Not My Fairytale

Chapter 43

There was another heavy thud against the door. It slid another inch, enough to hear the murmur of voices outside. There were several men working together to get to us. I couldn't tell how many.

At the rate they were going, I was going to find out in seconds.

Franco and I exchanged wary glances. The maids, with their bandages made of the fabric from the window curtains, cowered against the wall beside the alpha and beta females, giving us less area to defend.

The door moved a little more. Soon, they would be able to see us through the crack. Another heave after that, and they could squeeze a body through.

The remaining two guards split, one staying behind as a last defender for the queen, the other joined Franco and I at the front. The tension in the room was palpable. I lifted my blades in preparation.

It wasn't long before the first man slipped through the gap. He waited, and two more followed. Still, they held back from attacking.

When a fourth man entered behind them, I instantly discerned who he was. The family resemblance was minimal, with his straight dark hair and hazel eyes, but the smirk on his lips as he kicked the door shut behind him was all too familiar. He signaled to them with a lazy flick of his hand. They carried out his silent order, falling upon us with a sudden speed and vigor.

I had to tear my gaze from Angelo's father as the men fell upon us.

The one who charged at me was stocky, but quick for his size, with rust colored hair and a scarred face. Scars on a shifter? I'd never seen anything like it.

He lunged at me the moment I was in range. I lifted my weapons and caught his blade between them, sending a kick to his chest to shove him back. He righted himself with a speed I hadn't expected, and swung again. I parried it with my sword, catching a glimpse of Franco blocking a thrust from his opponent as I turned. My gaze snapped back to the red haired man as he swung his sword in a wide arc, the blade glinting in the soft lighting of the room, aimed right for my neck. I ducked low, and swung my foot out to kick his out from under him.

The Blood Fang hit the ground hard, rolling to the side to rise to his feet. I granted him the small mercy of allowing him to do it, only because I wanted to use the meager few seconds it bought to study Angelo's father. He still stood near the door, posture relaxed, eyes flicking between the fights, watching us. There was an amusement in those eyes as he surveyed the scene, unbothered by the close odds. When he caught me staring his smirk grew, showing off the crude scar that twisted one side of his mouth downward.

There was no time to react to that, his man was on me once more. He stabbed at me, and I brushed the blow away with a flick of my sword, swinging downward with my axe while his blade was out of the way. He jumped back just in time, taking only a moment to gather himself before rushing back toward me. I spun away from his blow, but this time when he swung, I ducked to the side and caught the hand that held the sword in my own. My elbow connected with his nose.

While he staggered back, I noticed that Ambrose had left his position by the door and had taken to examining the spaces between the grappling bodies, plotting his best route to my mother against the wall, no doubt.

Panic pounded through my veins. My opponent thrust out again, but the blood from his nose was running down his face, and his attack was clumsier than before. I used the advantage, blocking him with my sword. At the same time, I swung the axe in my other hand, connecting with the side of his head. I released the blade, letting it fall to the ground, still lodged in his body.

Ambrose's grin widened as I put myself between him and the group huddled against the wall. He spoke for the first time since entering, "You must be the famous half-blood princess I've heard so much about." His voice was gravelly, rough, yet another contrast to his son.

His tone implied that it was meant to be an insult, but my chin rose in defiance, "And you, the infamous leader of the Blood Fangs. Must be proud work, murdering all of those children in their beds."

He ignored the dig, twirling the dagger he'd pulled from a scabbard at his side. "The rumors about you are so mixed, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. How amusing that they've trained you to fight, as if it will save you from your fate."

I swirled my sword dramatically, "Happy to be of amusement, shall we see just what fate The Goddess has in store for me?"

My challenge seemed to thrill him. He motioned me forward, a taunting glint in his dark eyes. I complied, rushing toward him, blade arcing through the air. He blocked it, then jabbed in my direction, chuckling as I deflected the blade. His laughter gave me pause, and I retreated back to where I had started.

Franco, having just finished off the man that attacked him, came to stand beside me. "Careful, Giules," he murmured. "Look at his blade, there's something on it."

He was right, there was a substance glinting on the edge of the metal, as if it had been coated in some kind of liquid. I stared at it a moment longer.

"It's wolfbane," I realized aloud. The scars adorning the faces of so many shifters suddenly made sense. The poison had prevented the wounds from healing as they normally would.

He shifted closer, voice so low only I could hear him over the sound of the guard clashing with the last remaining Blood Fang. "I have a bad feeling about this."

I didn't tear my eyes from Ambrose as I spoke, "We don't need to beat him, we just need to buy ourselves time until our fathers return. It shouldn't be too long now."

He nodded, "Then we'll do it together, a few moves at a time, just enough to keep him distracted, then pull back."

"Deal."

We fell into a rhythm, just like we had practiced countless mornings on the training field. One would rush forward, exchange a few blows with the enemy, then retreat back while the other rushed forward to take their place, leaving him no time to recover.

"Using both an alpha and a beta to take me on?" Ambrose taunted, "I'm honored." But he didn't look worried, and that was what scared me. He remained calm, if not a touch amused at all times, simply returning the blows we dealt as if they were hardly any trouble at all to evade.

Franco and I had spent our entire lives preparing for a moment like this, yet it wasn't the easy win that it should have been. What he lacked in strength of bloodline, he made up for in experience– and it became clear very early that he had far more experience than we did. It didn't matter that we were faster, stronger. Every move we made, he had a counter for, every fake was anticipated. His amusement dwindled as the time drew on.

"I've grown bored of this," he said eventually.

There was no way to know what he could mean by that, and I was already before him. He blocked the first swing of my sword easily, then motioned like he would strike with his dagger, drawing my attention to the blade. Like a fool, I fell for it.

He kicked out to knock my feet from under me, similar to how I had done to his soldier only minutes earlier, and swiped his dagger down in the process. I twisted my body to avoid the strike, but the blade managed to slice a thin line into my arm. I scrambled back from him, feeling Franco's presence close behind.

Before either party could make another move, a panel in the wall clicked open and a new voice joined in from the servant door, one that flooded me with a mix of relief and dread.

"Now that's no way to treat a princess."

~*~*~

I bought the newest installment in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series (an absolute favorite of mine) on the day it came out, but I've promised myself that I won't read it until I've finished typing up the last chapters of this story, so trust me, I'm working as fast as I can manage, and I'm sorry that there is so much delay between updates.

Believe it or not, I've actually been making significant progress lately, so I hope to be getting back onto a regular posting schedule for these last five or so chapters. That said, I've always struggled with writing endings, and am absolutely never satisfied with my work, so please bear with me and be patient while I nitpick and grumble over them before posting.

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Please don't hesitate to leave any feedback (I do try to respond as much as I can)

Stay safe and make good choices!

XxRen