Chapter 41: Aiden
My life and the lives of most other vampires on this island had been utterly taken over by the disappearance of the twins. We’d used every hour of the day worrying about them and trying to locate them.
Although Ben appeared shaken by whatever he had gone through in Stellan’s island—far more shaken than Rose—the twins were back.
Life can finally return to normalcy.
The first thing I did was seek out Adelle. She’d been worried sick just like the rest of us, but she hadn’t come with us on any of our excursions because she—along with Abby and a few other witches—had to keep up their duties looking after the children on the island.
I suspected that at this time of day she might still be in her office in the school. I raced through the corridors and knocked on the door, relieved to see that my guess had been correct.
She stood up, her eyes widening as soon as she saw me.
“What’s going on?” she asked, hurrying over to me.
“They’re back,” I panted. “Both twins are safe.”
She clapped a palm over her forehead and breathed out.
“Oh, thank heavens. It feels like this whole island has been holding its breath for their return.”
“Ben’s extremely shaken by whatever happened to him,” I continued. “He has refused to talk about details with anyone yet. But at least physically, he’s recovering under Corrine’s expert care.”
“And Rose?”
“She seems to be fine. A few scratches, but nothing to speak of.”
“I can’t tell you how relieved I am,” Adelle said, leaning against a desk and brushing hair away from her face with the back of her sleeve.
Mirroring her body language, I leaned against the chalkboard.
“Things can finally return to normal,” I said.
“You look exhausted,” she commented, eyeing me.
I nodded. “I think I’m going to go and get some rest. I just wanted to make sure you’d heard the news first.”
“Thank you. It’s much appreciated.”
“And… uh, there also was one other thing I wanted to say.”
I stood up straight, dipping my hands into my pockets as I took a few steps closer to her, casually closing the distance between us.
“And what’s that?” she asked, her eyebrows arched.
“Adelle, I—”
The door crashed open and Sofia sped in, her face alight with panic, sweat dripping from her brow.
“Have you seen Anna?” she panted.
“No,” I said, walking up to my daughter and gripping her shoulders. “What’s wrong, darling?”
“Kyle said she’s disappeared.”
Adelle and I both stared at Sofia, dumbstruck.