The words echoed in her head, on and on like a never-ending harangue as Reya stood before a huge wooden table. The table had been there as long as she could remember, taking a prominent place in Krelian's study. One side was dark and charred black, a testament that it had survived a fire. She rested one hand on the scarred surface, feeling each cut and groove against her fingers. Each mark was an untold story, a piece of a past that had been left behind in the ashes of time.

She did not understand and perhaps she will never be able to comprehend the secret desires that drove Krelian. It had been an all-consuming need when she had been a child to know him but now Reya no longer cared. She could no longer afford to care. She had her own objectives to achieve and she was determined to see them to the end.

Her finger traced the outward expanding rings of ancient oak, round after round in a pattern. Strangely, the activity calmed her, giving her a sense of immunity towards the confrontation that she was expecting. The others may have been fooled but nothing escaped Krelian's eyes. It had been too much of a coincidence that a refueling Gear would crash into one of the main power cluster storage linked to the main dock system terminals. Especially after it was discovered subsequently that a Fire Element had gone MIA. A man as astute as Krelian had no doubts whom was responsible. He had no other reason to summon her into his study otherwise.

He was making Reya wait. Several hours had at least slipped by since she first stepped into the room. It has been a very effective psychological weapon to make her feel guilt and remorse before he even lay her crime before her. Reya smiled sardonically, Krelian was getting predictable. Her finger stilled on a journey around a ring when the door behind her opened almost soundlessly. Slowly, she turned to face him, inclining her head in acknowledgement.

" You were responsible for the incident at the docks. "

It was a statement, not a question.

Keeping her eyes downcast, Reya did not response.

" Why did you help the Fire Element escape? "

Again, she did not answer.

" Who was Sigurd Harcourt to you? "

Reya maintained her silence, not giving the satisfaction of an answer.

Then she felt a sharp burst of pain explode when the back of a hand smashed against her face with enough violence to sent her crashing into one of the towering bookshelves that lined the perimeter of the room. The blow would have dazed Reya for a moment but the pain that emanated from her bruised jaw and shoulder brought her focus back quickly. Her dark verdant eyes watched Krelian under the shadow of her long black hair, which had fallen into her face as she fell. He towered above her, a still statue as if craved from stone but his previous act had betrayed him however.

Reya was almost overwhelmed by a hysterical urge to laugh but she brutally suppressed the crazy impulse. Instead she pulled herself up by holding on to the edges of the shelves that housed the ancient tomes that not only contained history but were a piece of history themselves. She lifted a hand slowly to touch her jaw, where a purple mark was beginning to form, tentatively as she brushed her hair away from her face. It was a subtle gesture of defiance and she knew it was not missed on him.

She was no longer the child who cowered under his slightest displeasure. While Reya had to obey him, she was no longer afraid of letting him know subtly the distaste she felt for her tasks. Sigurd was gone, Igraine no longer needed her protection now that she had Hyuga and as for Kahr, she had broken his trust with her own hands. There was no one else left that mattered to Reya anymore. She regarded Krelian apathetically, looking through him with the still green pools of her eyes.

" He was my lover. " Reya spoke quietly, her voice almost a whisper.

Krelian laughed mirthlessly, cynically.

" You are a fool, Areya. Did you really think he could have loved you? Could you even understand the difference between love and lust? "

" Or was it a game? Some sort of experiment to see if you could be like Salvation? You can never be like her, Areya. Cease this silly pretense of being human. You have no feelings. You were made, created in a place no different from my laboratory. You were nothing more than a few cells, a mass of ectoplasm. No flesh and blood woman gave birth to you. "

His words made a mockery of her whole existence, debasing Reya to nothing. Yet if Krelian had expected to crush her spirit, he could not have been more surprised. Reya made no agitated protest or did she crumble into shocked denial. She crossed her arms and gave a slight nonchalant shrug.

" Was that what you summoned me for? " Reya could tell by the almost invisible distention of Krelian's eyes that she had reacted unexpectedly.

He was silent for a moment as if considering. " No, the escape of a Fire Element is of no consequence. I have another task for you. Take your squadron to Elru and wait for further instructions. "

" Yes, my lord. "

There would be more missions, more senseless destruction in the war and Reya had her part already set out. Regardless of what Krelian said, she had angered Krelian and her punishment would come not only swiftly but also dearly. He only had one purpose for her and that was perhaps what she had been created for. As she moved towards the door, she could feel the weight of his eyes on her measuring and speculative and the invisible pressure remained even after the door slide closed behind her back.

" So you were the one responsible for the Lamb's escape. How ... unexpected and bold of you, Areya, " a faintly mocking voice remarked.

Reya choose to both ignore the comment and the speaker, moving past her without acknowledging her presence. As she passed, insolent indigo eyes raked her face noting with interest the vivid bruise that marked Reya's cheek. An amused smirk twisted full red lips as the owner of the indigo eyes made the obvious conclusions.

" My.... You certainly provoked a reaction from him. After five hundred years, you could have thought Krelian could control his emotions better than that. "

" Stay out of my way and I'll steer cle