Chapter 143: Meeting at the Wings (5)
Ms. Pellion kept her gaze steady and unwavering as she continued to study Arthur, who was now actively attempting to avoid any form of eye contact. His eyes darted around the room, focusing on anything and everything except the piercing golden stare that seemed to see straight through to his very soul. The weight of her attention felt almost physical, pressing down on him like a heavy blanket made of lead.
"What was their name?" Ms. Pelligon asked, her voice completely lacking any trace of sympathy or compassion.
Arthur bit down hard on his lower lip, the sharp pain serving as an anchor to keep himself grounded in the present moment. He took a shuddering breath before attempting to force himself to answer, the words feeling like broken glass in his throat.
"L-Luke... Luke Thomas. He was my only friend," he managed to whisper, each syllable carrying the weight of unbearable loss and regret.
The admission hung in the air like a death sentence, and silence settled over the room like a shroud. Even the sound of breathing seemed muffled, as if the very atmosphere had grown thick and oppressive in response to Arthur’s pain.
"How did he die?" Ms. Pellion asked, her gaze growing even more stern and serious, if such a thing were possible. Her golden eyes seemed to glow with an inner light that was both beautiful and terrifying.
Arthur began to shake with raw emotion, his entire body trembling as memories he had tried so desperately to bury came rushing back to the surface. He clenched his hands into tight fists, his knuckles turning white from the pressure, and spat his response through gritted teeth, finally meeting her gaze with eyes that burned with pain and self-loathing.
"I killed him."
The words that came out of his mouth froze the room solid, as if time itself had stopped in response to his confession. The temperature seemed to drop several degrees, and everyone’s faces became frozen masks of shock and disbelief. The silence that followed was so complete it was almost deafening, filled with the weight of a truth that nobody had been prepared to hear.