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

it is kind, and it’s one I would gladly thank you for, but how do I know you’ll carry out your promise? After all, if I succeed, then I won’t be around to…” A lump formed in his throat, but he continued through it. “…see that your promise is kept. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but I would like some sort of insurance, Your Royal Highness.”

Venus stepped forward. “Your friends will all be safe. You have our word. It has been promised, and so it shall be done,” she said softly, her voice carrying like a song toward Alex’s ears.

“Thank you, Your…”

“Your Grace,” Venus offered, seeing that he was struggling with how to address her.

Alex bowed. “Thank you, Your Grace. As I say, the offer is a generous one. I’ll be happier going to my grave knowing they are taken care of. Not happy, but happier,” he said, trying to force a smile onto his face, though he wasn’t in any kind of mindset to feel pleased. All through the conversation, though it was growing more promising by the second, Alex could not escape the sense of impending doom that was threatening to crush him beneath its weight.

Julius leaned into his wife, his face showing his displeasure.

“You do not speak when I am speaking,” he hissed, pulling her roughly toward him by the neck. “You know this, and yet you continue to disobey. I don’t like to blemish your beautiful skin, my darling, but if you persist…” The rest of the sentence did not need to be said; the intent was clear enough.

Venus took in a deep breath, her face perfectly calm as she lifted her hands to her husband’s face and planted a delicate kiss on his lips. Pulling away, she held his gaze. For a moment, they were perfectly still, saying nothing, barely moving, while Venus, using whatever strange powers of manipulation she possessed, turned their full force onto her husband.

“I am sorry, my darling,” Venus whispered. “I got overexcited about your grand idea, and felt compelled to speak. It will not happen again,” she said. Julius appeared hypnotized by her words, his expression softening. Alex watched, transfixed to see her powers at work on someone else.

Slowly, Julius broke away from his wife, and she released her hold on his face. His eyes looked strangely placid, as if he’d just awoken from a deep slumber. He blinked sluggishly, apparently figuring out his surroundings. Seeing Alex, he narrowed his eyes.

“Where was I?” he asked.

“Your kind plan for my friends, Your Royal Highness,” Alex replied, encouraged by a subtle nod from Venus.

Julius nodded slowly, as if it was all coming back to him. “Yes, your friends shall be set free, upon completion of the task before you,” he repeated, before pausing, a grim smile dancing upon his lips. “If you aren’t successful, however, then your friends shall suffer the same fate as you. There will be a public execution, and all of you shall leave this world together.” He sighed, evidently delighted by the poetic drama of it.

Alex nodded, not daring to say anything. He would do the spell, as he had been asked, but to have his friends’ fates hinge on his success seemed cruel and unjust. But what choice do I have? Alex thought miserably. He could only hope that Venus would ensure the promise was seen through to fruition, no matter how much power it took her to persuade her husband of mercy.

“Excellent. Then you are dismissed until I call for you again!” Julius cried, turning around to go back to his throne and his book.

Alex cleared his throat, and the king froze midway over the bridge leading to the central island. He turned in slow motion, a look of pure resentment upon his face, just as Alex opened his mouth to speak.

“What about everyone else, Your Royal Highness?” he asked brazenly, knowing it would get him into trouble. Still, if he didn’t ask, no one would.

“Why, you ungrateful little beast! How dare you come in here and make demands of me! I have given you plenty, and you ask for more? You vile wretch. You’re almost as bad as that disgusting half-breed, wanting everything, sucking the very life out of me with his mere presence! How DARE you!” Julius screamed, sprinting toward Alex and grasping him by the shoulders. He shook Alex as hard as he could, making Alex’s brain rattle, while jabbing a finger in the direction of the shamefaced Virgil.

Alex thought he might be sick, the world juddering in front of him. “I… am sorry, Julius! I should not have asked… more of you. I am… grateful for all you have… offered. I was… simply concerned… for the people… down there, just as… you are no… doubt concerned for… them. They are… your people, after… all,” he said, managing to blurt out the words between shakes.

Julius released Alex, sending him careening backward. He landed with an awkward splash in one of the streams, startling a small band of goldfish. Scrambling to his feet, he brushed the moisture from the back of his trousers, but Julius was already halfway back to his throne.

The king shrugged, not bothering to turn around. “They aren’t your concern. I left them to my soldiers… though, I was tempted to escort them all through to Spellshadow Manor or Kingstone Keep and watch them all squirm as the mist took them.” He chuckled callously. “Mind you, I have no control over what my soldiers do—most of those at Starcross are probably already dead,” he added with a backward flick of his hand.

Alex glanced over to where Venus was standing, and saw from her face that what her husband said wasn’t true. Her beautiful eyes said a thousand things, and none of them spelled out the deaths of the Starcross survivors. Whatever she knew, it was clear there was hope still for all those in the havens below.

“You can go now,” Julius repeated, his tone carrying a warning. “But just