The scent of decaying roses and damp stone filled Lianna's nostrils as consciousness returned. Her fingers twitched against cold marble, each movement sending sharp pains through her poisoned body. Above her, mocking laughter echoed through the mausoleum's vaulted ceilings.
"Look at her squirming," sneered a familiar voice. "Like a worm finally realizing it's been stepped on."
Lianna's violet eyes flew open.
Her half-sister Selena stood over her, flanked by two armored guards. The traitorous fiancé, Duke Armand, watched with detached amusement from the doorway. Their faces matched perfectly with the memories flooding Lianna's mind - both the dead noble girl's recollections and her own past life as the Shadow Queen of the assassin's guild.
"Poison was too good for you," Selena said, raising a jeweled dagger. "I think I'll carve out those lying eyes first-"
Lianna moved.
One heartbeat - her left hand snapped up to catch Selena's wrist.
Two heartbeats - her right hand drove broken marble shards into both guards' throats.
Three heartbeats - she stood with Selena's dagger now pressed against its owner's pulsing jugular.
The duke's wine glass shattered on the floor.
"Impossible!" he gasped. "That poison should have-
"Killed me?" Lianna finished, her voice honey-sweet. She inhaled deeply, feeling the last traces of venom burning through her veins like fine liquor. "Darling Armand, don't you know?" Her smile turned vicious. "I thrive on poison."
With a casual flick, she sent Selena crashing into a stone coffin. Bones crunched audibly.
Armand drew his sword. "You're not Lianna. That weakling could never-"
Steel met empty air as Lianna vanished. His next breath came with her lips at his ear:
"I'm what happens when you discard weapons too carelessly."
When the mausoleum doors blew open minutes later, the surviving servants saw only:
Duke Armand kneeling with his own sword through his thigh
Selena sobbing over a broken hand
Their disgraced lady strolling out, humming and dripping blood like rose petals
And thus began the legend.