Chapter119

Deborah's POV

Here's the translation of the given section into English, using a style similar to the Twilight series:

The moment I shut the door, it felt as if the world outside had been sealed off, leaving only Chad and me in the room.

My room wasn't large. A small single armchair sat near the window, bathed in the soft, cold glow of moonlight that seeped through the narrow gap in the curtains. I sat down, wrapping my arms around myself, trying to steady the unease fluttering inside me.

Chad walked over without hesitation, his eyes sweeping over the room's sparse furnishings before resting on the armchair's narrow armrest beside me. He settled there casually, like it was his own space, his presence effortlessly commanding the room.

His proximity made me lean back instinctively, creating a small distance between us.

But his voice soon broke through the fragile silence. "Careful," he said, his tone calm but firm. "The walls might have ears."

Startled, I glanced up at him. His expression remained composed, yet his warning carried an unmistakable weight.

After a moment's hesitation, I inched closer again, closing the gap I had created. If I had decided to trust him enough to bring him into my room, then I couldn't second-guess him now.

"Ask," he said, breaking the silence again. His voice was smooth, deliberate. "If you have questions, now's the time. Anything you want to know."

"What are the Sky Cities Coalition Forces?" I asked directly, cutting to the heart of what had been troubling me since I overheard the term.

He raised an eyebrow, his lips curving faintly in a way that wasn't quite a smile. "It's what's been keeping us all so busy lately," he replied with a trace of dry humor. "The newest weapon designed specifically to deal with Tirfothuinn."

"Why?" I pressed, frowning.

He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he turned to me with a calm, searching look. "Don't you already know?" he countered.

I blinked at him, confused. Already know? The certainty in his voice unsettled me. Sometimes, I wondered if he had a power like Telepathy, an ability to pick apart my thoughts before I could even give voice to them.

As if sensing the doubt flickering in my mind, Chad leaned back slightly, his tone unhurried. "The wolves are free now," he said. "No one's left to mine Falshi for them, and the reserves are running low. The Sky Cities won't last much longer without it."

His words felt like a cold blade pressing against my chest.

"Them?" I murmured, the word carrying a strange weight. I suddenly remembered—Chad was part wolf himself.

I lifted my gaze to meet his. He was still turned slightly away, looking out the window, his profile cast in soft silver light. His features were calm, impassive, as if he were merely reciting facts rather than something that should have mattered to him personally.

Sensing my gaze, he turned slightly, his eyes catching mine. In that moment, something sharp and unspoken passed between us. My heartbeat faltered.

In his eyes, I saw an emotion I hadn't expected—familiar yet unexpected. Love. Deep, restrained, yet undeniable. It washed over me like a wave, pulling me under before I could regain my footing.

My mind reeled with flashes of another life—of him looking at me just like this, except then he had called me Lianora.

The memory knocked the breath out of me. I quickly looked away, breaking the moment.

He chuckled softly, a low, knowing sound. "Wasn't it you who told me to look at you?" he teased. "Why are you backing out now?"

I cleared my throat, forcing myself to focus. "So… just because Falshi is running out, they want to enslave the wolves again?" My tone was sharper than I intended, but I couldn't stop myself.

"It's not that simple." His voice turned quieter, heavier. "You've freed them. They won't go back to being obedient."

"But?" I prompted, sensing there was more.

He didn't answer right away, and when he did, his tone was disturbingly calm. "But that doesn't mean they can't be sealed again."

"Sealed?" My voice sharpened. "How?"

"By you," he said simply, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world, his tone carrying a faint note of amusement. "You're the witch, after all."

For a moment, I couldn't respond. His casual response left me momentarily speechless.

Yes, I was a witch. But it had been so long since I'd thought of myself that way that the weight of the title felt foreign.

"Is sealing them that easy?" I asked quietly, doubt lacing my voice.

"Of course not," he said, his lips curving into a small, humorless smile. "It might require some help from a priest."

"A priest?" I echoed, the word slipping out, heavy with unspoken fear.

He turned toward me, his eyes sharp. "But as far as we know, the priest family is gone. All of them. So sealing the wolves is… complicated."

His words allowed me to exhale in relief. The priest family—that was my secret. And no one knew that. I was the last of them, and as long as I remained hidden in Deborah's identity, their plans to reseal the wolves would remain just that—plans.

"But," he added, his voice soft but deliberate, "who's to say there aren't still priests out there, hiding?"

My breath caught, and I turned away, hoping to mask the tension that tightened in my chest. His words cut too close. He couldn't know. Could he?

I forced myself to change the subject. "So that's why they're attacking Tirfothuinn? Just because of the wolves?"

"Not just that," Chad said, leaning back on the armrest, his tone casual but laced with meaning. "You've been there. You know how beautiful it is. A place that untouched, that pure—who wouldn't want it?"

His words hit me like a blow. Tirfothuinn's beauty was undeniable, but for someone like me—someone with Demon blood—it remained unreachable, forever beyond my grasp.

I looked down, the sting of his words cutting deeper than I'd expected. My silence must have betrayed me, because Chad's voice softened.

"Then fix it," he said, his tone lighter. "Get rid of that label. Shed it."

I raised my head, startled. "Fix it? What do you mean?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he simply held my gaze, his eyes steady, filled with something I couldn't quite decipher. Then his lips quirked into a faint, enigmatic smile.

And just like that, the distance between us grew more immense than ever.