The Secret of Spellshadow Manor 3 by Bella Forrest (i can read book club txt) 📕

nodded. “Of course—sorry. Thank you, Ellabell.” He gazed at her with slightly bashful gratitude.

She shrugged it off. “I say the mouse is the hero here,” she beamed, though her freckled cheeks had flushed ever so slightly, and her blue eyes had an added sparkle to them.

There was an overall sense of relief in the tower, to have Alex back in the fold. Even Aamir seemed happy to see him. In fact, the older boy seemed much happier in general, as if he had regained some of his former energy in Alex’s absence. The lines of exhaustion that had been etched onto his face were softening, with more of the familiar Aamir returning to the surface. Life had begun to shine again in formerly vacant eyes, and it was having much the same effect on Jari, who seemed to be brimming with energy. The younger boy stood grinning beside Aamir, nudging him in the arm as he whispered something into the older boy’s ear.

“People in glass houses, Jari Petra,” teased Aamir, a jovial smile curving at his lips.

Jari scowled playfully. “Why does everyone keep saying that?”

“Because it’s true—the amount of damage control I have had to do for you. You have no idea how much magic it took to make a thousand roses disappear.” He chuckled softly.

Alex smiled as he watched the two young men bantering like they used to, even if he had been the butt of the whispered joke. It didn’t matter; they were laughing in the corner over a shared jest, and it was the closest to normality Alex had seen from them in a long while. It was truly a happy sight to behold. In his heart, he felt the threads that had come loose beginning to be tied together again, bringing the friends closer once more.

Helena’s mood, however, was not so merry. There was a deep concern in her eyes that worried Alex, as he noticed her glancing warily toward the front door of the tower.

“What’s the matter?” Alex asked, sensing Helena’s agitation.

“I’m sorry to do this to you,” she began, giving Alex palpitations that someone was going to barge through the door and arrest them that very moment, “but I am going to have to move you once everyone in the House is asleep.”

It was not quite as worrying as Alex had imagined, but there was still fear to be taken from the girl’s words.

“Why?” asked Jari, looking crestfallen.

“I don’t think it’s safe for you here, in the tower, anymore,” she explained. “It was fine when nobody suspected anything, but the school has tightened security after Alex’s nighttime excursion, and I’m just not sure this is the right place to keep you hidden anymore.”

Alex felt discomfited by the blame, but he knew it truly did fall on him.

“I think you’re right,” he said sheepishly. “I’m sorry to put you all through this again.”

Around the room, the others passed him expressions of sympathy, but there was no anger in the faces he saw. They didn’t seem to bear a grudge, and Alex was grateful for that.

“When must we leave?” asked Natalie.

“We should set off in a couple of hours,” suggested Helena. “Let’s eat something now, pack all your things up, and then get ready to go.”

The group nodded, and Jari handed out food. An anxious silence sat heavily in the air, peppered only by the sound of nervous chewing and the glug of water being drunk. With the knowledge of Helena’s fears, a couple of hours seemed like a long time.

With everything packed up, they stole out of the tower and followed Helena across to the thicket of trees, where they had hidden the boat. They heaved the vessel out from the densely packed branches and pushed it across the shore and into the water as swiftly as possible.

Alex felt the shiver of the lake running icily up his legs as he waded through the shallows. He tried to ignore the feeling as he hopped up into the boat and shuffled over to the middle bench where he took up an oar. Once everyone was aboard, they rowed swiftly over to the island with the lighthouse, where Helena assured them they would be safe. She promised to continue bringing supplies, though they would not be as frequent—every other day, rather than every day. It seemed to surprise her to hear they had already been on the island, but she said little more about it as they made their way over.

Rowing deftly into the narrow inlet, the group watched anxiously as Helena moved onto the central bench and took up the oars. She was taking away their only means of escape, and Alex wasn’t sure how happy he was with that fact. He thought about saying something, but the others were already positioned to wave her off, cheerful smiles on their faces. It didn’t seem to bother them at all that she was going to row away with the boat, leaving them alone on a very small island with no way off it, except to swim. Alex didn’t want to say it smelled like a trap, but he felt a sense of uncertainty regardless.

As she disappeared into the darkness, the quintet made their way into the familiar lighthouse. It was deathly quiet as they marched up the winding staircase, into the rooms above, and laid out their beds.

A short while after everyone had settled, Alex could hear the soft sound of oars, slicing through the water, rising up through one of the windows. Presuming it to be Helena, he moved to the ledge to peer out, only to see a very different sight before him on the black water of the lake.

A boatful of figures, dressed in glinting armor, rowed across the lake toward the opposite shore. Alex ducked back from the window’s edge, guessing they must be the guards Alypia had promised to send to Spellshadow, to regain control at the request of the Head.

“What is it?” hissed Jari, seeing Alex crouched beneath the