown deepened. “Why would she tell me that you’re having twins?” He asked rhetorically.
Benjamin snapped his fingers. “I think I know why,” he knelt in front of Damien and Katalina. He lovingly rested his hand on her belly and closed his eyes. He sent his magic seeking through her and was surprised at what he found. He pulled his magic back into himself and opened his eyes. He leaned back on his heels. “Oh yeah. She’s pregnant with twins. For sure.”
Damien sat there in wonder. He couldn’t even form a coherent thought as he stared at Katalina in adoration.
Jacques crossed his arms as he looked at Benjamin. “How is it possible for the second child not to appear in the sonogram?” He asked as he looked between Axel and Benjamin.
Benjamin chuckled. “The child in the front is protecting the other. I can tell she’s not that far along, but the first child is mighty already,” he shook his head as he stood up.
“I’ve never heard of an unborn child having magic that powerful. Especially this early in the pregnancy,” Jacques said in astonishment.
Axel clicked his tongue. “You know what?” He said as he sat forward in his spot on the couch. “I’ve heard a myth about this,” he said as the doctor started his check-up on Katalina. “It was eons ago. I was just a young boy at the time. There was this princess who was loved by all. She was a witch. She was not the most powerful, but she could hold her own against most enemies. After many years she had finally found her beloved. They were together for quite some time before they decided to have kids.”
Benjamin let out a small laugh. “Of course. I remember her,” he said as he shook his head and continued the myth. “It had been quite difficult for them to conceive. Once they did, though, it was the thing as now. The sonogram showed only one child, but there were two. The first child somehow used magic to hide the second from everyone except the mother.”
“That explains that, then,” Jacques muttered sarcastically.
Benjamin shrugged. “No one ever discovered how it was possible, but once the children were born and old enough, they were the most powerful beings ever known. And that was when they were alone. Together,” he blew out a breath. “They could demolish the entire world.”
Axel scoffed as he ran a hand through his hair. “If I remember correctly, they almost did once.”
Benjamin nodded. “Yeah. They had just turned seventeen, and some kingdom enemy somehow managed to kidnap their mom. When they found out, they completely lost it. Their father kept them calm just long enough to learn about who took her. Once they knew there was no stopping them. Their mother got to them just in time to prevent the world from ending.”
Sebastian let out a low whistle. “Sounds like you’re going to have your hands full,” he said with a chuckle.
Damien shook his head with a small smile. He looked at the doctor. “How is she?” He questioned.
Nathan sighed. “She’s okay considering everything she’s been through the last few days. I already mind-linked my assistant. He will bring me ointments, bandages, and IVs for blood and nutrients. She’s going to need both, especially with the pregnancy,” he ran a hand through his short blonde hair. “Then, when she wakes up, I want to see her in my office for an ultrasound. We don’t know what kind of effect this whole ordeal had on the twins.”
Damien waved him off. “The twins are healthy. I got Eiltheyia to put a protective shield around Kat’s womb. They’re safe and healthy,” he explained as he held Katalina a bit closer.
Everyone was surprised, but no one said anything as he tenderly rubbed Katalina’s belly, even though she wasn’t that far along yet. Then, finally, Nathan’s assistant arrived with everything he needed and stood by the bed. “Could you move her to the bed, please?” Nathan asked him politely.
Damien stood up with Katalina in his arms and carried her to the bed, with Daemon and Cerberus following behind him. Damien gently laid her on the bed and ensured the towel covered her. He gave the doctor a nod as he moved to the other side of the bed. He tenderly ran his fingers through her hair as the doctor got to work.