"My Lord, thank you for giving me your book. I enjoyed it greatly and finished reading it at once. I believe the book is special to you so I thought of giving it back." William held out the book he had given to him.
Rayven had regretted all of his actions last night, but he mostly regretted that he gave away his book when he remembered what he had written in it. Without hesitance he took it back from William.Spending time with this boy was messing with his mind, so he left him this time before William could leave.Rayven went to his chamber so he could be alone, but found Blayze waiting for him. Rayven gave him a questioning look."Have you asked Skender if he found a solution on how to deal with Lord Davis or will your punishment go to waste?"Rayven sighed as he sat down on the bed. "He was willing to take the punishment to save him, so I am sure he is thinking of a way.""Are you sure?" Blayze asked skeptically.Skender was known to be negligent. Maybe he wasn't doing his job as he should. Again. Did he really have to talk to him? But then he had already received his punishment. What would talking change? Lord Davis could ruin himself if he wanted to. Why would he care?"I don't care what happens to any of them." Rayven shrugged."Should I just kill Lord Davis and solve the problem for everyone?"Rayven lay down. "You want to defy Skender's orders? Have you ever been burned by the Arch?"The man always looked for trouble.Blayze fell back down on the couch, looking frustrated. "All this because of a woman." He muttered."Don't underestimate the effect of a beautiful woman." The twins, Lazarus and Acheron, as Rayven liked to call them, teleported into his room.Sometimes Rayven wished that all of them were human so he could lock the door."A woman can with a simple touch, a gentle smile, a soft laughter stir a man's heart." Lazarus preached. "Once you fall under a woman's spell, it is hard to get up again. But you two wouldn't know."Blayze scoffed. "Women are your weakness. Not mine."Lazarus chuckled. "Women are my weakness, but one woman is every man's weakness. You will see. I will say I told you one day.""I am good without a woman." Blayze said.Lazarus shifted his gaze to Rayven. "What about you? Do you want to go out and satisfy your desires?""I don't understand what you are talking about." Rayven said."You can't be that dead." Lazarus said with a frown as he went to sit down on the sofa in the room's corner next to Acheron. "Even you must look a little longer when you see a beauty. Or turn your head when you smell a woman's sweet scent."Sweet scent?"I actually smell a woman's scent in this room." He said, looking around.The other men focused their senses as well and all of their gazes fell on the book on his bed at the same time. Slowly, the three men looked up at him, their eyes glowing with curiosity."That scent is familiar," Acheron noted."I… gave this book to William." Why was he even explaining himself?They all nodded at the same time and their lips curved up into a sly smile. What were they thinking?"Leave! I want to be alone." He told them.They gave him a few looks, annoying him, before leaving.Once he was alone, curiosity got the best of him and he breathed in to smell her scent. Something he regretted immediately again when he found himself liking the way she smelled.Why was her scent on his book?Rayven stiffened, realizing what this could mean. Did she read the book? Did she see his poems?Feeling a little panicked, he opened the book to see how bad his poems were and how horribly he had described the truth about himself. If she read it, she must have been revolted by him if she wasn't already before.He scrolled through the pages and found the first poem he wrote. He was about to curse himself when he found neat handwriting next to his poem.Rayven was confused, but his eyes followed the words, reading it to his brain quietly.Life is not a lotLife is just a thoughtAs beautiful as I wantDoes not have to hauntIt is full of ups and downsOf highs and lows of different townsWith lights and nights of equal timeYou live and die for every dimeI see the light that's not too dimI see that it is not so grimSo, I try to light my world for meI try to listen; not hear from meTo make me realize there's more to lifeMake my life not something I strifeAnd I may still long for my deathAs I will breathe my every breathFor my heart sometimes do break in twoBut I do know there's a way or twoRayven looked up from the book. A way or two?There was no way for him. No way.No way.No way!He looked at her poem again. What was this woman trying to do? How dare she write in his book? How dare she pity him?Feeling extremely annoyed, he went to his home, to separate himself from the rest of the world. He went to his room and tossed the book on his bed. Then he paced, not knowing what to do.He tried to figure out what she had been thinking while writing him that poem. Why would she write him a poem? Was she mocking him?She could surely not have written it with good intentions. The woman hated him as he hated her.He had seen that she had written a few more poems, but he didn't want to read them. He refused to read them. Before he could change his mind, he picked up the book and threw it to burn in the fire hearth, but a feminine hand caught it in the air."Tsk, tsk. Don't make decisions while angry. You