Out of the Shadows // Sebastian Sallow

Chapter Eighty-Nine

I paced. The twins were sleeping in their carriage by the fire. Not a peep could be heard besides the soft boiling of water from the tea kettle.

I kept pacing. Kitchen. Around the chair. Stopped to peek out the window. Past the door. Repeat.

"I wish you would sit and have some tea with me." Anne said softly.

"I can't sit. I'll explode."

She sighed. "Tell me again what happened. Let's talk through it."

Now I sighed. "I don't really know what happened. I have a feeling I knew it was happening though.... I woke up in the middle of the night last night feeling anxious. It took quite awhile to settle down and get back to sleep. And then when we got home... there... there was something pinned to our door. With a knife. Seb didn't even let me look at it. He just... barked at me to get Ominis. And when I apparated back with him, he barked at me to return to you and the children. So, here I wait."

"Well... that is definitely cryptic." She huffed out air. "Ok, well, you all are welcome to stay here as long as you need. I'd love to have my niece and nephew close by. I secretly hate that you all are so far away in Wales anyway... especially since I spent so much time with them when they were first born." She tried to smile comfortingly. I didn't smile back.

Kitchen. Around the chair. Stop by the window. Past the door. Repeat.

I was on autopilot. I just kept moving. If I just kept moving, then everything would be fine.

--

The sun was creeping in through the window. I had finally stopped pacing. Anne had long since gone to bed. I stared out the window, paralyzed with anxiety, for hours. I was counting the streaks that were appearing in the sky. Pink. Yellow. Orange. A glorious winter sunrise.

I'd had no news all night long. For all I knew, my husband and his soon-to-be brother-in-law were dead.

NO. No, don't think that.

He would be home soon. I knew it. He had to be.

The twins started to fuss. I didn't have the patience to sit in the chair and feed them, so I filled their bottles with milk from the icebox and tucked them back into their carriage. I started to pace again.

This was crippling, this not knowing.

I heard a small pop outside the door. I whipped it open so fast. The winter morning chill blasted through the house, waking me up fully as I took in Sebastian and Ominis, both looking exhausted but wholly unharmed.

Their arms laden with items from our home. Bags, too.

"Sebastian!" I cried out, tears running down my face immediately.

"Rach." He said softly.

He moved quickly to get inside the house, dropping everything right at the door and enveloping me in his arms tightly, squeezing the air from my lungs.

I had the quickest glance at his face before he smashed it into my shoulder, kissing it softly and whimpering. His eyes were full of fear and anxiety, his pupils dilated. He squeezed me tightly, pulling me up onto his toes so he could bury his face into my neck and shoulder.

"Oh, Rach..." he uttered quietly, his voice cracking. I could feel wetness on my neck. He was crying.

"Seb... you're scaring me."

He didn't respond at first. Then, he asked softly, "Where are the twins?"

"Over there. The carriage...." I whispered.