Not My Fairytale

Chapter 37

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A Madman

"Am I mistaken, or have you grown far worse at this since last time?"

Franco's insult snapped me from the dark trail of thoughts my mind had wandered down. I narrowed my eyes and, for the first time that afternoon, actually focused on the target before me. I tightened my grip, then lifted the axe above my head, sending it hurdling several yards down the lane, where it struck the wooden target. "Careful, beta," I warned, watching the weapon quiver in the dead center of the rings, "even distracted, I still have better aim than you."

He grinned, "Shall we keep score?"

August had arrived excruciatingly slow, due entirely to the fact that I had rarely been allowed to leave the castle grounds in over a month. Even inside the walls, my father had assigned a security detail to trail my every move for some weeks, though that had– thankfully– been relaxed.

Sneaking out of the castle with so much extra attention had become nearly impossible. It required a great deal of planning, and an incredible amount of luck to pull off. I had very seldom managed to escape to the willow in all of that time, and even less often was Angelo there to greet me.

Franco helped me pass time on the many days that I wasn't able to get away. His own mate was still a touch wary of the whole situation– though she warmed to it more with each passing meeting– and Franco had chosen to keep her identity hidden from the public for the time being. Her name hadn't been on the list of high-ranking humans the Blood Fangs wished to exterminate, and he hoped to keep it that way for as long as possible. That meant spending many of his afternoons stuck in the castle as I was.

When I didn't smile, he sighed, "Lighten up, Giules, it can't be so bad remaining within the walls for a month or two."

I grimaced as I sent another axe flying, "It can."

He ran a hand through his dark hair, "It could be much worse." He added, "Besides, it won't be long now. We've had the Blood Fangs on the run for so long, it's only a matter of time before they run out of places to hide."

It could be much worse. The words felt insulting coming from him.

In Franco's eyes, his situation was far worse than mine. Limiting his visitations with his mate, keeping her identity a secret. If only he knew that I had been hiding my own mate for the better part of a year with no end in sight. That even if the conflict with the Blood Fangs were to end tomorrow, my relationship with Angelo would remain just the same as it always had been.

I had spent many lonely castle-locked days contemplating what might become of us if we managed to rid our kingdom of Blood Fangs. Would Angelo flee with whatever men managed to escape my fathers wrath back to the Free Lands? Would he remain behind to continue to see me?

The third option haunted my sleepless nights: would he be captured alongside the rest of them? If he was, I didn't think there would be anything I could do to protect him.

I forced a smile that didn't quite reach my eyes, "Yeah, only a matter of time."

~*~

The very next day I managed to sneak out of the castle.

I was prepared to spend my afternoon in solitude, resigned to the fact it was unlikely that Angelo and I would both escape our duties at the same time. So when he sauntered under the cover of the hanging limbs a short while later, it was all I could do to keep my excitement at bay.