UNBREAK | D.M (UNRAVEL BOOK 5)

[ 01 ]

Her brother's silence only triggered her to become anxious. Her head was throbbing and she clenched her eyes shut to the seething pain. Memories of the ambush flickered past her, she began to retrace her recollections. She remembered confronting her father about the truth of her life, she remembered feeling remorse about hurting her father's feelings and she remembered the split moment where she felt so angry that she ended up lashing out at him.

But she also remembered him promising that he would fix their relationship and he was willing to give her time to sort out her mind. She remembered wanting to apologize to him. She remembered the attack— the silver arrow that was shot in his direction, the way his body turned cold as crystals began to form on his skin, enveloping him whole until he had shattered like glass. She remembered that Elliot, her father, was killed—

Aine's breath hitched, not wanting to remember suddenly. She shook her head, there has to be a mistake, she was wrong, and her memories were false. 

There was no way that dad— He isn't gone! He must still be busy working and brewing potions. He must have forgotten to come because he was preoccupied... She tries to convince herself.

Forcing on a brave front, she spoke again, "Where... Where did he go?" she questions her brother who already knows who she was referring. Unable to reveal the truth to her, knowing that she'll break apart more than she already has, Aion kept quiet and the stillness looms heavy in the air around them.

"Aion... Where— Where is he?" his little sister asked once more, her voice cracking. She could barely hold herself together. She refused to believe the reality. It was all a dream...

This must also be a dream..!

However, there was only silence.

Please... Please let it be a dream...

Her brows contorted and her lips shook, her words quavering. "No," she said firmly, tears spilling from her eyes she buries her face into her palms and started to sob uncontrollably. "No... No..." she whimpers.

Aion's eyes widened and he bit his lips, trying to keep himself from crumbling again for the hundredth time since he had woken up. He thought that all the tears had been shed, he thought that there were no more tears left. He was wrong. So utterly wrong. He pursed together his lips, shaking. He can't break again. But he too was human and the fact that he was supposed to sacrifice himself for his father ended up the other way around. Before he could even do something properly as his son, Elliot died right in front of his eyes. His father's life slipped through his hands like sand.

Containing his tears was harder, especially since he knew as much as he was hurting, Aine was equally in pain too. He knew like him, she could never forgive herself anymore. The Estoileons could only blame themselves for the loss of their father.

He threw his arms around Aine, embracing her as he strokes her hair and she clutched onto his back, crying into him. The two of them sought comfort in each other, they were the only ones left to grieve for their father. Their mother was gone, and Aine's birth father was nowhere, alive or dead, she didn't know. The only ones who knew the answers were gone. And though they thought they wouldn't lose anyone more than they have within a week since Sirius had died, Elliot was now gone too. 

"I should have protected him, I should have interfered before Cal—" Aine wept, holding tightly on her brother's arm. "I even had my wand with me, I could have shot that man... I... I... I was supposed to protect him as he did for me and I couldn't even do anything—"

But before the girl could go on blaming herself for the death of her father, Aion hugs her tighter, "Stop..." he tells her in a hushed voice, a tear trickling down. "It wasn't your fault, Aine..."