A tattoo of black roses spread from where the word “catharsis” was inscribed on her breastbone in an antique text. xxx Katya laid a hand on her knee and leant forward, her eyes ablaze. The procurator was waiting on the marble steps outside the Temple of the Emperors with his Svitavian guardsmen when Kristina was led in chains to face him, a small crowd of curious citizens following her from the barracks to the forum. Only when he had drawn blood did he step back and allow her to drag her pain-wracked body up from the ground and squirm painfully forward on her elbows. She spread her arms to welcome two cruel blows that cut into the soft flesh of her breasts, flattening them against her chest and driving the air from her lungs. He moved close and loomed over her. The procurator took a
