Circe's hand moved before her mind caught up with it.
The crack of it rang out sharp and vicious in the small cell and the force of the slap sent Mirelle toppling sideways, the chains rattling discordantly as she went down.
The sting that bloomed across Circe's palm in the aftermath was the thing that finally made her register what she had done. She stood there for a second looking down at the woman who had not yet moved from where she had fallen.
Then Circe stepped forward, reached down, and grabbed a fistful of Mirelle's hair before wrenching her head up harshly so that their faces were close and Mirelle had nowhere left to look but at her.
"My baby is not a monster." Circe snarled.The grip she had on Mirelle's hair tightened. "You dare to call my child a monster? You, who came into my home, into my service. You, who smiled at my face every single day while you were already planning what you would do to me?"
