Academia of the Beast: A Dark Retelling of Beauty and the Beast (10 page)

Chest to chest, he peered down at her. He leaned down to speak right into her ear. “Do you understand who is in charge now?”

Tears fell from her eyes as she stared at his shoulder, his warm breath on her neck.

She nodded. “Yes.”

When he stroked her cheek, she flinched. “Good girl,” he said, with a laugh and stepped away.

Allyn stared ahead as he left the room, her heart thumping in her chest.

How would she get out of this now?

A tear dripped from her chin.

He’d found the one way to really make her his prisoner.

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A
SLEEK BLACK JET
awaited Allyn and Prince Lennox that afternoon. She looked on in wonder as they stood at the top of one of the towers where the jet landed. Prince Lennox stepped out into the snow, like Conall, unaffected by the brutal winds. He walked across the snow-covered rooftop as if he strolled along the beach on a summer day.

Allyn stared in awe as the wind seemed to make way for him, not a single flake of snow landing on his black suit. Allyn, on the other hand, ran from the castle and climbed inside as the wind blew snow into her face.

Once she was inside, she took off her hood and warmed her hands with her breath. There were only two seats in the back of the jet, and when Prince Lennox sat beside her, she folded her hands in her lap and tried to avoid staring at him.

It had been ages since Allyn had been out during the winter curfew. For as long as she could remember, she had watched it pass by from her bedroom window, or from the inside of the convent. She used to count the days until winter ended so that she could be free to play in the woods.

“Tell me something, Allyn,” Lennox said, not bothering to look up from his phone as he seemed to check emails. He sat on the opposite end of her, while an attendant poured whiskey into his glass.

A quick glance down at his phone showed that he had thousands of unread emails. No wonder he couldn’t take his focus off of it. It would take hours to go through them all.

“I’ll tell you anything if you tell me where my father is.”

“He’s somewhere safe. I promise. Nothing will happen to him if you cooperate.”

“You don’t have to worry about me. I will do whatever you ask.”

He grinned, leaning closer to her. “Is that so?
Whatever
I ask?”

She shot him a glare. “Within reason.”

He chuckled. “Fair enough.” He scrolled through his messages, his finger swiping upward on his phone’s screen. “I’ll never forget the first time I shifted in a Wolf. It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. To revert to something so primal and untamed is liberating. Sometimes I wish I could remain a Wolf at all times.”

“Why don’t you?”

“I prefer being a man. While there are social constraints that come with it, there are also perks. You know, pretty women, football,” he said, and lifted his glass. “Whiskey.”

“You’re a simple man,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“It would appear that way,” he said, taking a drink of his whiskey. “Tell me when you knew you were a witch. What was that like?”

“It wasn’t pleasant,” she told him, closing her eyes against the memory.

“And why is that?”

“It’s none of your business.”

“Do I have to remind you of who is in charge? Answer the question, Allyn.

Allyn shot him a glare. “Because my mother died that day. Are you pleased? Are you satisfied?”

That made him look up from his phone. He stared at her, his brows furrowing in what she would have anticipated being horror or judgment. Instead, he looked saddened, his face paling as he watched her scowl at him, her cheeks reddened.

She looked down at her hands. “My power used to be controlled by my emotions. The day she died was the day I lost all control of whatever is inside of me,” she said, her voice lowered to barely above a whisper.

The silence that followed her story left her feeling exposed.

“I had no idea.”

She glanced at Lennox as he put his phone away and met her eyes.

“All I remember of my mother was how she couldn’t even look at me.” He stopped talking and looked away.

“That must have been awful. Why couldn’t she look at you?” Allyn asked, a part of her heart hurting for him.

She couldn’t imagine such a thing. Her mother’s love was half of what shaped her into the woman she was. If Allyn didn’t have a loving mother and father, she was certain that she would have grown into a cold woman, bitter and too weak to fight whatever evil awaited within. Perhaps if Lennox had been shown more love, he’d be a different person.

“How should I know?” Lennox looked at her with an agitated look on his face. “She didn’t like me. Simple as that.” He waved a flippant hand at her and went back to his phone. “Nevermind. Forget I said anything.”

