The Reaper's Wicked Obsession-Chapter 236: Reckless Behavior

Logi rose to his feet. "Then I’ll go with you. You can’t do this alone, and if you get caught, you need the number on your side."

"She needs you, Lo," Marek said as a faint smile curled on his lips. "Stay."

Marek didn’t wait for Logi to speak. He hurried to the trap door and pulled it open, leveling his body down.

The wood shut behind him.

~♧~

A whole day went by, and they were yet to hear from Marek.

Logi grew anxious and in return, he kept pacing the room. "He’s not back yet." He spared a look at the window, it was already dark which meant it had been two days now. "Something must have happened."

Isadora swallowed a lump in her throat. She rose to her feet, taking off the shawl, and strapping her twin daggers around her waist.

"What are you doing?" Logi asked. "Please don’t tell me it’s what I’m thinking."

When Isadora didn’t reply to him, his teeth clenched. "Isadora!"

"I’m done waiting," she said sternly. "I don’t want to lose anyone else." She marched toward the door.

But Logi stopped her. "Going out there is doing more harm than good."

"I’ve heard enough of that!" she snapped, facing him with sad eyes, her bottom lip trembling.

Logi’s chest tightened when he took a better look at her. Her nose and cheeks were red from the cold, and bags were under her eyes.

Seeing her in this state was too much for him.

"Marek said those exact words as I watched Aric hurt Kraven. It broke me."

The image had tormented her mind ever since, and the sound of his roars haunted her ears. Even now, she heard him, saw him hurting, and all she could do was watch.

She had never felt any weaker than she did right now. And sitting here waiting for any news, while staring at the fucking flame like an idiot wasn’t going to do a damn thing.

Over the winter, she had realized that not doing anything was as good as welcoming the misery in store for you.

Nothing will ever change unless you act.

"I know. Believe me, I feel your same pain and rage, but we can’t leave."

"Aren’t you worried about Marek?" She countered, hitting a spot that caused Logi to flinch.

"I know you are, he’s willing to sacrifice himself just to help us. I’m not losing anyone anymore. I’ve waited enough." She crouched and opened the trap door.

"Are you coming?" she asked.

"Fuck it," he mumbled a curse before following behind.

They landed on their feet and hurried into hiding.

They walk the dark corridors, torches pinned to the walls offering little light.

Hearing incoming footsteps, they hid behind a wall. Logi peeked at the group of Serpents patrolling.

Marek was right. Their defenses were tight, it was harder to move without constantly dodging patrols every passing minute.

"This is going to be hard," Logi said, watching as they faded into the other corridor. "We need to be extra careful."

Isadora gulped. She did the only thing that she thought was right. She stepped out of hiding, eyeing the two pathways.

"Isadora?" he said her name, eyes narrowed.

She began walking ahead. "Find Marek. I’ll find Kraven."

"Gods no!" He rushed to her, but Isadora cut through in another direction, and the close footsteps made him halt.

With wide eyes, he looked at the path Isadora had faded to and then the moving shadows on the walls signifying how close the Serpents were.

He cursed silently, quickly shifting to a dark spot. He grabbed the wall and hoisted his body, staying there to avoid the group.

’Alda! What have I done?’ he thought frantically. He let her wander alone, If Kraven survives this, he’s going to kill him.

~♧~

Isadora pressed her back against the wall, eyeing the Serpents moving. The more she wandered, the more she had to hide. She was getting nowhere with this.

She needed to cover more ground before dawn; slipping through the Serpents at daytime was a death sentence.

She hated herself for leaving Logi behind, but she knew being together would only make it difficult. Logi knew that, too, but he was bound by the obligation of looking out for her.

"Have you found them?"

Her breath shuddered when she heard a distant voice. It was Aric’s!

Without thinking she rushed toward that area, grabbing the holes in the wall, and climbed to the bridge.

She settled on the parapet, crawling further until she came to a halt.

Her breath was low and raspy as she tried to make out the details by squinting her eyes.

She was right! It was Aric, questioning his Serpents about their whereabouts.

Isadora counted the numbers and weighed her chances of victory. There were five of them, including Aric.

She unsheathed her twin daggers, pausing for a moment when her hands trembled.

She was acting without thinking, but her body had a mind of its own; it killed her doubts and fears as desperation took over.

She descended.

Isadora landed on her feet. This grabbed their attention.

"Praise Krig!" Aric mused. "You came to me yourself."

"Where’s Kraven?" she demanded.

The response she got was his Serpents attacking in the blink of an eye.

Isadora reacted quickly, clashing weapons with them in a heated battle.

Aric studied her closely, pacing, an intriguing smirk on his lips.

He recognized that hair color, skin, and eyes. She was the mannfae that Kraven stole away from Desire’s Haven.

’Interesting,’ he thought as the pieces fell in place and his smirk widened.

"Don’t kill her, I need her alive."

Isadora stabbed her dagger into a Serpent’s chest, the white draining from his eyes, and she yanked the blade out, causing the blood to dribble.

When she was about to attack again, a Serpent cut the back of her thigh and forced a painful yelp from her.

Isadora dropped to one knee, her body trying to filter the pain. She heard multiple footsteps and realized she had been encircled.

Their numbers had mysteriously increased.

’Where did they come from?’

"I was waiting for you to come to me, the ravenite with the bloodthirsty glare. The mannfae of Brookcrest with the power of a skin weaver," Aric declared, closing the distance between them.

Isadora’s fist tightened against her weapons. Ignoring the pain shooting through her body, she attacked.

Strangely, the Serpents didn’t react and remained still like statues.

Isadora halted her blade just an inch away from Aric’s neck.

"Where is he?" she demanded once again, chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. freeweɓnøvel.com

"The last time I saw you, you were a scared little mouse, but now look at you, a warrior." His eyes raked her from head to toe. "Kraven has done such great work on you."

"Answer the question, Aric!"

He chuckled. "Is that a threat?" He stepped closer to the blade until it touched his skin, leaving a trail of blood. "Look around you, the numbers are against you. Just a simple command, and they will cut you in half. You didn’t think this through?"

Isadora’s teeth clenched. "Tell me what I need to know and I’ll let you live, how’s that for thinking through?"

"It’s fascinating how much aura you use, for example, when I do this..." He tapped a finger on her forehead before she could react.

Isadora’s body suddenly tautened when an unfamiliar feeling swept through her insides

She was forced to take a step back. "W-What did you do to me?" she asked, trying to discern what was going on, but she couldn’t explain it.

"That is far more reaction than anticipated. Depending on your aura, too much just to measure up for not being a full-blooded Fae is heartwarming, but it’s your greatest flaw. Your body is like a torch, quench the flame then..." He snapped his fingers.

Isadora’s daggers dropped to the floor, the loud clatter echoing through the air. She collapsed to the ground.

She tried to move, but her body wouldn’t respond—as if her nerves had stopped working and she couldn’t feel a thing.

The last thing she saw was Aric crouching down to her. "Go to sleep."

~♧~

Logi landed back on his feet before sprinting down the corridor, but he came to an abrupt halt when two Serpents stopped him.

"Alda," he swore, bringing out his axe. "Now, if you would excuse me, I don’t have all day."

They came in speed, but before they could get closer, they were taken down by a figure behind them, who used the back of his axe to hit them on the head.

Their bodies crumpling to the ground.

"Marek!" Logi said with wide eyes. "You’re alright!"

"What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, we haven’t seen you for days."

"Because I found a way to get to the top floor, but I couldn’t come because I was stuck on another floor," he explained. "Where’s Isadora?"