He decided in that moment that he wouldn’t return to his old self. He would change after all. He would become worse than he’d been before.
He would give way to all the bitterness and anger and self-loathing that had built up inside him. Those things would rule him now. Help him make the kind of decisions that kept the world at bay.
He nodded drunkenly at the wisdom of his decision. Fletcher could run the shop. Or not. Who cared?
As for his family…well, they’d been taken in by Andromeda, too, so whether they remained in his life was up to them. If they sided with him, they could stay.
But the first sister who told him there were more fish in the sea would be given the permanent silent treatment. No more platitudes and banalities about how things would improve if only he’d give someone new a chance.
He’d done that. And failed miserably. Again.
The thought of moving to the Dark Acres suddenly had appeal. He’d build himself a rambling mansion out there and spend the remainder of his days alone in a great house filled with books.
Although a book was what had gotten him into this mess. Andromeda had even tainted the one thing he’d considered safe.
The server returned with a bottle of good brandy and a clean glass. “Is there anything else I can get you, sir?”
“Just go away.”
With a stiff nod, the server disappeared.
The band onstage, some bluesy trio whose sad music had suited Constantin rather well, took a break, and breezier tunes spilled from the club’s sound system.
Constantin’s lip curled as he poured himself a drink. “Light jazz. Terrible.” His voice rose. “Elevator music,” he snapped.
A few heads turned.
Like magic, Valentino appeared. He was frowning. Poor pretty golden boy was unhappy.
Constantin sat back, lifting his glass to his lips. “Problem?”
“I don’t know,” Valentino said. “Is there one?”
“Just that you play terrible music between sets.” Constantin finished the brandy and poured another. “How do you stay in business?”
Valentino leaned in, his gaze just barely lit from within. “You’re drunk. And I understand why. But if you want to stay here, you need to keep your mouth shut and act civilly. Do you understand?”
Constantin looked over the rim of his glass. “Or what?”
The spark in Valentino’s eyes brightened. “Or I’ll throw you out. I’m still your older brother, remember?”
“Hmph.” Constantin tossed the brandy back. “Go away. I want to be…” His words failed him as a hallucination appeared over Valentino’s shoulder. He glanced at his empty glass. He hadn’t had that much, had he?
His gaze returned to the mirage. He couldn’t look away, no matter how much he wanted to.
“What is it?” Valentino asked.
Constantin just shook his head, his voice gone, his nerves pinging with the stupidity of hope even as his body tensed in anger.
Valentino turned to see for himself. A second later, Constantin heard him whisper the one name he’d hoped never to hear again.
“Andromeda.”
Chapter Twenty-four
“This place is astonishingly cool,” Cassi said. “And that’s from someone who’s lived in Paris for the last few years. I would love to hang out here some evening when I’m dressed for the occasion.”
Andi just nodded, busy scanning the crowd for—she stopped scanning. Valentino was staring at her. He didn’t look happy to see her, but he didn’t look bothered by her presence either. More surprised.
She went toward him. He’d know where Con was. A few yards away, she realized Con was behind him, sitting in the booth farthest from the stage. And from the looks of the bottle of brandy on the table, he was doing his best to obliterate a few brain cells.
She stopped short. The crowd swirled around her, indifferent to the torrent of emotions going on inside her. She shifted her gaze back to Val.
He shook his head like he knew what she wanted and didn’t think it was a good idea. Well, he could think whatever he wanted, but she was talking to Con.
“I have to speak to him.” Her voice was low since there was no need to shout. Val’s vampire hearing was capable of picking up her words. Which meant Con could hear her, too. “Please, Val. I didn’t leave because I wanted to. I was snatched away by the curse’s magic. I just want a chance to explain.”
Valentino frowned, then turned and said something to Con that she couldn’t make out. They exchanged a few more words, then Valentino threw his hands up. After one last statement to his brother, he walked toward her.
He shook his head again. “He doesn’t want to talk to you.”
“He doesn’t have to. All he has to do is listen.”
“He might do that. He’s had enough to drink that I don’t think he’s in any rush to get out of that booth. But he’s angry. Very angry. And I don’t know that there’s anything you can say that will change that.”
Her heart ached at that news. “I’m not leaving until I try.”
“Good for you.” He smiled weakly. “You’re exactly the kind of woman he needs. He’d see that if he could just get out of his own stubborn way.”
“Thanks.” She glanced at Cassi. “This is my sister, by the way. Cassi, this is Valentino, Con’s brother and the owner of this club.”
Val took Cassi’s hand, lightly kissing the back of it. “Enchanté, mademoiselle.”
“Merci, monsieur.” Cassi grinned. “Your French is beautiful.”
“I grew up speaking it. But yours is lovely also.”
“I live in Paris. You pick it up after a few years.” She was clearly captivated, which was no doubt Val’s intention. Then Cassi leaned in toward him. “Your club is amazing, by the way. I already adore it, and I’ve only been here ten minutes.”
Val grinned right back. “Then let me show you around.”
