The garden was silent except for the rhythmic thud of bone striking flesh.
Arabella straddled Alina's chest, her silhouette jagged against the skeletal trees.
"Haven't you done enough?" Her voice cracked, raw and shaking beneath the fury. "Why did you take her?"
Her fist came down.
Alina's head snapped to the side, her cheek glancing off the damp earth. She spat a mouthful of blood into the grass; her golden eyes had long turned green.
"Are you going to... kill me too, Miss Wright?" Alina wheezed, a bloody smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth.
"Shut the fuck up and die."
Her knuckles cracked against Alina's cheekbone. A dull vibration rang through her skull. Her vision swam.
"You're willing to lose... your best friend, as well?" Alina forced out, her voice thin but cutting.
Arabella's fist froze mid-air. The wind seemed to withdraw. Even the leaves stopped whispering.