Allyn looked out the window at the clouds. That was clearly a sensitive area for Lennox, and the first glimpse of humanity she’d seen. Maybe there was a tiny crack in his hardened façade, but bringing up their mothers did nothing to improve her mood either.

She hadn’t spoken about her mother in ages. She’d been twelve when she died, and it was an event that changed her life forever. Everything and everyone Allyn had ever loved had either died or left her, and now, all she had left was her father. She had to find out where he was, and get away from Prince Lennox.

First, she needed to survive whatever he had planned for her in the War Zone.

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T
HE WAR ZONE
wasn’t what Allyn imagined. The media made it seem as though it was a desolate place where nothing stood but ruins and old decrepit buildings.

Instead, she looked down in awe at domed buildings that housed buildings that looked much like those within the city limits. To think that this thriving city was only a half day south from Elastria was perplexing.

“What is this place?”

“Faustinia. Where the fairies live.”

Allyn shot him a look. “Really?”

Lennox nodded. “You aren’t afraid?”

“Why should I be? I have more in common with fairies than I do with humans.”

“Good.”

“Why is that good?” Allyn asked as the jet landed on a black strip outside of the massive dome.

Lennox stood and reached for her hand. “Because you’re my date.”

“For what?”

“For the Faustinian Winter Ball. I never miss it. And I’m known to have the most beautiful arm candy.”

“Good Lord. I have to be seen with you?”

He laughed—a laugh that was exactly like Conall’s—and nodded. “That you do.”

She scrunched up her nose, hating that he shared Conall’s charming laugh. She accepted his hand as he led her from her seat and to the door.

Outside, the storm raged just as hard as in Elastria, with winds that threatened to lift her from the ground and throw her into the flat wilderness that surrounded them. Prince Lennox held tight to her, seeing her having trouble staying balanced. He wrapped his strong arms around her waist as they waited for a black car to come from the dome and park in front of them.

Allyn only had a few moments to appreciate the warmth of Lennox’s body as his chest was pressed to her back, as he stood behind her. They hurried into the car and closed the door against the tirade of fluffy white snow.

Allyn covered her face with her hands, trying to warm her nose which had gone numb from the cold. Without delay, the car turned and drove them toward the dome, and in through the metallic gates which stood several hundred feet high. It didn’t look as though the fairies were trying to invade human territory. You’d think that they were trying to protect themselves from the humans.

“Wow,” Allyn said.

“Incredible, isn’t it?” Lennox asked.

“The fairies have found a way to survive the winter without essentially hibernating and hiding within their homes.”

Their domes were amazing, with everything they needed within their glass walls, and completely absent of the snow and heavy winds outside.

“Right. Not everyone is as backward thinking as my father,” Lennox said, and for the first time, Allyn saw that he could actually be a reasonable person. When would the Elastrians be able to leave their homes in winter again? It had been far too many years.

She sat back in her seat and looked to Lennox. As much as she hated him, she was secretly grateful that she got to see this magical place where fairies flew through the air. While there were roads, there weren’t many cars to be seen. Everyone flew, or walked, happy looks on their shimmering faces.

Allyn couldn’t wait to get out of that car and get a closer look at a
real
fairy.

The car pulled into a building, and a metal gate slid down behind them. They parked in an underground parking garage and got out.

Allyn looked around. “This reminds me of the Digital Underground,” she said, rubbing her hands together. It was much more temperate inside the dome than she’d expected. It was warm, actually. Warm enough for a sundress and sandals.

She imagined life here. They’d accept her, right? Open their arms to a sorceress that had no idea where her power came from,
or
the extent of that power.

She tensed when she noticed two men step out of a door that slid up along the wall right beside them.

One had evergreen hair, the other had red. They were the same height, much taller than she imagined a fairy to be. At nearly a foot taller than her, they towered over her, their smooth, shimmering dark brown faces making them look like young men just out of their teen years. You could never be sure of the age of a fairy.

At least, that’s what Allyn had read.

