The Bellandi twins were racing again.
Which was unfortunate for everyone else in Valdoro.
Especially the people trying to carry baskets.
Or climb ladders.
Or simply exist peacefully.
“Move!”
Guila’s laughter echoed across the rooftops.
Valentina groaned.
“Stop cheating!”
“I’m not cheating!”
“You absolutely are!”
The wind carried them across the town like leaves caught in a storm.
One moment, they stood atop a rooftop.
The next thing, they were airborne.
A gust of wind lifted Guila effortlessly over the narrow alley below.
She landed gracefully on the opposite roof.
Valentina landed less gracefully.
Nearly slipping.
Barely catching herself.
Guila immediately pointed and laughed.
“I saw that.”
“You saw nothing.”
“You almost fell.”
“I did not.”
“You absolutely did.”
Valentina threw a small burst of wind toward her sister.
Guila dodged.
Still laughing.
The sound drifted through the morning air.
Bright.
Carefree.
For a moment, Valdoro felt normal again.
No haunted estates.
No missing records.
No, forgotten families.
Just two Bellandi twins are causing problems.
As usual.
Unfortunately, normal didn’t last.
It never seemed to anymore.
Valentina slowed suddenly.
The smile faded from her face.
Guila noticed immediately.
“What?”
Valentina frowned.
Nothing.
At least she thought it was nothing.
A strange sound had reached her ears.
So faint she almost missed it.
A whisper.
Carried by the wind.
Valentina might be weak when it comes to flight, but her powers are pretty strong when her senses activate.
She turned slowly.
Scanning the rooftops.
The streets.
The chimneys.
Nothing.
Nobody.
Guila tilted her head, looking at her sister.
“Valentina?”
“Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
The wind moved gently around them.
Silent.
Ordinary.
Valentina frowned slightly.
Maybe she imagined it.
“Nothing.”
Guila stared.
“You look weird.”
“Thank you.”
“It wasn’t a compliment.”
Valentina rolled her eyes.
Then jumped from the rooftop.
The conversation ended there.
At least for now.
The afternoon brought warmer weather.
And unfortunately—
Marco Marino.
Giulia spotted him near the market square.
Walking with his usual expression.
The one who suggested he had personally declared war against happiness.
A terrible expression.
One of his favourites.
She immediately changed direction.
Because bothering Marco was practically a civic responsibility.
“Marco!”
The older boy visibly regretted hearing his name.
Excellent.
Giulia caught up easily.
“You look terrible.”
Marco didn’t even look at her.
“Good afternoon to you, too.”
“No, seriously.”
Studying his face dramatically.
“You look like someone cursed your favourite horse.”
Marco stopped walking.
Slowly.
Dangerously.
“I don’t have a favourite horse.”
“That wasn’t the point.”
“I know.”
“Then why answer that part?”
Marco pinched the bridge of his nose.
Giulia grinned.
Victory.
As always.
Or so she thought.
Because something felt off.
Normally, Marco would argue.
Insult her.
Threatened to throw her into the nearest fountain.
Something.
Today, he just looked tired.
Distracted.
Like his mind was somewhere else entirely.
Giulia’s smile faded slightly.
“You okay?”
Marco looked genuinely surprised.
“Asking because you care?”
“No.”
She shrugged.
“I’m curious.”
“That’s worse.”
“Probably.”
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Marco sighed.
The sound carried more weight than she expected.
“The Veraldi estate.”
Giulia blinked.
The smile vanished completely.
Silence.
The name settled between them.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Because some names still carried power.
Even after twenty years.
Especially after twenty years.
“The estate?” she repeated quietly.
Marco immediately looked annoyed.
As though he regretted speaking.
“Forget it.”
“No.”
“Giulia.”
“What happened?”
Marco shook his head.
Then started walking again.
Conversation over.
Apparently.
Giulia watched him leave.
More confused than before.
Because Marco wasn’t afraid of much.
And whatever had happened at the Veraldi estate—
It had shaken him.
That bothered her.
A lot.
Meanwhile, Valentina stood at the edge of town.
Watching the sky.
The birds had been acting all week strangely.
Most people wouldn’t notice.
Valentina did.
The Bellandi family understood air.
Understood movement.
Migration.
Patterns.
And these birds were breaking all of them.
Hundreds of swallows circled above Valdoro.
More arrived every day.
Gathering in unusual places.
The old southern cliffs.
The abandoned ruins.
And most often—
The Veraldi estate.
Valentina frowned.
The birds weren’t nesting.
They weren’t hunting.
They weren’t resting.
They were searching.
For what?
She didn’t know.
But they were looking.
Of that much she was certain.
A swallow landed on the stone wall beside her.
Then another.
And another.
Watching.
Waiting.
As though expecting something.
Or someone.
Valentina shivered.
The sky suddenly felt too quiet.
That evening, the Bellandi estate buzzed with life.
Dinner conversations drifted through the halls.
Laughter.
Stories.
Arguments.
The usual chaos.
Yet Giulia found herself unusually quiet.
Her thoughts kept returning to Marco.
To the strange look on his face.
The way he’d said:
The Veraldi estate.
As though speaking the words had cost him something.
Even now, she couldn’t shake the feeling.
Something was happening in Valdoro.
Something bigger than rumours.
Bigger than gossip.
And somehow—
Everyone seemed to know except her.
The thought irritated her immensely.
Night arrived.
The Bellandi estate settled into silence.
One by one, the lights disappeared.
Doors closed.
Voices faded.
Sleep claimed the household.
Eventually.
Valentina lay awake.
Staring at the ceiling.
The window beside her bed remained open.
A gentle breeze drifted through the room.
Cool.
Comfortable.
Normal.
She closed her eyes.
Then froze.
The wind had changed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
A strange current moved through the room.
Circling.
Whispering.
The hairs on her arms rose instantly.
Slowly, she sat upright.
The room remained empty.
Moonlight spilt across the floor.
Nothing moved.
Yet the sensation remained.
The wind continued turning around her bed.
Soft.
Persistent.
Almost deliberate.
“Hello?” she asked.
No answer.
The breeze brushed against her cheek.
Then her ear.
And suddenly—
A voice whispered.
Not loud.
Not clear.
Barely more than breath.
Ancient.
Fading.
Carried from somewhere impossibly far away.
Or impossibly close.
Three words.
Only three.
Valentina’s eyes widened.
Her heart stopped.
The voice whispered again.
“Find the Fifth.”
Silence.
The wind died instantly.
The room became still.
Completely still.
She stared into the darkness.
Waiting.
Listening.
But nothing else came.
No explanation.
No answers.
Only three words linger in the quiet.
Find the Fifth.
And somewhere beyond the sleeping town of Valdoro—
The wind carried the same message into the night.
As though searching for someone who had been lost for a very long time.