"B-But…" Irina tried to speak, but her throat tightened around the words. She swallowed, tasting blood, and forced herself to look at Mira again. "W-Why?"
Mira crouched beside her.
The movement was casual, almost affectionate, as though she were visiting an old friend rather than kneeling beside the woman she had just stabbed. She rested the sword against her shoulder and leaned forward, examining Irina's face with an expression of cruel delight.
Irina had encountered countless monsters and had killed enemies whose cruelty would have made ordinary people lose their minds. Yet the smile on Mira's face sent a different kind of chill through her. It was the dirtiest, most contemptuous smile she had ever seen, filled with a satisfaction that made the woman's earlier suffering seem like an elaborate joke.
Mira tilted her head.
