Heart of Darkness

Chapter 23

Angelica was surprised to find him in a bookstore.

He stared at her hand on top of his and Angelica quickly removed her hand away. He picked up the book from the shelf before looking at her.

"I'll take it," he said.

Well, it is not like she could fight him to get it.

She nodded. "Do you like reading?"

Angelica smiled, realizing that he was being sarcastic. He always seemed annoyed.

Eva watched them from a distance, looking worried.

"Then maybe you can lend it to me. I'll read it fast and give it back to you so you can put it on your shelf."

He narrowed his eyes. "Do you like to read about monsters?"

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She nodded, "Yes. It seems like we have the same taste."

Angelica wondered why he picked this particular book. She could hear him say the title 'the monster is me' in his dark husky voice. She would have believed him had he said so.

Lord Rayven ignored her and went to pay for the book. The seller's eyes widened and his hands trembled slightly as he received his money. A sigh left his lips once Lord Rayven walked out of the shop.

Angelica followed him, and Eva rushed after her in panic.

"My Lady, what are you doing?" she asked.

"I need to speak to him."

Eva bit her lip and rubbed her hands together, anxiously. "I don't know if that is a good idea."

Angelica wasn't listening to Eva anymore. She was for the first time seeing how people in her town reacted to seeing Lord Rayven. As soon as they took notice of him, they moved to walk on the other side of the road, as far away from him as possible.

Some wrinkled their noses as if he smelled and others whispered behind his back. Lord Rayven kept walking without turning once to look at the ones talking about him.

Angelica followed him in silence, curiously watching people's reactions. When they left the market and came to a small village the children playing outside their homes started calling him 'monster face'.

Monster face?

That was rude.

Angelica wondered why he was walking and not riding to save himself from his misery.

"My Lady, we should go back now," Eva pleaded.

Lord Rayven took a turn and around the corner, there was another group of children. Young boys throwing stones at a dog. The dog was small and white and one of his legs seemed injured.

Angelica became angry and was about to go yell at them and chase them away when Lord Rayven halted. He had been ignoring everything and everyone, but this he wasn't going to ignore, it seemed.

She became curious about what he was going to do next, but Lord Rayven stood still. He glared at the boys, but something about his aura changed that triggered fear in her. The boys seemed to feel the same, since they dropped their stones and backed away before running as fast as they could. Even the dog barked.

What was that?

It was frightening to witness, as if he had turned into a monster in front of her despite looking the same. But that fear disappeared when he carefully approached the scared dog and slowly reached for him. He stroked him gently and the dog understood that this big man didn't want to harm him.

Lord Rayven put his book down, reached inside his pocket and took out the same white fabric that the King had wrapped around her brother's hand. Lord Rayven wrapped it around the dog's injured leg.

Angelica was surprised to see this side of him. She had never seen him being gentle before.

When the dog limped away, Lord Rayven picked up his book and stood up again. He turned to Angelica. "Is there something you want to tell me, Lady Davis?"

Angelica walked up to him. "I wanted to thank you for warning me."

"What warning?"

Oh, he wasn't supposed to admit it.

She shook her head, "nothing." She smiled.

She wanted to ask him why he helped her, especially since he seemed protective of the King but since he couldn't speak about it, she didn't ask.

"The killing seems to have started again. Something tells me you could catch the killer easily if you wanted to." She began. "Don't you want to free yourself from the accusations?"

"Free myself?" He scoffed. "The accusations are the least of my worries."

"Then what worries you, Lord Rayven?"

He seemed surprised by her question.

"Do you really not care about the women dying?" She asked.

"It seems like I wasn't clear last time. I don't care."

"I don't believe you. You don't seem like someone to ignore when someone else is getting hurt. You stopped to save the dog."

He chuckled darkly. "Yes, the dog. I don't care about people."

"You cared to help me," she said.

He pressed his lips together, "I never helped you." He insisted.

She looked into his eyes, not knowing what she was searching for. "I think you did."

One corner of his lips slowly turned up. "It seems like you have forgotten that I am rude and ill-mannered. Shall I remind you, My Lady?" He said, taking a step toward her.

"I am not scared of you," she said, holding her ground.

"That is your first mistake." He tried to intimidate her with his dark eyes.

"My Lady. We are late. We should go back home." Eva came to her side and grabbed her arm to pull her away.

Angelica knew that Eva was uncomfortable and scared of being around him in an empty corner.

"You are rude and ill-mannered, My Lord. But I hope not heartless." She told him before letting Eva drag her away.