Blood and Stars

Stories

It took a lot of work, but Avery finally let her go down alone. He stayed at the door to the stairs that lead down to the cells as she made her way down them.

Her eyes adjusted to the dark, and found the only man in the cells. He look worse for wear, and glared at her as she came into view.

"Come to gloat, have you?" Walter spat.

"No." Mia replied evenly, her fists clenched at her sides.

"Then what do you want, wrench?"

Her nails bit into her skin. "Just to ask a question."

He sneered. "Why should I even answer it?"

Mia kept herself completely calm and tilted her head. 

"Because I'm not down here because of your actions recently. I'm here about what you did years ago."

Now, he looked confused, but remained silent as she asked him her question.

"Did you know you weren't a Starling fourteen years ago?"

When you claimed to be one in the name of killing my mother.

He eyed her. "Why?"

"I'll tell you when you answer it."

Walter seemed to be frustrated, but answered her. "Yes, I knew. Now why?"

Mia couldn't help herself. Her fists clenched harder, and her eyes stung.

He had murdered her mother for no reason. At first, he had had one, twisted as it was. Now it was revealed he had no reason to take an innocent life.

"I just wanted to know how sick you truly are," she whispered. "I had no idea horrible you are."

"What are you talking about?" He asked, eyes narrowed.

Her heart pounded in her ears in her desire to bury her knife in his chest. Instead, she merely spoke again, keeping herself in check.

"Fourteen years ago, Walter Emery. Don't you remember?"

She loved how confused he was, but she hated him for it at the same time. She took sick satisfaction with playing with him.

"Fourteen years?" He scoffed. "Why would I?"

Mia laughed, but it held no humor.

"You don't remember murdering a helpless woman. Why would you?"

Walter's eyes shot wide open in shock, and he snarled at her, grabbing the bars of his cell.

"How could you know that?!" He snarled. "No one even knew the blasted woman."

"You don't even remember," Mia turned her back on him, eyes shut tightly. 

"Remember what?"

She kept her tone carefully level.

"That the woman you sliced the throat of was a single mother."

Walter snorted, "She was a hiring nanny. She always had some brat with her, it wasn't hers."

Something snapped in Mia. She spun on her heel, spitting in his face.

"That was her daughter!" She spat. "Her own child. And you murdered her mother in front of her."

Walter sneered, "Then I would have killed it too, had I known it was hers. Bloodstones have no place in Astana."

He still had no idea Mia was that girl. She spun, forcing herself to leave.