Abandoning Reason

A suffocating hush lingered across the stone floor, broken only by the wet, uneven gasps coming from Ophelia. Valera kept her eyes fixed on the trembling female. The defiant screeching was gone. The venomous excuses had run dry. All that remained was a ruined shell, head bowed low under the weight of her own ruin, wet tracks glistening down her pale cheeks.

For half a second, Valera let herself