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

met with the king, then?” Aamir asked solemnly, concern in his dark eyes.

“Yeah, we’ve had words,” Alex said wryly, trying not to let his emotions overwhelm him. Still, he knew he’d looked away too slowly; they had seen the fear in his eyes. The room fell silent. It was clear they had been expecting the worst, but to understand how real it was, was a different beast entirely.

“You’re not getting out of this?” Ellabell whispered, though she would not look up, her hands balling into fists.

“Doesn’t look like it,” Alex replied quietly.

“Do you remember when you first arrived at Spellshadow, and Jari was looming over you, bouncing around like a little kid?” said Aamir suddenly, cutting through the tension.

Alex frowned, the memory bringing a small smile to his face. “I do remember that,” he chuckled.

“I had to stop him from trying to shove you awake. He thought that if he could roll you off the edge of the bed, the impact of you hitting the floor would make you wake up quicker,” Aamir continued, laughter glittering in his eyes. “He wouldn’t listen when I said it might knock you out. If you hadn’t woken up when you did, I wouldn’t have been able to stop him.”

Jari grinned. “Hey, it was a good idea! It would have worked, too, if it hadn’t been for you pesky kids,” he said, putting on his best gangster voice.

“And that first lesson, when you could not do the aura! Derhin was so disappointed in you!” Natalie chimed in. “But when I made you crackle, it was like you had run a marathon—he was so happy for you.”

Alex nodded, that memory somewhat tainted by the thought of what had happened to the professor after. “And that duel on the front lawn was pretty epic,” he said, flashing a knowing look at Aamir.

The older boy smiled sadly. “It’s just a shame it led to so many terrible things.”

“Yeah, your moment of victory didn’t last very long,” Jari said, nudging his friend. “You were a total boss though, when you were fighting. Sneak attack master! It’s the one time since I’ve known you that I’ve actually thought you had a hint of cool in there somewhere.”

“I fear I may have used up all my cool,” Aamir replied, laughing.

“I think we have all done some terrible things and some cool things in our time here,” Natalie added, looking slightly sheepish.

Jari nodded. “Yeah, Natalie, we definitely all thought you were going psycho at one point, but you came through it.”

“The curse, the dark magic. You’ve been through a lot,” Alex agreed, looking at the French girl with warmth in his eyes. “And while we haven’t always seen eye to eye, you’ve always been a good person. Power is tempting. I know it now.”

Natalie smiled shyly. “I have been a bit of a nightmare at times, haven’t I?”

“Understatement of the century!” Jari whooped, eliciting a swift punch in the arm from Natalie. “See, there you go again,” he teased, as Natalie’s laughter rippled across the room. It was a beautiful sound, and one that Alex had not heard in too long.

Aamir laughed. “We had no idea what was coming, back then, did we? I mean, do you remember that Christmas—how happy we all were? It feels like twenty Christmases should have passed by now, right?”

The others nodded.

“I just remember thinking you didn’t like me very much,” Alex admitted, glancing at Aamir.

“You mean, when I took you up to the hill and had a go at you?” he asked, grinning.

Alex smiled. “That’s the one.”

“I thought you had potential, but I didn’t think you were taking magic seriously. Can you believe that?” Aamir said, shaking his head. “How wrong I was. It was all simple back then, wasn’t it? It was class and teachers and students, no different from being at high school. I think we thought, if we pretended enough, things would be okay.” His face took on a dreamy expression. “When you’re young, you think school is the world—you think it dictates everything you are, and everything you will be. It’s only when you’re out that you realize there is a whole other world awaiting you, and you have to deal with life as it comes, adapting and changing,” he added, a tinge of sorrow leaking into his words. “Without you, Alex, we’d have stayed there. We would never have reached beyond that idea of accepting it was our only choice, our only world; we would never have tried to leave.”

So far, they had managed to avoid actively talking about what Alex was being made to do, but there was a peculiar undercurrent running beneath their talk of memories—good times and bad. It was their way of saying goodbye, without having to say the words.

“Dude, way to bring down the mood.” Jari whistled, but there was a smile in his eyes.

Aamir laughed. “Sorry, time in a cell, however plush, has made me somewhat philosophical,” he apologized, trying to bring the levity back.

The only person who had yet to speak was Ellabell. She was sitting in her seat, her head down, her nails digging into her palms. An aura of angry sadness emanated from her. Even her body language was prickly, her shoulders hunched, a muscle in her cheek twitching where she was gritting her teeth. Alex couldn’t bear for her to be silent a moment longer; he wanted to hear her voice.

“Ellabell? Do you remember when we first met, and you told me all about Jari’s attempts to woo you?” Alex asked, trying to involve her in the conversation.

She lifted her head. “I remember everything,” she said simply, her eyes strangely blank.

Aamir stood. “The three of us should be going,” he said, flashing the other two a knowing look. They stood quickly, though Natalie’s eyes were filling with tears.

“Don’t leave on my account,” Ellabell murmured.

“We aren’t, but there are discussions that aren’t meant for our ears,” Aamir replied kindly, resting his hand on Ellabell’s shoulder. She flinched, refusing to look up