The wicked and the brave (Book 1- Valhireya Series- Completed)

Chapter 23

Clara

Saying I will take a bath myself is one thing, but actually getting to the bathroom is a whole different scenario. I feel like a newborn calf. I'm pretty sure I look like one as well given how uncoordinated my moves feel and also judging by Gael's smile.

He is so infuriating! His mere presence makes me lose my mind, yet I know he is the one that took care of me all these years. And he stands here, on my bed, even if I'm being irrational and keep pushing him away. I am aware that this whole thing is not his fault but my grief is not allowing me to be reasonable. All I want is to be alone, to cry myself to death, if possible.

"Why didn't you call Aura sooner? We've known each other for many years and all this time you let me deal with my powers and suffer."

"I knew you would find another thing to blame me for!" He says visibly annoyed, while his smile vanishes from his lips.

"Really? Is that what I'm doing?" I ask him with a mocking voice. "Then why don't you leave me alone? Why don't you return to the institute and let me be?" I raise my voice at him as I feel myself getting a little stronger. It must be the adrenaline in my veins.

"There is nothing for me to go back to! Everything is gone!" He yells at me and turns his head away. "The institute is gone. Luna is living in the elf territories. She is the one who found Aura when she ran away from the horrors of the war."

"I'm sorry..." I mumble ashamed of my assumption.

"Of course you are... that's all you say lately. Why don't you stop with this act you keep pulling off lately and get it in that thick skull of your that you lost your fuckboy but I lost my fuckin' brother?" His words are filled with venom and his eyes burn with pain amd hatred. He gets up from my bed and leaves the room, closing the door with a loud bang.

I am left alone thinking about how selfish I am. I keep thinking about my pain when, in fact, he is suffering more than I can imagine. He lost his brother... blood of his blood... A sense of guilt washes over me, clouding my mind, but I try to shake it off.

I decide that I really do need that shower and I slowly drag myself out of bed and manage to stand up.

Gabriel

I'm getting really tired of her shit! What the fuck did he do to her? She looks like Clara but she sure doesn't act like her. I can't believe she can be so selfish and ignorant. The Clara I know is kind and sweet. She cares about other people, she cares about me... this is not my Clara.

"I need a drink!" I mutter to myself. There's no more alcohol in the house so I'll just go out and raid the bars. I haven't done this in a while, act human.

I mean, yeah... I am a warlock, but tonight I just want to be just another face in the crowd.

I take my jacket and go out into the cold air. I've always hated this city. It's so damn cold here during winters, but Luca loved it. This is why he bought the apartment here. We were always perfect opposites, even though we were twins. The only thing we had in common were our skills, however we choose to enhance different abilities.

As I walk towards the door, I meet Clara, who is struggling to get to the bathroom. Her knees are weak, making her legs shake as she takes each small step. She doesn't look at me. She just opens the door and enters the bathroom.

I exit the apartment, closing loudly the door behind me and go towards the bus station. As I wait for the bus to come, I start thinking about all the bad things that could happen to her while she tries to bathe herself. She could fall in the bathtub, she could slip on the tiles and hit her head against the sink. All these horrible images start playing before my eyes and I find myself wanting to go to the bar less and less.

I end up buying 4 bottles of wine and 2 whiskey bottles from the non stop shop near the bus station and returning home.

As I walk down the empty street in the middle of the night I realize this is home now. There really isn't anything else for me in Valhireya. I could buy a house in a different place, but, right now, this is home.

I enter the appartment, take off my shoes and go straight to the kitchen to place the wine in the fridge. Yeah, I know that wine is not supposed to be kept in the fridge, but it's too warm to drink.

I look at the bathroom door; the light is still on. As I make my way towards it, the door opens and Clara trips and falls into my arms, with only the fluffy towel covering her body.

My mind instantly goes numb, panic surging through me. I pull her close to me and hide my face in the crook of her neck, like I always used to. It used to calm me down instantly but now, things are different. She just stays there, frozen in my arms while I squeeze her harder, trying to get some comfort, something... after a while, I hear her sigh as she rests her cheek against my chest. My mind finally calms down and I kiss the top of her head.

"I'm sorry..." I whisper to her. "I'm sorry that I wasn't there to save him."

She gently pushes herself away from me and looks into my eyes with tears running down her cheeks.

"And I'm sorry for keeping you here, to take care of me, instead of going to Valhireya to help him."

She hides her face in my chest again and for a moment, it feels right. It feels like this is where we are supposed to be.