They didn’t smile at Prince Lennox. Instead, they glared at him, as if he wasn’t welcome.

“Ivan. Igor. Aren’t you going to say hello to me and my lovely date?” Lennox said, motioning toward Allyn.

Ivan and Igor looked down at her, their blue eyes blinking with two sets of eyelids. Allyn shivered. They’d pretty much resembled dark-skinned humans covered in silver glitter until they did that with their eyes.

“We told you never to come back here after what you did last winter?” Ivan—the one with the green hair—said. He straightened his tie and cleared his throat. “My parents still haven’t forgiven me for letting you come.”

Lennox clasped a hand over their shoulders. “Listen, we’re practically brothers. Let me talk to Svetlana and Anton. I’ll apologize. We’ll all be a family again.”

Igor shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“We will talk inside,” Ivan said, glancing at Allyn. “Such matters shouldn’t be discussed in front of women.”

Igor and Allyn caught glances and he smiled. “I like your hair,” he said with a wink.

Allyn’s smile came easily as she eyes his. They had the same shade. “Thank you,” she said. “Sure we aren’t related?”

He chuckled and looked to Lennox. “I like this one. You did well this time.”

With that, Allyn and Lennox followed behind, Lennox whispering something to Ivan as they stepped inside the sliding door and into a small room with mirrors for walls.

Allyn lost her balance when the floor shot them upward at a speed that she hadn’t expected.

“Whoa. Whoa,” Lennox said, grabbing hold of her. He held her steady as the room went higher and higher.

It was over in seconds, and Allyn was dizzy once the strange elevator stopped.

“Okay, there?” Lennox asked, not letting go until Allyn nodded.

She pushed his hand off of her waist and put her hand to her forehead as she waited for the room to stop spinning.

“I’m fine,” she said, catching her breath.

The door opened and they stepped into a hallway much like those in the Digital Underground. Ancient fairy dialect stretched along the dark walls, illuminated by neon lights.

“The ball starts soon,” Ivan said. “Why don’t you take the girl to one of the guest rooms, Igor. I’ll take Lennox to ma and pa and see if he can sweet talk his way out of all of the trouble he’s in.”

Igor nodded. “Sure.” He looked to Allyn. “This way.”

For the first time, Allyn wasn’t sure if she wanted to separate from Prince Lennox. They were in a strange place, with people that she didn’t know, customs that she was unaware of. She hesitated and Lennox noticed. He grinned, amused.

“Hey,” Lennox said to her, leaning close to her ear. “I won’t be far.”

She frowned, hating that he read her hesitation so accurately. He gave her a smack on the bottom and she jumped, glaring at him from over her shoulder.

Without a word, she followed Igor down the hallway to a bedroom. He opened the door for her and waited for her to go inside. “You can get ready here. I’m sure Lennox will smooth things over with my parents and you two will be able to celebrate the end of autumn with us.”

Allyn looked around at the simple room. There was a bed on the floor, with black covers designed with beautiful white flowers folded halfway down. A clear washbasin was on the vanity, and there was one black chair beside a burning flower with red petals.

Intrigued by the flower, she walked directly to it. Instinct told her that the flames wouldn’t harm her, so she stuck her hand in the flames and smiled as they turned from orange to blue.

“What did Lennox do?” she asked. When she looked over her shoulder at Igor he stared at her with his mouth open, his eyes wide.

Instead of answering her question, his eyes lifted to hers. “What are you?”

Allyn looked down at her hand, seeing that the blue flames clung to her like lint. She shook her hand and the flames vanished. She tucked her hands into her jacket pocket.

“I’m sorry,” was all she could think to say. She was sure her cheeks were blood red as she stood there.

Igor didn’t say anything else to her. He simply backed out of the room and closed the door.

Allyn squeezed her eyes closed and groaned. “Good job fitting in.”

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M
Y FATHER IS
missing, and I am about to go to a party.

Great.

Allyn looked at herself in the full-length mirror with a sigh. She didn’t even care that her maroon ball gown was the most stunning thing she’d ever worn.