The Reaper's Wicked Obsession-Chapter 180: Know Your Poison

Isadora placed her hands on her lap, gripping the material of her skirt tightly. Her mind played the scene of last night, the weight of it crushing her.

"That’s what he meant," she mumbled. "He thought I was asking what he couldn’t give. When he said those words, it hurt... and I couldn’t speak."

She raised her gaze. "I don’t get it," she began in a shaky tone. "Did I ask for the impossible?"

Logi raised a brow, amused. "Maybe you did."

Isadora frowned deeply at this. Logi was right... She was innocent to the ways of intimacy, but that doesn’t mean she was a fool either.

"I wasn’t asking for the world, just something defined, something real." She voiced.

Logi exhaled sharply. "Something real..." He drawled. "Affection? Tenderness? Love? There are several where that comes from." He shook his head. "You might as well ask a storm to be gentle or a blade not to cut you."

Isadora opened her mouth, but Logi still went on, determined to make her see her error.

"Do you even understand what you ask of him? This, more you yearn for?"

Isadora stiffened, her chest tightening in a newfound pain. "Why does everyone keep saying that?"

"I know you didn’t mean it that way when you said those words to him. But it’s the truth."

Isadora’s jaw clenched, her hands balled into fists, her nails digging into her flesh. "He said the same thing before he left," she whispered.

But Logi heard her.

"Is it wrong to want more from him? To be closer to him?" Her throat tightened at a sensation, her words becoming heavier. "I’m not asking for something he cannot give, I just..." She paused. "I just don’t want to be something to own."

Logi remained quiet for a moment, taking in everything she poured out to him. He didn’t expect her to do it. He was patiently waiting for a brush off, but got this instead.

It was strange for him because, for a long time, he had always been dismissed. He may be a genius, but that was it... he was only ever needed as one.

But right now, he felt like Isadora needed him, not the genius... but as a friend.

Logi couldn’t help the flip of joy within him; for some reason, he welcomed the idea.

"You love him," he suddenly declared, willing to unmask the hidden emotions raging within her—only so she could understand them.

Isadora froze, lifting her gaze. Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out. She remained paused in time. His declaration felt like a knife, twisting deep into her heart.

Logi chuckled softly, but there was no humor to it. "I’ll make this easy for you." He leaned back to his seat. "You’ve feelings for him."

"I-I-I-I..." The words were hard to form; all she could do was swallow hard and look away, suddenly scared to meet his green eyes because it felt like he could see through her soul.

She thought Kraven was the only one capable of doing such.

"And worst of all, you don’t even know if he’s capable of having such feelings toward you," Logi observed her closely, watching her struggle internally. "Tell me, little one... do you still want to be by his side, despite knowing he’s incapable of love?"

Isadora’s silence was the answer Logi needed; she may not have verbally spoken, but he could read through her gestures, the way she broke a sweat, her trembling lips, and her inability to look him in the eye.

Logi smirked. "Thought so. Then you should know—such feelings won’t soften him. It won’t change the fact he’s a monster."

"I don’t want to change him." Isadora found her voice, and saying them out loud was yet another realization.

"Then what do you want, Isadora?" He narrowed his eyes. "Tell me."

’What do I want?’ She thought as her heart thudded rapidly in her chest.

Her mind was twirling, but she wasn’t as conflicted as she thought when searching for an answer.

Isadora’s mouth moved like they had a mind of their own, or maybe it was just the inner feelings coming to the surface. "I don’t want him to see me as something breakable. Not something he can ruin and twist to amuse him. I just want to be enough."

Logi grinned broadly. "You already are, little one. But that’s not the problem, is it?" He pressed, knowing there was more to it, but she was still uncertain.

Isadora paused, her pulse pounding in her ears and silencing every other sound.

"I’ve spent many winters with Kraven, I know him enough to say this," Logi began as his voice lowered and his gaze darkened. "Kraven doesn’t know how to have something real. He only knows how to take, ruin, or twist to his amusement. A madman knows his entertainment."

Isadora’s stomach twisted, her breath hitching. She remained speechless because, deep down, Logi spoke the truth.

A war raged within Isadora far more than she could ever contain; the feeling of last night couldn’t compare to this. It felt as if she was pushed into a river to drown, even though she knew she could swim out.

"I know." The words scraped her throat as she forced them out, and swallowing didn’t help soothe the pain. "I know what he is, what I am to him."

Logi watched her silently, waiting for her to admit the truth herself. The truth was always painful, and no one could hide from it.

"An obsession. That is all I’ll ever be."

Logi nodded slowly. "And yet here you are, tearing yourself apart for a madman."

"You’re right," she voiced, lifting her gaze.

For some reason, she wasn’t as hurt as she thought she would be about it. Instead, it felt like a bit of weight was lifted off her chest.

"The cruelty of Kraven’s obsession is like a poison," He mused. "But in your case, Isadora, you’re aware the poison will kill you."

"Or I can survive. Some are immune to poison."

Logi’s heart swelled at her words, he couldn’t help it as he grinned wider.

This girl was something else entirely. Not only did she make him believe in her capabilities despite being a mannfae, but now she was starting to make him believe that there might be a light at the end of the tunnel.

Something he never thought could be possible. Isadora might be that little spark in Kraven’s life.

Logi loved and respected Kraven with all his heart, he was the first person who ever accepted him. And now knowing there could be hope for him, he wanted to protect it until his last breath.

’History shouldn’t repeat itself,’ he thought, and it had a far deeper meaning that even reflected his own life.

"So, you’ll stay by his side, knowing he may never be more than a madman?" Logi asked, amused, trying for more push. "Knowing he can never love you?"

Isadora smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. "I don’t even know what love means, anyway." She shrugged. "What’s more winters in my life without it? It’s not like I was born into this world with love."

Logi’s eyes saddened at her words. "Are you sure about that?"

Isadora’s smile stiffened for half a second. But then she exhaled, shaking her head as if hesitating was a silly thing to do. "Of course. Love is just... a nice feeling, it’s fleeting."

She suddenly thought of her brother, Rune. "Love hurts more. It disappoints you when you don’t expect it." She shifted her gaze to Logi. "Love didn’t get me this far."

"I know love... once, it’s all the same. Love is flawed, Isadora, but that doesn’t mean we’re capable of living without it. The goddess Elska is very international."

"It doesn’t matter," Isadora said, steadying her tone. "Kraven wants me in his own way. That’s enough."

She ignored how the words tasted like a lie, how they pulled her down to that suffocating feeling she can’t escape.

’Sometimes when you’ve spent your whole life with nothing, even something broken feels like everything,’ he thought, his thumb pressing against the dice he held.

Logi released a slow sigh, he didn’t argue with her. "If that’s what you want or believe."

"I need some air." Isadora rose to her feet, but she halted her movement. "Thank you."

"I didn’t do anything, little one."

"You listened."

Logi watched as Isadora walked away. He couldn’t help it as a smile tugged at his lips. ’You might not know it... But he loves you, Isadora. In his own way, the only way he can.’

The doors creaked as they opened. Isadora stepped out, releasing a sharp exhale. She placed her hands in her pockets and strode the streets.

Unbeknownst to her, Kraven sat atop the inn’s rooftop, having been there the entire time, listening to everything.

His expression was unreadable as he idly twirled his dagger between his fingers.