Tides of deception ✺ Outlander/Stephen Bonnet Fanfic

♤54. Infinite Circle 🕷

The building felt cold and empty, the air thick with the charred smell from te fire.

William Bradley moved through the smoky, dim corridor of the cell block, his footsteps measured. He planned to break Stephen Bonnet, to twist the knife in his heart by showing how vulnerable Maria was alone in her cell. His twisted mind thought of stripping her down, to have his way with her. He gestured for the guards to halt before Maria's cell, a wicked grinn spreading across his face in anticipation of her despair. But his expression shifted as he looked in-both cells were empty.

Williams face tightened with barely restrained fury. He turned to the guards, his voice an angry hiss. "Where is she?"

The guards shifted uncomfortably "We noticed some keys were missing a few hours ago" one managed, glancing away from the storm brewing away on William's face. "They must have gotten a hold on it and slipped away during the chaos of the fire"

William seethed, his hands clenching into fists. "Idiots! We'll have to keep this quiet" As far as anyone's concerned, they're dead-suffocated by the smoke of the fire". His voice was ice-cold, calculating. "I'll have men find two bodies to cover this up. No one will know that they're missing"

He turned to one of the guards. "Send men to search for them. If they're found... kill them both. Quietly, do you understand?"

The guards nodded, swallowing hard, and William allowed himself a dark smile. This was still going to end on his terms.

✺

Moments later William strode into Stephen's cell with a controlled, chilling calm. Stephen sat slumped in the corner, his head barely lifting to acknowledge him. William stepped forward, pulling Maria's auburn braid from of his coat pocket and letting it hang in the dim light. He relished the look on Stephens face as his gaze caught it, a spark of recognition and horror flaring in his eyes.

"I enjoyed every bit of her soft flesh Bonnet, how she cried when I fucked her. She must have been one of your best whores" William began, his voice low dripping with malice. "I'm almost sad that I found her dead this morning, it must have been the smoke from the fire, you must have smelled it, it was quite something"

Stephen's hands tightened into fists, his jaw clenched, eyes darkening. "You're lying."

William chuckled, letting the braid dangle closer, taunting him. "Am I?" He watched Stephen closely, as each word seemed to drain something vital from him. "She's gone, Bonnet. Gone," William murmured. "Cold, lifeless in the cell-she suffered greatly."

Stephen rose to his feet and lunged forward, but the chains held him back, his anger palpable. William only laughed, crossing his arms as he casually leaned against the cell door, savouring Stephens helplessness.

"She's dead," he repeated slowly, a glint of satisfaction in his eyes. "And now you know it. You're alone, Bonnet. No one left to save."

Stephens breath hitched, his anger morphing into something raw and guttural. His eyes fell one last time to the braid in William's first, a shattered look overtaking him as he crumpled back against the wall, shoulders slumping, the weight of grief bearing down. The silence stretched, broken only by his ragged breathing as William turned and exited the cell, his smile spreading wider as he heard a hoarse, anguished echo down the corridor.

✺

Days blended together in Stephen's cell, a haze of fractured memories and hollow visions. His mind clung to the faintest fragments-her face, the scent of her skin, the haunting lilt of her voice-yet each memory seemed to slip further from his reach, a ghostly echo that mocked his desperation. At night, he was tormented by dreams of drowning, but this time, there was no voice to guide him, no one reaching to pull him to safety. Only silence.