Chapter 51 ACCIDENTAL
WILLA’S POV
I was bubbling with excitement to see Calisto and Gillian as I entered the two-storey cottage I had called my home for the last six years. But a dark and heavy foreboding feeling quelled the excitement when I noticed the lack of bustle and life.
I had expected to be welcomed by the happy chatter and twinkling laughter of my children.
Instead, I was greeted by silence.
Eerie silence.
Dread rolled my stomach into a tight knot. Did Gallahan and his men somehow find my home and took my children away?
But that was impossible. I had asked Sarina to re-establish the protective enchantments around the house and make them stronger. She was also looking after the twins, and she would’ve put up a fight until the cottage cave in before letting anyone lay a finger on Calisto and Gillian.
“Er, Willa?” Lewis murmured as he followed me further into the house with cautious steps. “I think something is terribly wrong. You said the twins should be here.”
I wanted to say something, but I couldn’t give him a proper response when my mouth had gone drier than the sand in the desert.
Because Lewis was right.
Something was terribly wrong.
I checked the dining area and the kitchen, but it was as empty as our small living area. With Lewis in tow, I headed upstairs and marched towards my twins’ shared bedroom, heart nearly thudding out of my ribcage due to the monstrous apprehension that had taken grip on me.
I flung the door open, and the total relief nearly melted me into a heap on the polished herringbone flooring when I saw them peacefully sleeping on their respective beds.
But the relief didn’t last long, because Sarina’s panicked face came into view.
She pulled me inside the twins’ bedroom and exclaimed, “THANK YOU, CIRCE! YOU’RE FINALLY HERE! WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?!”
There were dried tear tracks on her cheeks, and her eyes were mildly pinkish, betraying the fact that she had been crying.
Fear seized my heart, like a speedy predator to an unsuspecting prey.
“I had a run-in with Gallahan,” I explained vaguely. “Why? What happened? Are you okay? Why were you crying?”
“Yes! I am okay. But, gods, Willa. Calisto and Gillian, they were… They were just playing and, and…”
Sarina burst into tears, wrapping her arms around me as she continued to sob.
“Lewis, please get Sarina a glass of water. Maybe a glass of brandy might also help,” I requested as I wrapped my arms around Sarina in an attempt to console her.
Lewis, despite the obvious emotional state Sarina was in, snorted in amusement. “You have a bottle of brandy here, lying around somewhere?”
“Don’t judge,” I said, sending him a mild glare over Saria’s head. “Grandpa, William, and I drink together from time to time. The goddess knows I needed a bit of alcohol from raising two amazing but quite handful kids.”
“Alright, alright,” Lewis replied with his hands lifted in the air as if he was surrendering. “One glass of water and one glass of brandy coming right up!”
“The brandy is in the far-left and topmost cupboard in the kitchen,” I informed him loudly just as he slipped out of the room.
“Sarina,” I said gently, leading her to sit at the foot of Gillian’s bed. “It’s okay.”
For some reason, my effort just resulted in more wailing. “No, it’s not!”
I knelt in front of her and clasped her cold hands in mine. “Hey, calm down. You might wake up Gillian and Calisto. They already had quite the excitement tonight, after all.”
“But that’s the thing!” Sarina argued. “They wouldn’t wake up!”
My world seemed to have suddenly screeched to a stop, only to lurch forward so quickly the next moment.
I felt lost. Sarina’s words kept ringing in my head, but my mind refused to let them sink in.
In the end, all I could get past my lips was a small and breathy, “What?”
With a voice that quivered under immense distress, Sarina bravely recounted what happened.
“We were just here, in this room. They were playing with their toys while talking excitedly about the Ascension Rite. I was… I was sitting next to them on the floor, just listening. But then… But then Gillian suddenly said she was feeling unwell. Calisto said the same. Then in the next second, both of them were already lying unconscious.”
A sob interrupted Sarina’s tale, and I couldn’t do anything to soothe her, because my own emotions had also gotten the best of me.
Tears had slid down on my face, flowing in steady rivulets, and my throat had gone incredibly tight, making it difficult to say anything.
I already had an inkling what caused them to be unwell. But there was a big part of me that didn’t want to accept it.
There was no way.
I couldn’t have…
My breath came out labored, and the world seemed to fade around me.
“I actually ran a quick diagnostic spell on them, Willa,” Sarina managed to say in between hiccups and sniffles. “But nothing is amiss. I couldn’t find any explanation for this. I don’t know why they wouldn’t wake up.”
Just then, Lewis came back, holding a glass of water in one hand and a glass of brandy in the other.
I quickly rose to my feet and grabbed the alcohol from Lewis without so much of a word. Then I greedily chugged the drink in one go.
“Okay,” Lewis said slowly as he eyed me with wariness and concern. “What’s going on?”
Sarina’s answer was to sob harder, and while I understood her tears and I love her deeply, it was honestly getting quite irritating. Her crying was starting to grate on my ears, and it was just unhelpful.
I sniffed and wiped my cheeks dry with the back of my hand. Then I closed my eyes and heaved a much needed big breath.
“Okay,” I mumbled to myself. “Okay… I’ve got this. I am Willa Alfiero, and I can handle this.”
I drew in another deep inhale as I cleared my mind and tapped into the mind link that connected me and William.
‘Will, please come here. Immediately. Bring Dad, Mom, and Grandpa with you. I don’t care if the feast is still far from over. I need you. Calisto and Gillian need you. It’s an emergency.’
I paused, thinking it would be enough. But then, after giving it a second thought, I decided to admit something I didn’t want to be true. All because it had to be said, one way or another. And honestly? I didn’t have the courage to confess it in front of my family.
So, I swallowed thickly and told my brother through our mind link, ‘I think… I think I have accidentally rejected the twins and severed my parental blood link with them. Their father had also done the same.’