Kael stomach twisted and convulsed again, trying to force more out, more than food. He wanted to purge the taste, the memory, the thought of the flesh he'd unknowingly consumed. He wanted to vomit out every smile he had ever shared while dining in that place. Every warm glance. Every lie.
He wanted to vomit out his guilt. His rage. His sorrow.
He wanted to purge the weight of all the suffering he had just witnessed, no, that he had lived with and not seen. That he hadn't stopped. That he hadn't understood.
And then the tears came.
They fell, hot and bitter, and his chest began to heave with sobs that escaped like cracks in stone.
He slammed his fists against the cold floor again and again, skin tearing against the rock.
Then his head.
Once. Twice.
"Forgive me… forgive me…"
"I didn't do anything… I believed… I trusted it all… I was so damn blind."
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I should've seen it. I should've known."
