There was shame and pain in those tear filled golden eyes as they looked back at him. Her hair was wet, and she shivered from her late night swim. He could strangle her for being so careless with her health. The shadows wrapped her in their cloth, keeping her warmth in, he had almost started to relax when he heard those words fall from her lips.
"Why didn't I tell you I was innocent?" He repeated back to her, and his heart skipped a beat. She knew. The way she was looking at him screamed that she knew. Suddenly the midnight swim made more sense. She had been reconnecting with the spirit of the earth. How would she have found out his dark secret?
"Yes, you didn't kill my brothers. Why did you let me go on condemning an innocent man?" Kyera demanded wiping her eyes and pushing her white bangs from her face. There was so much pain in her eyes he couldn't help but look away.
"How did you find out anyway? I can't answer you properly without knowing what you know." Kan asked taking a deep breath. There was so much that happened that night and he had no intention of telling her the truth until later. Much later, after the threat had passed at the very least. Yet… for some reason fate had another plan.
"I spoke with the Spirit of the earth and there was a broken door. I looked beyond the door and was sucked into a memory. Someone else's memory. I saw my brothers die...I saw Keenan escape the claws of the assassin. You burst into the room at the same time the attacker fled. My brother go turned around… he attacked you because the assassin took off out the window. After… Oh gods…" Kyera whimpered the last words in shocked realization. "I was the target. The assassin looked back at ME. I… My brothers…. And then I blamed the wrong person for their death all along. I blamed you… it wasn't your fault… It was mine."
"No, Kyera the assassin killed them and wanted you dead because it wanted power that it couldn't' hold as long as you survived. No one else is to blame except the assassin's greed." Kan tried to set her straight. Kyera was clinging desperately to his words, she wanted to believe it more than anything. She didn't want to have their blood on her fur anymore.
"That doesn't change how I treated you. If I had known the truth… I'm sorry Kan." Kyera tried to push her emotions back but they were crashing down on her wave after brutal wave. Kan shook his head and offered her a soft smile. The weariness in his eyes spoke of the troubles he had faced over the years, no matter how he tried to hide it.
"Kyera, there was nothing you could have done had you known the truth. You would never have believed me if I had just said so. I took on the title of murder because I was not innocent. I was to blame for your brother's deaths just as much as the woman that killed them." Kan replied shaking his head. Kyera's eyes searched his as his words slowly sunk into her hazy mind. So much information was being poured into her, and she hardly knew how to respond to any of it.
"You said she." Kyera spoke the realization aloud, her eyes narrowing as he looked up, offering a weary smile.
"Yes… I did." Kan replied shaking his head as he stood. He ran a hand through his hair, eyes troubled as he glanced back at the lost girl sitting next to him. The last few months he had seen a different woman sitting beside him. He had seen the Princess, a fierce warrior, and loving mother who was every inch the queen she was meant to be. Now however, there was no difference between her and the frightened cub whose haunted eyes and pitiful screams had cut through to his soul ever since that night. The night he failed to stop it all.
"How did you know…" Kyera asked looking up at him, and slowly raising herself on to her feet. He turned to her and his jaw hardened. The look in his eyes was searching hers, seeking something she didn't know if she had within. Could she handle the truth? Was she ready for it? Was it time?