As the two left, Andi switched her attention back to Con. He was slouched in the farthest spot of the booth, one foot on the seat, knee bent. Several days’ worth of stubble darkened his jaw, a strand of unkempt hair fell over his forehead, and his heavy-lidded gaze reminded her of embers in a fireplace, glowing hot beneath a thick layer of ash.
He looked like a storm that hadn’t quite decided where to make landfall.
This was not a version of Con she’d encountered before, and as his current condition gave her pause, she could easily imagine how hurt he’d been by her disappearance. Time to make that as right as she could. If she could.
She gathered her courage and walked toward him, stopping at the table’s edge. “Mind if I sit?”
He didn’t look at her. Instead, he poured brandy into his empty glass. “You’re blocking my view of the stage.”
There was no one on the stage, but she figured mentioning that wasn’t going to get her anywhere, so she did what she did best—exactly what she wanted. “I’d better sit, then.”
She plopped down on the other side of the booth in a big, exaggerated way that couldn’t be ignored. He still wasn’t looking at her.
A server showed up. “Can I bring you something, ma’am?”
“A glass of water. Thank you.”
With a nod, the server left.
Con drank half the liquid in his glass, his gaze still somewhere off in the distance, but his eyes glowing with emotion.
That was unsettling. She had to make this fast.
She took a breath and started. “I’m very sorry I disappeared the way I did. It wasn’t on purpose. I didn’t even know it would happen. In fact, when I woke up, I had no idea where I was. I was in Paris, by the way. At my sister’s. That’s part of why it took me so long to get back here. That, and Cassi has made every step of this trip take as long as possible to punish me.”
No response.
She kept going. “I’m also sorry I fell asleep after that wonderful dinner at your parents’. I had too much to drink because my nerves were through the roof. That wasn’t my intention—
to fall asleep, I mean. I had planned to have a nice long talk with you after we got back to your house. To explain some things and—”
“Like how you were just using me to break the curse? Like how you lied to me about what the curse actually required?” The anger in his eyes matched the bitterness in his voice, and he was definitely paying attention to her now.
She understood his response, but that didn’t stop her from getting a little angry herself. “First of all, you opened the book, so there was no one else that could break the curse. Secondly, would it have been better if I had told you that falling in love with me was the only way for me to be free? Personal experience has taught me that the fastest way to lose a guy is with that kind of direct approach. And you didn’t exactly like me to begin with, so that full-blown honesty felt like a really bad way to go.”
He grunted something and finished his brandy.
“Does that help?” she asked. “Drinking yourself unconscious?”
He ignored her question to pour himself another.
He might have been paying attention. Or he might have tuned her out. Hard to tell.
She kept going anyway. “There’s something else I was going to tell you that night when we got home.” She paused, but there was no change in his level of interest. “How I was falling for you. How I wanted to give us a shot. If you were willing. I wasn’t sure you would be. You’re a hard man to read sometimes, you know that?”
More grunting that she couldn’t interpret, which pretty much proved her point.
“I was going to explain that how after I went back to see my sister and worked everything out with her and got my wings back, I was going to return to Shadowvale and you. To focus on us.”
His head lifted slightly, but his attention still wasn’t on her.
She sighed and stared at the table. She was getting nowhere. Maybe there was nowhere to get. Maybe he really was done with her.
“You saw your sister.”
Finally, a response from him. She picked her head up. He hadn’t really asked a question, but she answered him anyway in the hopes of starting an actual conversation. “I did.”
“Then where are your wings?”
“She didn’t believe my story about what happened here. She wanted to see you for herself. And hear you say again the words that set me free.”
He stared at her, unblinking, for a moment. Then his lip curled, and his eyes narrowed. “Not going to happen.”
“So in three days’ time, you don’t love me anymore? I know what you said, and I know you meant it. The curse wouldn’t have broken otherwise. Those words that you spoke to me when I was sleeping are what sent me back to Cassi. How can you not feel that way anymore?”
“Because you used me. And you lied to me. And you left me.”
“But I explained all that.”
“Good for you. Feel better now?”
His words cut. But again, she forgave him because of his past. And because she loved him. “Con, please. I know you’re hurt, but I’m telling you—”
“I’m not hurt. I’m done. With love. With women. With you.” His mouth twisted into a sneer. “Now you can go, satisfied you’ve had your say.”
“Having my say isn’t why I came back.”
“Right. You mentioned that. It was so you could convince your sister to return your wings. I hope that works out for you. Or not. I don’t really care.”
She stood, her eyes hot with impending tears. “I expected you to be angry. I didn’t expect you to be a jerk. I guess the upside to that is it’ll be easier to stop being in love with you.”
She stormed off before he could send another verbal jab at her, going blindly into the crowd in search of her sister.
She found Cassi at the bar, drinking champagne with Val. “I need to leave now.”
Cassi made a face. “But we were just—”
“Fine. Enjoy. I’m going.” Andi turned on her heels and made for the door. She honestly didn’t care if Cassi followed or not, but she had to get out of here. And she had to find someone who could help her make things right.
Only one person in this town might possibly be capable of a thing like that. The same person who’d helped her before.
The witch named Amelia.
