Chapter 201: You Are Completely Different Now
"At that time, my feathers were all ruffled, one wing broken, looking both pitiful and frightening. Other kids would cry and run away when they saw me, or pick up stones to throw at me. But not you. You didn’t hide or fear. You took out some wet wild fruits from your arms and placed them on the stone beside me."
Seraphina Caldwell was stunned.
Those words clearly came from Evan Orwell’s mouth, yet they seemed to echo in her heart thousands of times.
"You even called me Little Crane."
"You wanted to touch my wing, extending your hand but pulling it back again, afraid to hurt me. In the end, you dared to lightly touch it. Your movements were slow, fingertips trembling, and as you touched the feathers, you softly asked if it hurt. I said it didn’t hurt, but it did, yet I didn’t say so. I didn’t want you to worry."
Seraphina didn’t speak, just quietly listening.
Moonlight shone on her face.
Yet somehow, a fluffy little crane appeared in her mind.
The feathers were all ruffled, nestled in a corner, silently tending to its wounds with its beak.
Evan Orwell kept looking at the moon outside the cave, his voice low.
"Later, every time I got hurt, I would secretly fly to where you often stayed. No matter how far, even if I had only one breath left, I would fly over. I knew you would be there. You never made me wait in vain."
"As soon as you saw me, you would take out the fruits you had saved and the sweet dew collected from the mountains. You always cleaned the fruits first, then placed them before me one by one. You crouched down, gently telling me ’Don’t be afraid, it’ll get better’, ’Next time, stay further away’. As you said these words, your eyes were bright, as if convinced that I could hear and that I would recover."
"Once, my wing was cut by a thorn, soaking the feathers in blood. Your eyes were red, yet you didn’t cry. Instead, you imitated adults, using clean leaves to wipe my blood. You wiped carefully, bit by bit, afraid to worsen my wound. As you wiped, you kept saying, do not die, you mustn’t die, you have to turn human to find me."
He paused, the smile at the corner of his lips slowly fading.
"Back then, I thought, when I can transform into a human and protect someone, I must go back to find you, to be your husband for a lifetime."
"But when I did transform and stood before you, the way you looked at me was like looking at a stranger. Gone was the warmth from our childhood, leaving only disdain and coldness."
"But I couldn’t accept it."
He turned his head, his eyes reflecting the moonlight and her silhouette, startlingly bright.
The night wind blew in from the cave entrance, lifting the fringes on his forehead.
"So even if you hated me, I still made a pact with you. But since then...you entirely changed."
She shuffled two steps forward, her knees almost touching his calves.
"Evan, let me see your foot, can you?"
Evan suddenly stiffened, a startled look flashing in his eyes.
The beast skin shoe was removed, and at the moment the foot was revealed, Seraphina’s breath caught.
It should have been an elegant foot shape, but the middle toe was twisted, arching awkwardly.
Near the arch of the foot, close to the ankle, was a scar, faint, trailing along the texture of the skin.
It was a mark of a bone that had once broken and healed incorrectly.
"I’m sorry..."
The moment she spoke, her voice trembled.
She quickly raised her hand, Spiritual Spring Water bubbled from her fingertips, clear droplets dripped down her fingers.
A coolness surged, and Evan’s foot twitched lightly.
But he didn’t retreat, just quietly watching her.
The twisted toes gradually relaxed in the water, the stiff joints started loosening, the disjointed bones gently realigning bit by bit.
Every adjustment came with a slight sting, but no one uttered a sound.
The scar faded bit by bit, its color changing from dark brown to pale pink, then gradually blending into the new skin.
In the blink of an eye, the once limping foot was identical to the healthy leg.
Lines were smooth, fair and well-proportioned, the skin so delicate it was almost impossible to see traces of past trauma.
The blood vessels on the dorsum of the foot redistributed, the arch restored to its original curve.
Only then did Seraphina take a breath, her chest heaving.
Her fingers trembled slightly, the scent of Spiritual Spring Water lingering on her fingertips.
She spoke softly, her voice still a little shaky.
"It’s okay now...it’s fine now."
She just raised her head and met Evan’s gaze.
He had been staring at her.
His stance unmoved, but his body was incredibly tense.
Since suggesting to break the contract, he realized she had changed.
The woman who used to always hit first and ask questions later had disappeared.
Even when speaking, she’d pause first.
For a moment, he even felt that the person he had waited for had finally returned.
But he also understood, she had not.
She originally intended to break the contract with all the Beastfolk, to give up everything from the past, and completely detach from this group.
But in the end, she chose Wyatt Yardley, chose that snake-like man she relied on.
He so longed to keep her by his side, even if it was just for a reason, an excuse.
But his heart felt empty.
Because all she did was never for him.
This feeling of hope mixed with pain, tightened round by round, suffocating him.
Seraphina, under his gaze, felt unease, her fingers unconsciously twisting together.
She opened her mouth, throat dry.
Just about to speak, Evan averted his eyes first.
"Albert Wyndham has spread the word. Before dark, if you don’t return, he’ll kill Wyatt Yardley and the others."
The words echoed against the rock walls, endlessly reverberating.
Seraphina’s eyes were still red, dampness clinging to her lashes.
The anxiety that had just eased roared back, fiercer than before, instantly filling her entire being.
"Did he really say that?"
Evan nodded, his Adam’s apple bobbed slightly.
Seeing her dazed look, his voice lowered.
"He’s holding them hostage just to force you back."
Seraphina’s fingertips were still damp, with some Spiritual Spring Water spilled from the bottle, cold against her skin.
Hearing Evan speak, her eyes reddened further.
But she still bit her lower lip, voice tight.
"Then just take me back to that mountain pass."
"Don’t follow me in. Albert wants me, going in would be a wasted effort, only adding a life to the toll. Leave me outside, I’ll walk back myself. As long as I’m there, he’ll spare Wyatt and the others."
She understood that man’s target was always her.
Capturing others wasn’t for spoils, nor for authority, but a means to force her to reveal herself.
They were taken because she was fleeing.
Now if she appeared, those people would lose their value.
Evan stared at her for a long time, his amber eyes resting on her face.
Even though she was so scared that her fingers twitched, nails almost digging into her palm.
This stubbornness suddenly reminded him of childhood.
Back then, he lay on the muddy ground coughing up blood, consciousness fading, body ice cold.
Yet she squatted in front of him, her small body shielding him from the wind and rain.
The same stubbornness, the same fearlessness.
He took a breath, the night’s cool air filling his nostrils, pressing down the stifled pain in his throat.
His voice lowered, speaking each word clearly.
"Even if you go back, Albert Wyndham won’t free them. He’s deceiving you. Keeping them is useless to him, just more mouths to feed. He doesn’t need these burdens."
Seraphina’s body stiffened, her feet rooted to the spot.