Academia of the Beast: A Dark Retelling of Beauty and the Beast(11)
“I’d appreciate if you didn’t talk about him,” he said but didn’t elaborate. Instead, he walked over and handed her a glass of red wine.
She took a sip. “I’m sorry. I just thought with the two of you still living in the original Baran castle, you’d be close,” she said.
“We aren’t,” he snapped.
Allyn held onto her wine glass, the tension thickening in the room. Even when they met as children, Lennox wasn’t around. She didn’t understand the division between twins but knew better to press the issue. She didn’t need to learn all of his secrets in one night.
For one, she wasn’t ready to tell hers.
She smiled and tried to lighten the mood. “I haven’t had so much alcohol in all of my life. Are you trying to get me drunk?”
“If you need to take it easy, my feelings won’t be hurt. Would you like some water?”
Allyn drank a bit more. “I’m fine.” Her mind went to Aude and Khia and what they would think if she didn’t return soon. “I should probably tell my friends where I am.”
“Don’t worry. I sent Edan a text. He told them where you are and will make sure they are taken care of.”
“Oh,” she said and sat up straight. “What do you want to do now since we have a few more hours together?”
Conall shrugged. “We can just talk if you’d like. I haven’t seen you in years and would love to know what you’ve been up to. Hannah was never much of a conversationalist. She seemed to enjoy the sound of her own voice that nothing she said had much depth.”
“But, you stayed with her for nine months. There must have been something you liked.”
“She was pretty, and there’s always been a lot of pressure to settle down.” He leaned back against the counter with a sigh. “But, like I said, she was a great actress. It was hard to tell when the act was over and when she was being real. You know?”
Allyn stared at him. He tried to hide that he was hurt, but she could see right through his fa?ade. She saw her own pain reflected in his ice-blue eyes.
“Yes. I know exactly what you mean. My ex did nothing but lie to me. On top of that, he’s probably with another woman right now.” She made light of it, though the idea ate at her each night.
“Damn. As far as I know, Hannah never cheated. She was just a liar.”
“Well, lucky you.” Allyn drank her wine down, no longer caring about how drunk she got. As long as she didn’t become sloppy, she didn’t care.
He picked up the wine bottle and poured her some more. “I’m the cursed one,” he said. “There isn’t much luck involved.”
I know more than you think.
She watched the red liquid fill her glass. This wasn’t the way she envisioned her night. Just hours ago, she thought she’d be sitting in her dark apartment with a bunch of candles and a bowl of canned soup.
Now, she was drinking wine with the prince of Elastria...the future king.
The music changed to a more upbeat song and Allyn’s body warmed from within. She smiled, suddenly wanting to dance, but not quite drunk enough to do so alone in the middle of the Prince Conall’s living room.
“This is weird,” Allyn said, her smile fading as she looked up to Conall.
He lifted a brow. “What is?”
“I can’t get over that I’m sitting here with a prince, talking about my ex. What is happening right now? Is this real?”
Conall’s charming smile returned and he took her glass from her hands. She watched him set her glass on the black marble countertop and turn her barstool to face him. He leaned down to her level and looked her right in the eyes.
“Allyn Carmody. This is real, and I think you’re done drinking.”
Her head spun and she could barely keep her eyes open. “Why?” she asked in a whisper and nearly fell from the stool.
He caught her in his arms.
“Are you okay?”
“I don’t know.” Allyn started to panic. She gripped Conall’s shoulders as fear flashed before her eyes.
No. Get it together. She should have known better. Such reckless drinking could ruin everything. If she didn’t control her body, she didn’t want to think of what could happen.
Allyn tried to stand and found that she didn’t have control over her legs. She groaned, her head thumping as she tried to clear her vision. It took everything within her to keep the magic within.
Kiss him.
Kill him.
End his life before he ends yours.
The voices wouldn’t shut up.
Conall picked her up and her head fell back, her hair swinging as he carried her from the kitchen. Her eyes were glazed over as she looked at the vaulted ceiling. She didn’t know where she was going and had no control.
The last thought she had before she passed out struck terror in her soul.
He knows who I am...and he drugged me. What a clever Wolf.
CHAPTER 7
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FOR ONCE, ALLYN wished the sun would have stayed away. She didn’t want to face the morning, and what would follow. When she opened her eyes, she was alone on a large bed with white blankets covering her. She sat up, her hair falling into her face. She pushed it back and looked around. Her head ached, but she vaguely remembered the events of the evening.