The Reaper's Wicked Obsession
Chapter 46: The Cheater

Chapter 46: The Cheater

"She cheated!" Nyssa declared, pacing the meeting hall. Her mind was troubled by the entire event.

Everyone spoke about the impossible—the mannfae who ran the Spine. It spread around the mountain like wildfire—the good and the bad.

"Did anyone see her run the Spine?" she asked more to herself than Rav. "No one did, which only make it more suspicious."

"There was no possible way she could have done it! Did you see her Rav?"

"No," Rav replied sternly. Caught between shock and worry.

He couldn’t believe Isadora could do such a thing. He told her to stay put and not do anything because that was the only way to guarantee her survival.

’How did she do it?’ he pondered deeply, unable to comprehend what had happened.

The sight of her on the tower, all bruised up—caused goosebumps to take over his skin.

"And where is Logi?! This should be an important meeting, yet he thinks he can skip it?" Nyssa said, frustrated to the core. "Seats are empty when we should be talking about this disaster. This is unbelievable!"

"You’re right... Nyssa," Rav said.

Nyssa paused her steps and faced Rav with furious eyes. Was he about to disagree with her again?

Rav chewed the inside of his mouth before speaking. "I think she cheated the Spine."

A smile slowly formed on her lips "Now you’re making sense. At least I’m not the only one who thinks this is nonsense." She took a seat, folding her arms and crossing her legs. "She could have climbed from the end to get to the top, just to put on a show. It makes more sense than the ridiculous idea of passing the Spine."

’Was she always a cunning bitch?’ she thought with a scoff.

It almost made her laugh that she would go out of her way to do such a thing as cheating. That stray doesn’t deserve to be a warrior.

"She can’t participate in the Hunt," Rav said. "This goes against Kraven’s orders but it’s the right thing to do."

"Yes, you’re right. No one wants a cheater who can’t even run the Spine honestly. They will eat her out before I do."

Rav nodded, rising to his feet.

Nyssa leaned against the stone chair, eyeing his back. "You don’t believe she passed the Spine."

Rav halted his steps at her words.

"Your beloved Isadora..." she voiced, stressing each word to get under his nerves.

Earlier he looked as if he would rip her in halves because of her and now he was suddenly on board with the idea that she cheated. Perhaps he never believed in her.

Rav turned to her. "Logi’s designs are perfect, only a full-blooded Fae can overcome it," he replied before leaving.

~♧~

Isadora paced the living room, waiting for Rav to come back.

She had yet to heal her wounds because her hands still needed to recover before she could.

Her body was tired and the aches were like tiny blows to her body. Yet, her mind was consumed by the commotion she caused.

Nyssa had a menacing look on her face which was no surprise. What got her worked up the most was Rav’s expression, she couldn’t decipher it.

’Is he angry with me?’ she thought as her pulse quickened at the idea. She didn’t want that at all.

The door swung open and caught her attention, her wide eyes turned to it.

"Rav," she said, swallowing a lump in her throat.

He had that look again.

He stepped forward and stood in front of her with an unreadable expression.

"Rav?" she said again, her eyes begging him to speak to her.

She felt as if she was caught under a rockslide.

"Why did you do that?"

Her eyes leveled instantly. "I-I-I..."

"You were safe, Isadora," he said with a deep breath which caused her to bite her lip "...safe from whatever bloody fate awaited you."

"I—"

"You should have listened to me!"

She jumped because this was the first time Rav had raised his voice at her.

Rav realized what he did because her eyes quivered as she stared at him. It was identical to the look she had on whenever Kraven came from a mile away.

Rav mentally cursed, letting his emotions get the better of him was not a good idea at the moment. "I’m sorry I shouldn’t have raised my voice," he said with a sigh, murmuring in Faetong.

"I couldn’t stand it," she said.

She knew Rav was worried about her safety and what she did ruined all the attempts to keep her safe. It wasn’t as easy for him as it was for her.

"I wanted to prove them wrong," she confessed.

"This is not about proving anything. This is about you surviving and the Hunt is the last place you want to be, you have no idea what troubles you caused. I can’t protect you if you act unreasonably."

She opened her mouth to speak but the words hung in her throat.

"But don’t worry I took care of it."

"What?" she blinked, confused.

"Nyssa said you cheated. Word has already spread about it, this keeps you away from the Hunt."

Isadora stared wide-eyed at him like he had sprung two heads. He turned to walk away but she grabbed his arm to stop him.

"But I didn’t cheat! I ran the Spine, from the beginning to the end"

"And who saw you do that?"

She froze at his words. "I—" she couldn’t finish.

"Did you climb from the end to get to the top? Did you think that would work?"

’What?’ she thought mortified because she couldn’t believe her ears. Did Rav think she cheated too?

"I didn’t cheat!" she exploded. "Rav, believe me, I did not, it took weeks but I overcame it, I swear by the olden gods."

Rav ran a hand through his hair, there was a pause from him and she prayed he believed her. She couldn’t bear that Rav would think she was a cheat too. He should believe her.

"I believe you"

A weak smile found her lips.

"But it doesn’t matter,"

Her smile fell.

"I’m doing this to protect you, I know this place more than you do. The Hunt is not for you, there is no need to prove anything or do anything, you stay in the shadow," he voiced.

’This is the only way to avoid Kraven’s interest,’ he thought.

If he’s bored with her then he would stop trying to make her life hell and she can finally be free of him.

It killed Rav to see the look in her eyes. It showed disbelief and pain but this was the only way he could protect her.