will regret them most of the time." Lucrezia advised.One woman annoyed him. Now the second one was here."I thought you had learned a thing or two from Blayze." She said, looking at the book. Then she brought it close to her nose and smelled it. "A female. Interesting."Rayven ignored her."I'll keep this for you in case you change your mind later." She smiled.But why was she here?"Are you here to punish me?" He asked."Why would I?" She frowned but then lifted her eyebrows as if remembering "ah, the boy. You think I'll punish you because you told the boy about our secret. Don't worry. You just told him, you didn't show him."She walked around his bed touching his things, "I see a change in you, Rayven. You don't know, I became excited when I saw the red dot in your heart.""Of course. Now that I feel things a little more, you can enjoy punishing me even more."She chuckled. "You really think I am your enemy. Nevermind." She turned to him. "You should think of how to make your heart beat if you want it back. Now that there is little color, if you allow yourself, that red dot will paint the rest of your heart red. And then it will sing the most beautiful song."The thought seemed to excite her."What is the point of having feelings when I look like this? So I can suffer more?""Oh, so the scars are the problem. It seems like you still care about how you look." She shook her head. "The meaning behind the scars was to make you work on your character rather than your appearance.""No one cares about character when you look like this." He said pointing at his face."It is indeed difficult when people only care about appearance." She said taking a dig at him.Then suddenly her eyes lit up and Rayven didn't like that look. It often meant she came up with an idea that seemed great to her but meant disaster to him."I think I might take away your scars." She began.Rayven couldn't believe his ears but at the same time he knew something horrible would follow this sentence that normally would have given him hope."If you manage to make a woman yours, not by force of course, then I will remove your scars." She grinned. "See, I am here to help. Now you have not only a chance to get your heart back but also your face."Rayven blinked a few times, confused. What did she mean? How…He cursed. He knew she would come up with something impossible. Why would any woman become his unless forced?Ignoring her, he went to his bed to sleep."You disappoint me Rayven. I am giving you more chances than the others.""Then maybe you should stop doing so. I told you, I am not the one to save.""I am starting to believe it." She said with a sigh. "Hope you sleep well."When he couldn't sense her presence anymore, he relaxed and after a while he fell asleep. That night, he had a dream, not a nightmare.Rayven was walking through the market, causing heads to turn and eyes to widen in fascination. Women would nudge each other with their elbows whenever he walked by, giggle or try to catch his attention. He was taller than most men, but he carried his length with elegance, just like the rest of his attire. His skin changes tones depending on season and on this summer day, his sun-kissed skin had a healthy glow and his dark hair looked more well kept than the wealthiest woman in town. He was aware of everyone's glances, but his obsidian eyes didn't wander amongst the woman. Instead, they turned to gaze at the woman by his side, who had her arm through his. She looked up at him with a smile, and he smiled back at her. Rayven didn't know whether to feel relieved or disappointed that he woke up from this beautiful dream. It had been a long time since he hadn't had a nightmare. In his dream, his scars were gone, and he had a lovely woman by his side. He seeme
Why did she have to come here at this time? Her eyes burned like blue flames into his. "Release him at once." She said. And so he did. The man almost fell down but stayed hidden behind the counter. Rayven was in shock. Did he just obey her orders? Pretending like he did no such thing, he adjusted himself while Angelica went to help the seller get up on his feet. "Are you alright, Sir?" "Yes. Thank you, My Lady." Turning to him, she gave him a stern look. Rayven ignored her and picked up his books before walking past her maid, who looked like she had seen a ghost. When he was outside the shop, he went to his horse that was tied to a tree nearby. "Lord Rayven." He almost groaned. Why was she following him? He kept pretending as if she didn't exist and began to pack his books into the bag that hung from the saddle. She was quiet for a moment that he had to glance her way to see what she was doing. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and he could hear her heart beat a little faster
"You can kill him." Skender finally gave his approval to kill Lord Davis. He called Lazarus and Acheron to his room and appointed them to do it discreetly. Perhaps the problem could still be solved if more words didn't reach the public yet. Lazarus could see that Skender was torn about his decision but there was no other way than killing Lord Davis at this moment, since he was planning to attack the castle tonight. "We will take care of it," Acheron said, giving him a pat on the shoulder. Lazarus gave him a nod, and they both left Skender behind. They walked into the darkness of the night, moving toward the camp where Lord Davis and his men were preparing for their mission. "It has been some time since we were sent on a mission." Acheron said. "I miss it," Lazarus replied, feeling excitement pump in his veins.But these were humans, and they would probably be done in no time. Lazarus wished they were facing other creatures. "I wished Skender would cause more mishaps so we would
