The Reaper's Wicked Obsession
Chapter 47: The Walk Of Shame

Chapter 47: The Walk Of Shame

Rav placed a hand on her shoulder, leaning down toward her. She kept her gaze downcast and refused to look at him.

"I care for you, Isadora."

On cue, she slowly lifted her glassy gaze, swallowing hard to hold back the tears.

"I know this hurts you... by the olden gods I’m hurt too," he said.

"What others think of you doesn’t matter, all you have to think about is how to survive,"

His teeth clenched hard. "In the Hunt, you either eat or get eaten, the weak becomes prey and the strong, predators"

She sniffled and nodded, understanding him completely, yet feeling she was more overwhelmed by his thoughts about her.

"Tell me the truth.." Isadora began, in a heavy tone.

"Do you believe I ran the Spine?" she asked hopefully. She needed to hear it from him... from his heart.

Rav wavered, lips coming apart but words didn’t follow.

Isadora felt a piece of her break. The ache from her body came to life, no longer overshadowed by the pain in her chest.

His hand on her shoulder suddenly felt like a heavy rock, so she pulled apart from him.

"Isadora."

She walked past him to the door.

"Isadora!"

The door slammed shut.

~♧~

Isadora walked the bridge, hood up to cover from wandering eyes.

But there wasn’t much to hide from because there were barely any denizens around the area.

Isadora had no idea where to go, all she knew was she couldn’t go back to Rav now.

The look in his eyes when she asked him that question tormented her. She could deal with anyone thinking about anything about her but... him? The only person who cared for her? It was a blow to the face.

She shook her head, bittered and angry.

"Hello,"

The sudden voice caused her to gasp and step backward. Her erratic eyes scanned the space lit by torches, but no one was in sight.

"Up here!"

She raised her gaze and found a boy staring down at her, a wide smile on his lips—the most welcoming one she’d received since arriving here.

"W-Who are you?"

"I’m Cai," he introduced, rolling the wheels of his chair to come down to her.

Isadora watched the boy stop in front of her. His brown hair was hidden beneath a hand-knitted cap, and the soft strand fell on his forehead in curls matching his eyebrows.

"And you must be the stray," he added. "You’re very popular."

"Why are you speaking to me?" Isadora asked, not out of confusion, but a simple fact.

Cai ignored her question and said. "Come on, it’s dinner time, you must be starving, I am."

Isadora’s stomach growled and a blush found her cheeks.

Cai chuckled. "And you are too."

"It seems so."

"Then let’s go before they finish everything. I’m speaking from experience," he said but halted when he realized she wasn’t following.

Cai moved the wheels backward so that he could turn to her. "Coming?"

~♧~

This was Isadora’s first time in the Feast Hall. It looked like a grand hall and the craftsmanship was spectacular, causing her awe as she basked in the view.

Everything blended with the mountain as if it was one with it. The ceiling stretched high above, and torches lit both sides, creating a long line of flames.

A candle chandelier was also suspended from the rocky ceiling, animal skin rugs decorated the walls too.

A fireplace at the center as a finishing touch.

What caught Isadora’s attention the most was the end of the hall, where a large sculpture of a raven was mounted—wings spread out.

There were separate dining arrangements in front of it, but the seats were empty.

Murmurs filled the hall and eyes found Isadora. She leveled her gaze and gripped her wooden platter tightly.

Maybe this was a bad idea coming here?

"If you didn’t show your face, you’d have given them more to talk about," Cai said, grabbing her attention.

He stopped right where there was a space for him, set his chair in position, and dropped his platter on the table.

"They always said face your fears," he said, grabbing a piece of bread.

Isadora gulped, before taking a seat in front of him. The stares burned her skin but she focused her attention on her food more. Grabbing her spoon and taking small sips from her soup.

"They say you cheated."

Isadora paused instantly at Cai’s words, slowly raising her gaze to him. ’Here it comes...’ she thought, suddenly losing appetite.

"But I don’t think you did," he said with a wide smile revealing two missing teeth.

The excitement in his face as though he had been waiting every hour to say this.

"Because of the raven!" he whispered in a hushed tone.

"R-Raven?" Isadora blinked, confused.

"Yes... the raven bird perched on the tower? No one is talking about it but I’m sure Lord Raven was watching. You know there’s a saying here when you see the raven... he’s present"

Lord Raven? Could it be the person who rules this place?

Sudden hope filled Isadora’s eyes. "Can you tell me how to get an audience with him?"

Cai chuckled. "An audience with Lord Raven?" he mocked, hoping she was making a joke but it didn’t seem like it.

"That’s... very bold" he added slurping on his soup directly from the bowl, finishing it in one go. "Phew... that was delicious!"

"Why? Is it hard?"

"Of course, you can just speak to one of his commanders. Nyssa, Rav, or Logi"

All that was a bad choice for Isadora. Just how ruined was she? That a chance with the one person that could ensure her survival were those three? Two hated her guts and wished her death and Rav... her chest tightened in pain.

"That’s the cheater."

"She got guts coming here."

"She insulted the Spine."

"By the olden gods, what a cheat."

"I heard she’s a mannfae too..."

"Really?"

"I don’t see her ears, what do they look like?"

The murmurs intensified and somehow broke through the invisible shield around her.

Maybe it was the sudden realization that there was no hope of meeting Lord Raven.

Her amber eyes passed the ravenites gossiping about her and staring so hard it felt like her body would be punctured by holes.

Having enough she rose to her feet.

"Are you done?" Cai asked confused, staring at her barely touched food. "You haven’t eaten anything"

Isadora knew he meant well but she couldn’t stand this anymore.

"Thank you, Cai, but I lost my appetite," she replied.

It felt like a walk of shame as she made her way to the door.

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