Angelica could see her friends' envious faces as she was escorted out of the party with the King. Hilde looked like she wanted to fight her. Her eyes blazed with anger and hatred. Angelica became sure that her friends would now exclude her even more from their friendship circle. They had already been jealous of her ability to attract men, but since she wasn't interested in marriage; they hadn't been worried. Now they would certainly worry.
But Angelica had other things to be concerned about other than her envious friends. Things like, why the king wanted to be with her in private? What would he do? How could she escape? Or what should she say or do to make him lose interest in her?Her mind flooded with many ideas as they walked through the large halls of the castle. She was walking beside the King and two of the six men that were close to him walked behind them. One being the scarred man.Angelica could feel their dark auras surrounding her. Her brain was sending her warning signals, as if she was walking into fire. She couldn't understand why, but something about them screamed danger."You need not be afraid, Angelica," the King spoke.How did he know she was afraid?"All I want is to have a conversation with you," he assured.His voice was so smooth and soothing that she almost believed him.They entered what seemed to be the parlour. It was a large room with grand chandeliers hanging from the roof. Several paintings decorated the walls, and a thick rug covered the floor. In the middle, there was a rectangular table surrounded by two sofas and two couches. Each on the opposite side."Have a seat," the King motioned for her to sit on a sofa.Angelica did as she was told and the King sat on a couch to her left. She thought they would be alone, but the other two men joined them. They sat at the other end of the table.Angelica's gaze accidentally fell on the man sitting right in front of her, and she almost froze in horror. Up close, his face looked even more appalling. The right side of his face was completely damaged. Some places had no skin and she could see raw flesh.The scars seemed deep, and Angelica wondered if they reached into his mouth. But more than his scarred face, his dark eyes frightened her as he met her gaze. Eyes that dared her to keep looking at him. He knew that she had been repulsed by his face, but she couldn't control it. She didn't mean to offend him.Angelica tried to smile at him, but her lips refused to move. Nor could she look away. He held her gaze with his."Angelica.""Yes." Angelica called, startled. The King's voice pulled her out of the scarred man's dark eyes and she turned to him. "Your Majesty." She added quickly.He smiled at her. "This is Lord Rayven." He introduced the scarred man. "And that is Lord Quintus." He motioned toward the one sitting next to him.Angelica avoided looking at Lord Rayven and went straight to look at the man sitting next to him. Lord Quintus was as beautiful as the King, but Angelica didn't look at him for too long. She was still shaken by the scarred man's gaze, and she could still feel his eyes on her."Both unwed," the King added.Angelica smiled, feeling uncomfortable. Was he trying to set her up with someone? She thought he was interested in her."Why is a young, beautiful lady like you still unwed?" he then asked.The King tilted his head to one side and studied her curiously. "How so?" he asked.It was time to pull out her cards. "Men don't like free-thinking, educated women with ambitions and dreams." Angelica replied. "I have read over three hundred books on more than a hundred different subjects. My dream is to open a school for young girls and teach them how to write and read, Your Majesty," she said.Hopefully, this would be enough to scare him.The King leaned back on his couch with an amused smile. "Interesting," he said, then turned to the other two men in the room.Angelica's heart skipped a beat. She could feel the scarred man's dark gaze on her again, but she didn't dare to look at him. She didn't want to do anything to offend him again. She already felt bad for how she reacted before."So you are looking for a man who will let you follow your dreams?" the King asked."I am looking for a man who will treat me as his equal, Your Majesty," she said, knowing that this sentence rubbed men the wrong way.But not the King. He seemed to be even more intrigued by her."And what will you do if you don't find such a man?"Angelica knew she couldn't live alone in this world where women didn't have a voice. Her father could die in battle anytime, and then she would be left alone with her younger brother. Life would become very hard without a man on her side."I am hopeful, Your Majesty," she replied with a smile.The King nodded thoughtfully. For some reason, she felt that he liked her and not the way a man liked a woman."She would be a good Queen," Lord Quintus spoke, who had been silent the whole time.No! That is not what she expected to happen.The King chuckled. "She is not the one."The one?Was he looking for someone specific?"But she is something," he added, turning to her.For some odd reason Angelica thought his icy blue eyes were gleaming. And then he leaned closer to her, trapping her with his eyes. "Tell me Angelica. What are you?" he asked.Angelica felt a strange pull, a compulsion to speak the truth. "I am a woman, Your Majesty." She replied.Then she felt as if she was released by some invisible chains. The king leaned back again with a smirk. "I see that," he said. This was the first time he looked at her the way a man looked at a woman."You are wasting time." The scarred man spoke for the first time, and before she could turn to him, he was already next to her. A strong hand gripped her arm and pulled her out of the sofa with such force that she almost collided with him before she could stop herself.Her heart skipped a beat as she found her face an inch away from his chest. Before she could think of anything, he grabbed her jaw and turned her head up so she was looking at him. Those eyes sent shivers down her spine. She had never seen eyes so black that she could see her own reflection in them.His strong grip eased around her jaw, but she was too shocked to pull away from him. Was it the magnetic pull in his eyes