Angelica had no chance of escaping. In the basement, there was only one small window, through which sunlight came in. But even if she could escape, what would she actually do?Her father was right when he laughed at her threat. It would be dangerous and foolish to go to the King to expose her own father, that is, if she even could bring herself to do that. How could she be the cause of her father's death and for what purpose? To be a woman alone in this world? Without a man, there was almost nothing she could do. Especially if she exposed her father as a traitor. Her world would crumble. There was also no guarantee that the King would believe her and suspicion alone could lead to her execution. It was also not rare for a King to execute the traitor with his family members, especially the males to eliminate any threat of them wanting revenge in the future. She could put her brother in danger even if she didn't think that Skender was that kind of King. She wouldn't gamble with her br
Angelica wished the night was longer so she could sleep the pain away, but the morning had already arrived with the promise of the dreadful day ahead of her. The first thing she noticed when she awoke was that her brother was no longer in her bed. Sitting up, she rubbed her swollen eyes that she could barely open. Her eyelids felt heavy and her throat was dry. A light knock made her turn to the door. Eva walked inside with a tray in her hand. "Good morning, My Lady." She greeted and then came to place the tray on the bedstand next to her. Then she remained standing there. "My Lady," she looked down at her hands which she rubbed together. "I am truly sorry. I wish I had the courage to defy your father and come to release you.""It's alright Eva. What happened has already happened and I don't blame you." Angelica said. "I wish to take care of you. Please allow me." Angelica nodded. "Thank you, My Lady. Shall I help you get dressed?" "Yes, please." Eva picked a dress for her and
Rayven was surprised to see William coming to the training. He had thought he would take the day off after the tragic event with his father. He wondered how much he knew about his father's death. They had to compel a few soldiers to believe they had found him dead and deliver the corpse to their home. Skender wanted them to give them the chance to bury their father. Humans grieve when they lose someone. Rayven didn't know what it felt like to lose someone. Only something. He never had close people in his life that he cared enough about or that cared enough about him. He has only ever loved himself. Only cared about himself. He was the definition of selfish. He couldn't remember ever complimenting someone, consoling someone or just simply helping someone. That was the kind of person he was. Now he just looked at William, not knowing what to say. But why did he feel like saying something? William was training as usual. Rayven couldn't detect any emotion he knew as grief or sadness.
Skender was on his way to his room when he came across Rayven. The demon pushed past him causing their shoulders to collide without looking at him."Rayven." Skender stopped him. Rayven turned around looking annoyed. He gave him a 'what now?' look. "Do you have a problem?" Skender asked. "Use your tongue." "I am more of an action person." Rayven retorted. The demon definitely had a problem with him. He couldn't blame him. Things always turned left when he was finally going right. That was with everything in his life. "You know I didn't want you to get punished instead of me." Skender said. "What you want, need or think are of no importance to me. Only what you do." Skender nodded. "I am trying. We are all being punished and if you didn't know I am being punished for being negligent when I am suddenly given all these responsibilities."Rayven placed his hands in his pocket and tilted his head. "Should I feel bad for you?" Skender smiled. The demon never changed. Always rude and
Yet again Lord Rayven had brought William home. Angelica had thought he would say a few words of condolences but she clearly she had been expecting too much. Before she could even see him, he rode away, and she only saw the back of him on his horse, as he disappeared into the horizon. A few kind words wouldn't hurt, Lord Rayven she thought to herself. Could he be angry with her because of her father? He had known about her father's plan for sometime now. Maybe that was why he hated her all along. "Why did Lord Rayven bring you home?" She asked her brother when they got into bed. "I think he feels bad for me." He replied. He does? This was the second time she thought Lord Rayven favored her brother, and she didn't mind. In fact, she loved that the rude man was not rude to her brother. "What was Sir Shaw doing here?" Angelica decided to tell her brother straight what she was planning on doing. "I think Sir Shaw will take good care of us." She said. William frowned and his lips