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 seemed happy, but because of that he knew it was only a dream. One that would never come true. He wouldn't indulge in those fantasies that Lucrezia gave him.After bathing and getting dressed, he took his horse and rode to the castle. There was no training for the boys today. It was their only day off in the week. Still, Rayven had to deal with a few humans as part of the Royal council. Every council meeting was a torture he had to endure. Thankfully, he didn't have to talk very much. It was Skender who had to open his mouth most of the time.There were lots of pretentious smiles and lies going on, and Skender was good at keeping up and giving his dosage of deception.When the nonsense ended, and the humans left, Skender turned to him. "You seem to be healing well.""I hope my punishment wasn't a waste." Rayven said.There was a rush of cold air, and Lucrezia materialized into the room. "It was." She grinned.Rayven could see how everyone grimaced in distaste at her arrival. What kind of hell did she bring this time?"Lord Davis is recruiting men to join his purpose of defeating evil." She chuckled, amused. "He should join the Arch. Unfortunately, not everyone he recruited is transparent with him. Words will spread like smoke." She smiled at Rayven.Rayven looked away. So despite his punishment, Angelica's father wasn't only going to die but be known as a traitor as well.He turned to Skender, "that can't be possible. I have been keeping a close eye on Lord Davis."Rayven shook his head at him. "And on all the men he recruited and all the time."He felt his face burn and he couldn't understand why. Nothing would change about his life, whether Lord Davis died or stayed alive. This was not his problem."I have a plan," Skender insisted."How about you burn with your plan in hell?" Blayze spat. "Why is he not getting punished?" He asked Lucrezia."Oh, this is his punishment." She smirked.Her eyes gleamed with that wicked light that Rayven recognized. She already knew this was going to happen, so she let Skender have his way to test him. She knew he would fail."We had a deal. I would take the punishment and I wouldn't have to kill him." Skender said, getting angry."No. I wouldn't ask you to kill him and I am not." She corrected."But you could have prevented it," he said desperately. He was making no sense."You could have prevented it if you had done your job from the beginning.""Then I would have to kill him." He hit the table with his fist, causing it to break."As a King, you have to make hard choices." Lucrezia reminded. "Hope this wakes you up, King Alexander." And then, with a snap of her fingers, she disappeared."What were you doing until now?" Acheron asked calmly.Skender's face was red, his shoulders tense and his hands clenched into fists. "She did it. She spread the word to punish me." He said."How do you know?""I have been keeping an eye on Lord Davis, so nothing goes wrong while I find a solution. All his men are dedicated to him.""And how much more time do you need to find a solution?" Blayze asked."It is not easy." Skender snapped."You can't blame her. No matter what, you waited too long and if she did it, it was because she knew it would happen. She saved you some time." Acheron said."I would rather spend more time and save him." Skender replied."Save him to do what?" Blayze was getting frustrated.So was Rayven. "Quiet!" He ordered.Everyone became quiet and looked at him."There is no need to fight. Lord Davis can die and Skender can enjoy his punishment. I am sure he will sleep well tonight." He said, then stood up. "I am taking my leave if Your Majesty has nothing to add."He tried to remain calm as he walked out of the meeting room, but he felt the rage building up inside of him. This wasn't him. He didn't want his heart back. He would beg Lucrezia to remove the red dot. At least when his heart was dark, his head was quiet.Now he had to find a way to distract himself. He climbed his horse and rode away to the bookshop. He would buy lots to read. What else could he do? There was no other entertainment in his life. It was long empty days, just waiting for the end to come.When he arrived at the bookshop, he quickly went around and picked books without paying much attention. Then he carried them to the counter to pay.The seller was surprised to see him buy so many books this time and despite being a regular customer, he was still scared of him. His hands shook as he received the money and Rayven, who was already angry, lost it.Grabbing the man by the collar, he pulled him over the counter, bringing the man's face close to his. "You seem to take fear lightly. Shall I show you what to fear?"The man shook and began to stutter. "P...ple...ase, My Lord...I...I..""Lord Rayven!" Someone called his name sternly.Recognizing the voice, Rayven stiffened.Slowly, he turned his head and found Angelica standing in the shop and staring at him with a displeased look on her face.What a pleasant day.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
Rayven was once again surprised to see William coming to the training after the rumors that circulated about his father. This boy and his sister never failed to amaze him.As soon as he arrived the other boys began to whisper and then one called him a traitor's son. William ignored them and went to pick up his wooden sword to start his training but no one wanted to fight him. "You." Rayven pointed at the boy who called him a traitor. "Fight him." He ordered. "Yes, my Lord!" He said but cursed inwardly. William took a steady grip around his sword ready to fight the boy and Rayven leaned back against the tree to watch the beating. It was more satisfying than he expected. William seemed much stronger than usual and Rayven knew all too well that the strength came from the anger inside. He knew that look in Williams' eyes. One could say he taught the boy a lesson and he would never be called a traitor's son by the boys again. But someone's parents would come here tomorrow and this time