Deborah's POV
The silence inside the car felt like a heavy fog, dense and suffocating as it enveloped us.
Chad focused on the road ahead, his expression calm and unreadable, seemingly unbothered by my hesitation to speak. Meanwhile, I kept my gaze fixed on my hands, my fingers unconsciously fidgeting as I tried to untangle the whirlwind of thoughts in my mind.
Just as I began to think he wouldn't address the tension, Chad slowly pulled the car to the side of the road. The hum of the engine quieted, leaving the interior steeped in stillness. He leaned back into his seat and turned his head slightly to look at me. His expression was steady, though his eyes held a trace of scrutiny.
"Ask what you want to ask," he said, his tone light but with a firmness that left no room for deflection. "No need to hold back. I know you have a lot of questions."
I clenched my hands together, refusing to meet his gaze.
Yes, I had questions. Countless ones. Ever since we returned from Hybrasil, they had been swirling in my mind like an uncontrollable storm, refusing to settle.
Chad's recent behavior was far too suspicious. Somehow, he seemed to know all my plans, even stepping in to shield me at critical moments. Yet he hadn't uttered a single word to Lugh. How could the same man who had wielded the key to Hybrasil's destruction suddenly seem so… trustworthy? It didn't make sense.
"You're not curious," Chad began again, his voice as calm as before, though it carried an edge sharp enough to cut through my thoughts, "how I know everything you're thinking?"
I stiffened but said nothing.
"You're not curious why I've been keeping your secrets?" His words were deliberate, slow, each one a blade aimed at my defenses.
I pressed my lips together, my palms damp with sweat. His questions struck at the heart of my doubts, but I couldn't bring myself to respond. What was I supposed to say? That I feared his answers might shatter the fragile understanding I had of him?
But Chad didn't give me the luxury of retreating further.
"Because Mary is my mother too."
The words echoed in the confined space of the car, spoken with a quiet intensity that left no room for denial.
My breath caught in my throat, my pulse pounding in my ears. It felt as though lightning had struck, shattering my thoughts into disjointed fragments.
"What did you just say?" My voice trembled, disbelief thick in every syllable.
Chad leaned back against his seat, his gaze unwavering as he studied me. He didn't repeat himself, nor did he elaborate. It was as though he was giving me space to process the weight of his revelation.
Mary… his mother?
The air in my lungs grew heavy, and my chest tightened painfully. My thoughts spiraled uncontrollably, and against my will, an image surfaced—Mary's sacrifice.
To break the chains that bound the werewolves of Tirfothuinn, I had offered her life as part of the ritual. At the time, she had been little more than a name to me, a means to an end. I hadn't known her, hadn't tried to. But now, Chad's words reshaped everything.
"Mary?" I murmured her name, the sound foreign on my tongue. "You're her son?"
"Yes." His answer was simple, delivered with a calm that belied the storm raging within me.
"And Matthew…" My voice faltered as I forced the words out. "You're brothers?"
Chad nodded. "Half-brothers. Same mother, different fathers."
I stared at him, my mind reeling. I couldn't reconcile the Chad I knew with this revelation. He and Matthew were polar opposites in every conceivable way—yet they shared the same bloodline? It was a truth I struggled to comprehend.
"So…" I began, grasping for understanding, though my voice wavered under the weight of my emotions. "You've been helping us because of Matthew?"
"It's not just about Matthew." Chad's tone remained measured, though his expression softened, revealing a sliver of emotion. "Mary wanted me to protect you. Both of you. I'm simply fulfilling her wishes."
Mary wanted him to protect us?
His words were a slow, twisting blade, cutting deeper into my confusion. My mind raced with fragmented memories, each one piecing together a narrative I hadn't considered before.
At the time of the ritual, I hadn't known that Mary was tied to either Chad or Matthew. To me, she had been a necessary sacrifice for Tirfothuinn's survival. But now, Chad had woven her into my life in a way I couldn't ignore. She wasn't just their mother—she had become the unspoken bridge that connected all of us.
My chest tightened further, as though an invisible weight was pressing down on me.
"If Mary was your mother…" I began cautiously, my voice betraying the unease I tried to suppress, "then why did you take part in the Hybrasil massacre?"
At the mention of Hybrasil, my gaze hardened. The destruction of my home was a wound that had never healed, and Chad's role in it was something I could neither forget nor forgive.
Chad lowered his eyes, a flicker of pain crossing his otherwise impassive features. He hesitated for a moment before speaking, his voice heavy.
"Because I didn't have a choice."
"Didn't have a choice?" My tone sharpened, anger bubbling to the surface. "So you chose to murder your own people? To destroy Hybrasil with your own hands?"
Chad met my glare, his eyes reflecting a weariness I hadn't noticed before. "Deborah, do you really think Lugh gives anyone a choice? Refusing him isn't just a death sentence for yourself—it's a death sentence for everyone you care about."
"So you gave in?" My voice was cold, my words laced with venom. "You betrayed your own mother and brother just to save your own life?"
Chad's jaw tightened, and for the first time, genuine pain flashed in his expression. "I won't defend what I did," he said quietly. "But some things… I've been trying to make right."
"Make right?" I laughed bitterly, the sound hollow. "Do you really think you can?"
He didn't respond. The weight of his silence only stoked the anger burning in my chest.
The tension in the car thickened until it felt suffocating. Only the low hum of the engine filled the void between us.
"Does Matthew know?" I asked finally, breaking the silence. "That you're his brother?"
Chad's gaze drifted toward the window. "He's known since before he came to the floating cities."
"What?" My shock was palpable.
Matthew had never mentioned this to me. Not once. Even during our most vulnerable moments, this truth had remained hidden. Not a single memory of Chad had surfaced during my telepathic glimpses into his mind.
"Seems like you two aren't as close as you thought," Chad remarked, his tone carrying a faint note of mockery.
My thoughts spiraled further into chaos. Chad's confession didn't bring clarity—it only deepened my uncertainty. I couldn't forgive him, but neither could I dismiss his current actions. He was tangled in the same web as Matthew and Tirfothuinn, his presence a constant reminder of the fragile balance we all walked.
Finally, I closed my eyes, letting out a slow breath. "Drive me home, Chad."
Without a word, Chad started the car, the hum of the engine rising as he guided us back into the night. As the Edwards estate loomed closer, the weight of everything settled over me, unrelenting and inescapable.