𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥 𖥸 𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩 𝘼𝙣𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙨

03 | Unforgivable Crimes

Kyran could hardly breathe.

     Her sapphire eyes, dull and full of fear, were widened and she could feel the adrenaline pump through her bloodstream. Why did everything always have to go wrong when she was at the palace.

     The woman - Kateri had her in an iron grip, one she couldn't break free from even if she did have two arms. Her scalp was throbbing from the pain and she could already feel blood beginning to drip down her neck from the knife cutting into her throat. Was this her end?

     Pythios had retreated up the stairs and out of the prisons, leaving her at the mercy of this assassin who wanted nothing more than her suffering.

     He'd just left her.

     Kyran knew she shouldn't have felt that way. He was doing it to save her after all. But still, she couldn't help but feel slightly betrayed at the gesture.

     Why did she have to leave Sīd back in her room?

     The Serpent had been simply snoozing on her bed by the time they had left, fully expecting them to return in thirty minutes. But she probably might not be the one who's coming back.

     With the grip on her neck and the tightening of the blade against her throat, she knew she was running out of both air and time. Why did everything have to be against her will?

     When the woman was positive he was gone and out of sight, she threw her to the floor and slipped her blade back into her boot. She gave a lazy stretch of her limbs, not saying a word and simply looking amused.

     "What is it that you want from me?" Kyran demanded, tired of the heavy silence.

     "Your suffering. Don't you see? You're pathetic and don't deserve to be a member of Stetriolan's court. Not after what you did to Bella."

     There was something eerily familiar about her, something Kyran couldn't quite place her finger on as she fixed her with a hard stare. Bella? She'd never met a person named Bella in her entire life.

     "Who the hell is that?"

     Something flashed in Kateri's eyes. "You'll find out soon enough. She'll be the one putting the blade through your miserable heart anyway."

     Kyran rubbed the base of her throat with her remaining arm, feeling her hand become sticky with blood. "Who are you really?"

     "A servant. A messenger of some sort if you'd think of me that way," Kateri mused as she drew her hood up. "Ask me whatever you'd like in this short period of time. I know that the Spymaster is taking his sweet time. Do you really think he actually cares about you? Do you really think any of them care about you in that manner?"

     "Stop," Kyran snapped, rubbing her temples as she tried to dismiss the woman's words. What did she know? But. . The strange feeling that she might have been right was evident in her mind. "That's not your place."

     "Oh I know," The woman purred. "But you know I'm right. I can see it in your eyes."

     Kyran hesitated for a split second before her stare hardened. "If they didn't care, they wouldn't have waited for me to come back."

     "If they did care, they would have been here by now," Kateri reminded with a raised eyebrow. This was all fun and games for her. "I have a deal for you."

     "I don't want anything from you," Kyran hissed. "So back off."

     Kateri let a smirk play on her lips. "You are in no position to refuse me, redhead. Your life hangs upon my current mood."

     The girl bared her teeth, feeling anger bubble to the surface. "Why me?"

     "I want you to suffer for what you did. You hurt my best friend."

     "But I don't even know who you're talking about! I've never met a person named Bella in my life!" Kyran insisted.

     Some kind of power radiated from the other woman, and Kyran realized a bit too late that this meant her spirit animal was near. "Let me show you," the prisoner purred, lunging forward and slamming the redhead against the wall. The impact knocked the breath from her body, and a few seconds later, her world faded to black.

.
.
.

     They stood before a young girl pinned to the stone wall, a girl that Kyran recognized. Three older people had her cornered.

     "Where are we?" Kyran turned to the woman. "Why did you bring me here?"

     Kateri smirked. "We are in the past."

     As Kyran watched, the three people taunted the younger version of herself, mocking her for how helpless she was against them. She couldn't have been older than four years of age, and her pitiful screams echoed in the dark.

     "Stupid brat," a female with long blonde hair snarled, pressing against the struggling girl. Kyran saw her slightly swollen abdomen, and her eyes widened slightly.

     Kateri leaned over, wrapping one arm around the girl's neck and bringing her close as they watched the scene before them. "That's Bella."

     Her heart stopped.

     She knew what she had done now.

     Watching as her younger self lashed out in an attempt to get free was like watching a bullfight. Bella screamed and fell to her knees when the redheaded child kicked as hard as she could with her free leg, striking the woman right in her stomach.

     "Now do you see?" Kateri sneered as the scene unfolded before them. "Now do you understand why you must suffer?"

     Kyran couldn't speak for a long moment. "I was only a child." She whispered, though the horror in her voice came up.

     "And yet you committed murder upon an unborn child," Kateri growled, pulling Kyran into a strong chokehold. "And you will pay dearly."