~ Chapter Thirty-Two - Part 1 ~

Katalina was surrounded by darkness. She could see a single inch in front of her. She stuck her hands out and blindly tried to reach for anything. There was nothing around her, though. It was just an open space. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Finally, she spun around in a panic and tried to figure out what was happening. She put her hands to her belly to take comfort from her twins but froze when she felt nothing but her flat stomach.
Katalina started hyperventilating as she tried to remember what had happened to her babies. She was going into a full-blown panic taken when a calming, loving voice spoke from behind her. “Sh. Calm yourself, young one.”
Katalina spun around to find Artemis and her mother standing behind her. She had tears racing down her cheeks as she asked in a hoarse voice. “What happened to my babies?”
Isabella quickly went to her side and pulled her into her arms. “Your twins are healthy and safe,” she whispered. “You gave birth to them an hour ago. They’re safe and healthy with your beloved,” Isabella reassured Katalina.
Katalina sagged against Isabella in relief. “Where am I?” She asked in a whisper.
Artemis smiled. “You’re simply sleeping, my dear,” she said gently. “There was a slight complication from you giving birth.”
Katalina frowned. “What do you mean by complication?” She asked, afraid to know what had happened to her.
Isabella gently stroked Katalina’s hair. “Your heart stopped for about two minutes,” she said quietly.
Katalina looked at her with wide eyes. “What?” She asked in terror.
Isabella shushed her. “It’s okay. The doctor did his job quite well. You’re okay now. You need to rest for the night.”
Katalina took several deep breaths. “Okay. I’m okay,” she whispered.
Isabella kissed her temple. “You’re okay, and so are your twins.”
Katalina nodded. “Okay. That’s good.”
Isabella hugged her tightly. “Your twins are gorgeous, darling,” she said softly.
“Indeed, they are,” Artemis agreed with a small, adoring smile.
Katalina spoke with Isabella and Artemis for a bit before she felt the tug telling her it was time to go home to her beloved and her twins. “I’ll see you guys soon,” she said to Isabella and Artemis. “Give daddy a big hug and kiss for me,” she said to Isabella before she closed her eyes and felt herself getting pulled back toward her body.
Katalina moaned as her eyes fluttered open. She heard a little cry from her right side as she fought to open her eyes fully. Once she finally got them fully extended, she turned her head to the side and practically sobbed joy when she saw her twins next to her.
Damien appeared at her side and gently caressed her hair. “Oh, my dove,” he whispered as he kissed her temple. “I was so damned worried.”
Katalina turned to look at him and smiled lovingly. “Oh, my beloved. I’m so sorry. I love you so much,” she said through her sobs.
Damien gently helped her sit up before hugging her close to his body. “I love you so much, my dove,” he said in a hoarse voice.
Katalina sobbed into his chest for another couple minutes before pulling away and looking at their twins. “Would you like to hold them?” Damien asked in a whisper.
Katalina nodded with tears flowing down her cheeks. “Yes, please.”
Damien stood up and picked up their son. He carefully handed him over to Katalina since he was the one that had been crying. “Oh, he’s gorgeous,” she softly said as she looked down at their son.
“He was born a few minutes before his sister,” Damien explained.
Katalina looked up at him as she started rocking side to side without even realizing it. “You haven’t named them yet?” She asked quietly.
Damien shook his head. “I wanted us to do that together.”
Katalina smiled as she hugged their son close to her heart.
“For him, I was thinking about Elias,” Damien said as he sat in front of her.
The smile was glued to Katalina’s face. “I like that name. What about a middle name?” She asked.
Damien shrugged. “I only got the first name right now,” he said with a chuckle.
Katalina giggled as she thought for a minute. “What about Jayce?” She asked.
Damien grinned. “It’s perfect. Elias Jayce Williams,” he said proudly.
Katalina’s smile couldn’t get bigger, no matter how happy she was. “And what about our daughter?” She asked as she looked at their sleeping daughter.
Damien tilted his head slightly as he thought for a minute. “Hm. What about Seraphina?”
Katalina’s eyes brightened. “I love it. And for a middle name, how about Rose?”
Damien grinned. “Was that your mother’s middle name?” He asked, already knowing the answer.
Katalina blushed but nodded. “Yes.”
Damien chuckled. “Seraphina Rose is a beautiful name,” he said softly.
Katalina smiled and leaned forward to kiss him.
Then she gave Elias her undivided attention. Katalina fed him and changed him before rocking him back to sleep. She smiled in awe and love as she gently laid him down in his crib. As she was straightening up, Seraphina started getting fussy in her crib.
Katalina quickly picked her up and held her close as she soothed their daughter. Katalina did the same routine with Seraphina until she was sound asleep. After she laid Seraphina down in her crib, Damien pulled Katalina into his arms. “You have no idea how happy I am right now,” he whispered.
Katalina smiled and snuggled into him. “I believe I do,” she whispered as she watched their twins sleep while Damien held her close.

~ One Week Later ~

“I’m sorry, boss,” Martin said from where he stood by the door. “She’s safely within her territory, and Daedalus has every inch of it fully monitored and booby-trapped. So we can’t get to her,” he explained.
“Fuck!” Atlas roared as he completely flipped his desk over. “I can’t believe this happened.”
Martin was thoughtful as he took a step closer to the door. “There was no way that we could have known she had that gift,” he said quietly. “What should we do now?” He asked.
Atlas took several deep breaths as he looked out the window behind his desk. “There’s only one thing we can do,” he said with a cruel smirk. “We’re going to destroy them,” he turned to look at Martin. “Get the army ready. We’re going to war.”
Martin nodded and quickly left the office to get their army ready.

It had been a week since they had their beautiful twins. Katalina had immediately jumped back into training to be prepared for the battle they all knew was coming. She trained and practiced as often as she could. Having twins was a bit of a handful, especially during such a horrifying time, but they had a lot of people willing to help them. Everything was working out, but she knew the battle would arrive sooner rather than later.
Katalina was in the gym, working with her short swords while the twins napped upstairs. She was training by herself, but Damien walked in shortly after she had started. “Want a partner?” He asked with a smile.
Katalina grinned brightly. “Absolutely,” she gestured around the room. “Pick a weapon.”
Damien chose his favorite long sword and handed her the one he had bought. She grinned as she slid her short swords into the sheaths at her hips. Katalina took the long sword from him and took a couple of steps away. She stood in the ready position and waited for him to make the first move.
They went back and forth, evading and meeting steel with steel until they heard a sharp cry through the baby monitor Katalina had made sure she had set up. Damien chuckled. “It’s Seraphina,” he said softly.
Katalina giggled. “I love how easy it is to tell their cries apart,” she said as she shook her head and put her sword away. “I’ll grab her. She’s probably hungry,” she said as she wiped her face with a towel.
Damien wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her lips. “I’ll grab her. Knowing our luck, Elias isn’t far behind her.”
Katalina laughed. “Of course. He always wakes up when he hears her. So protective.”
Damien nodded with a wide smile. “Let’s go get our babies.”
They went upstairs to take care of their twins.
They spent the rest of their day with their twins, taking the time to enjoy it before the final battle started.