Chapter 49: Chapter 49: The Mother of All

Cionna’s POV

Waves of emotion course through my entire body. My knees shake under my weight, and my father rushes to my side. Putting some of my weight on him, he walks me over to the living room couch. My fingers tingle from his touch. They are real.

My mother and aunt sit across from us in silence while I fight to settle my breathing. I’m afraid to exhale for fear that they would vanish. My mother is the first to break the tension.

“Cionna, I know you have questions and I wish we had all the answers, but we’ll try our best. Your aunt filled in some of the gaps.”

“How are you two even here? I failed. I didn’t have enough strength to finish the ritual.”

“I’m not going to get into how stupid it was to risk your life on that ritual, but we don’t know. We woke up in a park not too far from the cemetery. We knew your aunt had the house, so we found our way here. After a lot of screaming, cleansing, blessing, and overall interrogation she called you.”