The Secret of Spellshadow Manor 6 by Bella Forrest (books for men to read .TXT) 📕

removed his hands, reddened crescent shapes began to appear in her cheeks, where he had clutched her with all his might. Again, she showed nothing on her face, the beautiful blank canvas remaining steady. “Tell me, Spellbreaker, did you think you could run away from me and not have to endure any repercussions? Did you think you could steal my blood, defy my rules, and get away with it?” the king asked, stalking back toward Alex.

Alex cleared his throat. “No, Your Royal Highness. I knew I would have to pay for my insolence,” he replied, trying to be as polite as possible, knowing it might save his life, even if he wanted to tear the king’s throat out.

“Did you think I wouldn’t find your secret little hideaway, and all those aberrations? That vile creature Ceres certainly thought she could hide from me, stealing them from Falleaf for all these years, right under Hadrian’s nose—blackmailing him!” Julius spat. “I’ve only kept her alive because Hadrian wants to deal with her himself. After so many years of living in fear of her, he’s finally getting to be the man I always knew he could be, if he didn’t have that old maverick’s blood in his veins. See, why couldn’t you be more like Hadrian? He knows which one is the winning side,” he continued, flashing a smug look at Alex.

Alex tried not to let his puzzlement show on his face. Surely, he reasoned, Hadrian was scheming a way to get Ceres out of any predicament she might be in? If he had persuaded Julius to let him deal with his sister, surely it was because he was thinking of a way to spirit her out of there? Of all the royals Alex had met, he knew Hadrian wasn’t a turncoat. No, it had to be part of a bigger contingency plan, to save his sister, if it became clear he couldn’t save anyone else. Of that, Alex was convinced. Whatever Julius was spouting, it was all just smoke and mirrors made from the lies Hadrian had been feeding him.

“I don’t like to get involved in family feuds, Your Royal Highness,” Alex said, hoping to subtly back up Hadrian’s well-constructed subterfuge.

“And yet you’ve managed to shoehorn yourself into our royal business, haven’t you?” Julius chuckled bitterly. “First, you cause a whole world of trouble for this pathetic specimen,” he continued, flicking a wrist in Virgil’s direction. “Then, you eliminate Alypia—whom nobody can wake up from whatever trance you put her in, by the way—because she was on her way to tell me what you were up to. Thirdly, you work some voodoo magic on that old loon’s prison, and his own inmates dispense with him. I mean, what else were the prisoners going to do, if you gave them that slice of power? I may not have liked Caius, but he was a royal, and royal blood should not be carelessly wasted. Fourth, you bother Hadrian and try to bleed him for all he’s worth, corrupting Alypia’s daughter for good measure, and joining sides with that vagrant, Ceres! Then, you have the audacity to steal my wife and lock her up. I can only imagine what you planned to do with her,” he growled. Venus’s hand on his arm brought him back from the edge of losing his temper. He took in a deep breath. “All in all, I’d say you’ve gotten yourself pretty involved in our family business, wouldn’t you?”

Knowing Julius would probably want his head for what he’d done, Alex wanted to spew forth every angry word he’d ever hoped to say to the king. It took everything he had not to give in to that temptation. He wanted to shout that, if Julius hadn’t gone around ripping the life from young people, he would never have had to get involved, but he held his tongue, calming himself for an even response.

“When you put it like that, I suppose I have,” he remarked, with just a hint of bitterness in his voice.

Julius’s eyes flashed angrily. “Aren’t you missing something?” he barked.

Alex smiled. “Sorry, Your Royal Highness,” he said, his tone overly sincere.

“I suppose you’re wondering how I found your little hideaway?” Julius crowed, strutting up onto one of the bridges, where he leaned back against the banister, evidently trying to look cool.

“It had crossed my mind, Your Royal Highness,” Alex replied, giving little away.

“It was that dear friend of yours—the mad one I locked up years ago, at Kingstone Keep. After your escape from Falleaf House, she led my scouts there, carrying that pretty one of yours. All they had to do was creep in after you, and watch where you went. After that, it was a waiting game. I knew you’d go to try out the spell, though I didn’t know which haven you’d pick. My money was on Stillwater. Anyway, when my guards said you’d gone to Kingstone, that was my moment,” he explained. Although it confirmed many of Alex’s suspicions, and disproved others, it shed no more light on the ambiguity of Venus. It seemed she truly had suggested Kingstone because she believed it to be the least dangerous haven, but there was something about the beautiful woman that perturbed Alex. He simply did not know how much he could trust behind that beautiful, serene canvas. “You’ve probably realized by now, I’m a very patient man. Once I knew you’d gone, I sent my men through to make the first strike. Then, as you saw, I followed.” He grinned smugly.

“You took everyone by surprise, Your Royal Highness. I have to commend you for that,” Alex remarked curtly, wanting to punch the smug look off his face.

Julius frowned, clearly not knowing what to do with the compliment. “As well as a patient man, I am a fair man,” he said, prowling toward Alex once more.

This was the moment Alex had been waiting for. The king kept coming, until there were barely five inches between his face and Alex’s. In