It was late at night when Angelica went home with her father. On her way back, she kept thinking of the strange night she had with the King. There was something different about him that she couldn't quite put her finger on, yet strangely, she did like him despite the warning signs that frightened her.Speaking of frightening, she remembered Lord Rayven's dark eyes. She could never forget the way he looked at her with such… hatred? Or was it anger? She couldn't tell, but it was very clear that he didn't like her. Angelica couldn't blame him because of how she'd reacted after seeing his face."Angelica. I don't want to see you with any other man. You have to think about your reputation now that you have the king's attention. Don't ruin your chance," her father told her when they arrived home.Angelica wanted to protest and tell him he shouldn't have left her alone with the King if he had thought of her reputation. What if the King didn't like her? Then no other man would be willing to w
The Lords were kind enough to help her find her brother. Lord Quintus was the one to talk to her, the other two were silent and just followed them."Where are we going, My Lord?" Angelica asked."I think your brother might be with His Majesty," Lord Quintus replied.Why would her brother be with the King?They took her to the parlour where the King had taken her the previous night. Just as Lord Quintus predicted, her brother was sitting with the King and they were chatting animatedly.Angelica was both surprised and confused.The King turned to them, and his eyes narrowed upon seeing her."Lady Davis came here looking for her brother," Lord Quintus explained.Her brother turned around and was surprised to see her.The King leaned back on his couch and tilted his head to one side as he looked at her.Angelica curtsied. "Your Majesty, I am sorry to disturb you this late.""Not at all. Please come and sit." He motioned toward the sofa next to him.Angelica didn't know why she looked over
Angelica walked behind Lord Rayven as he led them outside the castle. Even though she couldn't see his face, she knew he didn't want to escort them anywhere. She hated to bother someone who didn't want to help her at all.Her brother left her side before she could stop him and went to walk beside Lord Rayven. He looked tiny next to him. Lord Rayven was a bit taller than what she considered tall, with wide shoulders and muscular arms. She could imagine his strength just from the way he strolled, like he could walk over and destroy anything that blocked his way. His tall legs made one step as long as two of hers.Despite his big frame, he moved with the same elegance as the other Lords. It was as if he glided across the floor."My Lord. I want to become a fierce warrior like you." Her brother told him, almost jogging next to him to keep up.Angelica held her breath in fear, waiting to see what Lord Rayven would say. When he ignored her brother and kept walking, she felt even more nervou
Angelica sat in her bed and watched the fire on the hearth while her thoughts drifted away. She kept repeating Lord Rayven's voice in her head, wondering why it sounded familiar.Why did it feel like she had heard his voice before when she was sure she had never seen him speak?She wouldn't forget such a voice so easily. It was deep and husky and pleasant to the ears. But the underlying threat and danger in his tone made her shiver.She had watched him ride away on his horse into the darkness of the night. Something about him evoked many questions in her head. Who was he really? But most importantly, why did she care?Putting aside the book that she hadn't been reading, she lay down to sleep. She had already waited long enough for her father to come home, and now her eyes refused to stay open. Soon after, she fell into slumber.A loud voice woke her up early in the morning. Angelica felt relieved when she heard that it was her father who came home. He was loud, yelling and cursing, ma
"I hope your father came home unharmed," the King spoke."He is alright, Your Majesty. Thank you for your concern." Angelica replied."Do you like watching fights?" He asked, turning to the arena."It is too gruesome for my taste, Your Majesty."He chuckled. "I am sure William has a different opinion.""I love it your Majesty. Thank you for inviting us," her brother spoke.The King smiled his usual charming smile. There was something about when he smiled that seemed so genuine. It could be the reason her brother liked him, but Angelica would reserve her final thoughts about him.From the corner of her eye, she spotted Veronica and Hilde watching her intently from where they sat amongst other noble women. She could also feel the other women watching her, wishing to be in her place. If they only knew that it wasn't the ideal place to be in. If the king tossed her aside after satisfying his curiosity, no other man would take an interest in her.Angelica wanted to respectfully tell the Ki
Angelica held her breath as the fight began. The big man went on a full attack and she would flinch and close her eyes every time he swung his sword at Lord Rayven. But each time she opened her eyes again, Lord Rayven would be unharmed. Slowly, she began to relax. Maybe she didn't have to worry. Lord Rayven was doing well so far.Some of the crowd that had been cheering for the big man yelled in frustration. He wasn't doing as well as they expected, missing each time he swung his sword that looked more like a plaything in his enormous hands.Lord Rayven didn't seem to have any difficulty avoiding his attacks. It was as if he could predict the big man's next move before he even moved. While it looked like Lord Rayven had just got started, the big man was already puffing.The crowd wanted blood and the ones cheering for Lord Rayven shouted for him to attack.Listening to their demands, Lord Rayven began to attack, and the flock cheered louder. Angelica could tell that he was prolonging
Angelica's father started to act more and more strangely after he told her to never meet the King again. He also stopped her brother from going to his lectures at the castle and told them to never leave the home. Meanwhile, he came home late every night, intoxicated.He would yell a few words no one could understand, and then he would pass out. Angelica was worried for her father and asked him several times what had happened to him, but he always seemed too frightened to tell her. After that night when he first came home drunk, whatever he had seen had been haunting him. But why couldn't he tell them what he saw?Thomas, who went out unlike her and William, would tell her about what happened outside the walls of their home. More young women were found dead, and no one knew what or who was killing them. The people of the town believed it was Lord Rayven. Why she wasn't sure?"Do you think Lord Rayven is the killer?" Angelica asked her brother while they had lunch."No," he said. "Peopl