She strode out of the club, her heart hurting, but her head full of purpose and determination. Magic had gotten her into this mess, magic could get her out.
She fumbled in her purse for her keys, fishing them out only to drop them. She grabbed them off the sidewalk and pushed the button on the key fob to unlock the car as she walked around to the driver’s side.
“Andi, wait.” Cassi came spilling out of the club, Val on her heels.
Andi opened the car door, but didn’t get in. “If you’re coming, hurry up.”
Val made it to the car ahead of Cassi. “I know he’s mad and he’s being awful, but please don’t give up on him.”
“I’m not.”
Val pulled back just as Cassi joined them. “You’re not? Then why are you leaving?”
“Because I’m going to see Amelia. Con told me she’s the most powerful witch in town, and she managed to break the curse’s tether when we first went to her, so I’m hoping she can do something to help me fix the mess I’m in now.”
He nodded like that seemed logical. “I can go with you.”
“I’d appreciate that, but—wait. You act like you already know about the curse.”
“Your sister filled me in. You were saying?”
“Just that maybe you should stay here and make sure he doesn’t do anything dumber than he already has. In fact, Cassi, why don’t you stay here, too? Val might need help keeping an eye on his brother.”
For the first time, Cassi looked genuinely concerned. “Okay, I can do that. I’m happy to help.”
Now that was shocking. “You are?”
With a sympathetic smile, she looked at Val. “Valentino told me about you two being here on a date and how you stood up to Constantin’s ex and how well you got on with his family at the dinner. That’s when I told him about the curse and how I was the one that did it.” She sighed in a hopeful way. “I’ve never known you like this, Andi, but it’s so nice, and I just want to see this work out.”
“Thank you. That means a lot. I’ll be back as soon as I have an answer one way or the other.”
Val tapped the hood of the car. “Call if you need anything. You know where we’ll be.”
“Will do. Keep him safe.”
Val put his arm around Cassi’s shoulders, something she didn’t seem to mind a bit. “We will.”
Andi jumped into the car and took off, going on sheer memory to guide her to Amelia’s. It wasn’t hard. A house like that stuck in a person’s memory.
She arrived after only one wrong turn, parking beneath the porte cochere and going straight up to the front door.
She raised her hand to knock, and the door opened.
Beckett stood waiting. He shrugged one shoulder. “She knew you were coming.”
“Am I about to get a big helping of I-told-you-so?”
“Probably. But that doesn’t mean she won’t help you.” He moved out of the way to let her in.
“Good. Because I have never needed so much help in my life.”
Chapter Twenty-five
Andi waited for almost twenty minutes before Amelia showed up. Clearly, the witch was making a point. Or punishing her, like Cassi had with her relentless foot-dragging on the way to Shadowvale.
Either way, Andi did her best to stay calm. Upsetting the woman whose help she needed wouldn’t get her very far. And without Amelia, Andi was at a loss for what to do next. She knew there were other witches in town, but if Amelia wouldn’t help her, why would any of them?
She certainly couldn’t pay them.
At last, Amelia walked in, her caftan of emerald silk billowing out behind her. Amethysts sparkled at her ears, throat, and fingers. Products of the mines? Andi wondered. The witch eyed Andi with a look of dis
appointment, her mouth bent in matching disapproval. “I warned you, sprite.”
“You did. And I took it to heart. I planned to tell him as much as I could after we got home from dinner at his parents’. But I fell asleep. A lot of food and too much wine to calm my nerves.” She smiled sadly. If only she could go back and change that. “And I never expected him to tell me he loved me. I didn’t even know he did it until I woke up in Paris at my sister’s.”
“I see.” Amelia remained standing. “What is it you want from me, then?”
“Help.” Andi inched forward on the seat. “A way to fix this. A way to make him forgive me. Or something. Anything to straighten out this mess.”
“Why? You got what you wanted. You’re free of the curse now, aren’t you?”
“Yes, but…” Her breath stuck in her throat, snagging on the emotion welling up inside her. “I love him. I didn’t expect that, but it happened. I can’t just walk away from him. Not now. Not knowing he feels, or felt, the same way about me.”
“Funny thing, love.” Amelia finally sat, taking the same chair she had before near the fireplace. She waved her hand at the logs, setting them ablaze.
The heat was instant and comforting, but it was going to take more than a cozy fire to right everything wrong in Andi’s world. “Is there anything you can do magically?”
Amelia stared at the fire. “With magic, there is always something that can be done. But there’s never a guarantee the result will be what you desire.”
Great. Mysterious witch talk. Andi held on to her calm as best she could. “Can you explain that? What can you do?”
Amelia looked at her. “I can make him forget you entirely.”
“That seems the opposite of what I’m trying to accomplish here.”
“A love spell on a man who already loves you can go sideways very easily and turn into obsession. Or worse. And we’re talking about a vampire here, not a human. Magic doesn’t always work on other supernaturals with the same intensity or accuracy as it does humans. Sometimes, it’s more. Sometimes, it’s less. Sometimes, it’s something completely different. What you need is to start from scratch.”
The Vampire's Cursed Kiss (Shadowvale Book 2) Page 17