Page 49 of Hupotasso
“Yes, like a fucking murderous beast follows its prey!” I shout. “Your son thinks he was betrayed by me! He HATES ME. And he’s going to KILL ME!”
I pull her hands from her face and shake her roughly by the shoulders as she moans. But even this act of violence, despite her betrayal, seems wrong against a woman who’s suffered so much at the hands of Dragonspurs already.
I’m better than that. Better than all of them.
I walk to the window and press my forehead to the glass as I groan aloud my thoughts.
“Before this, before all the violence and abuse and threats, I could see there was goodness in him. I had hope he would learn to love, to trust. I could see what you say is inside him. But not now. Instead of securing his happiness you’ve made him believe all human women are duplicitous monsters. Instead of havinghim stop your arcane bloodthirsty rituals, he’ll be the first to champion them.”
I turn back to face her.
“Can’t you see you BROKE him!”
“No, no, no,” she whispers, her words coming out in a rush. “He’s not broken. He’s hurting. When he realises the truth, that Spider has no hold on you, he’ll return your love. But he can’t know it was me who found you. You’re right, he’ll never trust another human woman again if he finds out it was me. Please, give me some time to make it right, have patience.”
“I’m done,” I shake my head. “I’m done with him, I’m done with you. I’m done with all of this. I came here today because Falcon intimated that if I got pregnant he was going to kill the baby. Do you realise that? Is that something you knew too?”
“Of course not!”
She grasps my hands and I feel her whole body trembling through her fingers.
“Angelina, please, you can’t tell him about The Games. If he found out that I’d put you in there… he’s all I have, and he’s the future of our race. I know it, He’s the answer. Please, just give me a little more time. I promise you I’ll mend it all.”
I pull my hands roughly from hers.
It’s been months now. Months of abuse and confinement and feeling like I was the only one in the world who knew the truth. Yet all along, she’d known. She’d known, but let me suffer alone.
‘She’s as bad as him.’
“I won’t tell him. I have to believe you know how to fix what you’ve done, to fix him. You’re the only human woman left in the world whom he trusts. I’d never take that from him.”
My words hit home and she collapses onto the floor, whimpering: “What have I done? What have I done?”
I turn and leave.
I won’t reveal her secret, but she and I both know that unless she fixes things soon, keeping it will likely cost me my life.
36
Jag’s return is more welcome than I can say, and I embrace him warmly despite our disagreements over the past weeks and months, and our cold parting.
We’d spoken several times over the phone since then, but today he’s returned to live under my roof. My castle has always been a place he’d called his second home, and it hadn’t felt the same without his laughter and ridiculous attempts at cooking.
Without his friendship.
My recognition of why he’s invested so heavily in proving Angie’s innocence has helped me understand not just his motivation, but his deep need to be proven right. I feel only sorrow for him that it isn’t going to come to fruition. But I want him to knowthat I’m steadfastly as loyal to him as he is to me. Regardless of the fact I hold to the truth that vampires can never truly love humans, there should be no doubt between us that I do lovehimas my brother in arms.
Stepping back from my embrace he walks to the sideboard to pour himself a drink.
“The staff look unfamiliar,” he turns, giving me a penetrating stare.
“I dispensed with them all. And before you ask why, don’t play coy,” I chuckle. “I imagine you learned of it the day I did it.”
“I did,” he nods. “Wolf told me. But the reason was lost on me, unless your paranoia has grown so great that you believe everyone around you to be Spider’s minions.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I sigh. “I’m not paranoid. Rumours were being spread among the staff. Rumours that reached the North Wing and made my life difficult.”
“These rumours wouldn’t happen to be that Angie is unable to become pregnant, would they?”
