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

at him. Taking her point, he removed his hand and moved toward Alex instead. Without saying a word, he pulled his friend in for a tight hug, thumping him hard on the back. Alex gripped him hard too, unable to prevent a smile from creeping onto his face, despite the looming sadness.

As Aamir released him and stepped back, Jari swooped in. “You’re the coolest guy I know!” he said, squeezing Alex hard before letting him go. “Honestly, a true hero.” He lifted his hand in a salute, forcing a wide grin onto his face, though it didn’t reach the eyes that were brimming with tears.

Natalie was next, though her embrace was softer. She wrapped her arms around him, and he returned the gesture. “I am sorry I got you into this,” she whispered. “Jari is right—you are a true hero. For all the times I doubted you, please forgive me.”

“There is nothing to forgive,” Alex said, letting her go.

She turned her face quickly away, hurrying to where the boys were standing. Both Jari and Natalie leaned into Aamir, appearing to draw strength from his stoic demeanor, though the older boy’s face was undeniably sad. With a final, awkward wave, they left the solarium, two guards flanking them to escort the trio back to their chambers.

Now alone, Ellabell stood up abruptly. “I should be going too,” she said.

“Ellabell, you can’t go like this,” Alex insisted, reaching for her arm to prevent her from walking from the solarium, and out of his life forever. He could see she was already hardening herself against the pain and suffering that was to come, becoming colder in order to survive. The defiant expression on her face reminded him a little of Ceres, another woman forced to guard herself against emotion, to protect herself from the pain that would undoubtedly come.

“I don’t think we have much more to say to one another.” Ellabell sighed, her eyes steely.

“Come on, please don’t leave this way,” he said. “I don’t want this to be my last memory of you.”

She smiled strangely. “Would you rather I was a mess on the floor, crying my eyes out, tearing out my hair, begging you to run, to hide, to do anything to get out of this? Would you rather I was clinging to you for dear life, wanting to change places with you, with every fiber of my being? Would you rather I fell into your arms like a damsel, and kissed you until the whole world faded away?” she asked, digging her nails ever harder into her palms.

“No, Ellabell, I don’t want any of that,” Alex whispered, moving closer to her, though she took a step back. “I just want you to know that you are loved. I love you, and you will be there with me, when the moment comes, and for that I will be glad,” he said softly, reaching for her hands.

“I love you too, but I can’t stay here giving you the sweet, loving goodbye you want. I won’t stay and be broken by the loss of you. Otherwise, I won’t make it,” she replied, squeezing his hands tightly for the briefest moment. No tears glittered in her blue eyes, and though she reached up to kiss him momentarily, it was a hard, cold kiss.

The soft side of her seemed to be fading before his very eyes, and though he hated to think of her that way, so spiky and distant, he knew it would serve to pull her through the impact of his death. Many people would fall apart—even Natalie had been on the verge of tears—but Ellabell would not be broken by it. No, she would become stronger in the face of adversity, because that was what survivors did; they found strength they never knew existed. They adapted and they changed to match the cold world that met them.

“I have to go,” she said, moving toward the entrance to the solarium. She turned back, her face an expressionless mask. “I wish you luck.”

And with that, she was gone.

Chapter 25

Alex stayed in the solarium for a while longer, until one of the guards came in and told him it was time to leave. He went without a fuss, his mind full of Ellabell and his friends. Thinking of her, he felt troubled; he wanted to find her, to make her soft and sweet again, to take away everything that had made her heart turn to stone, but he knew he couldn’t. He had to hold onto the memories they’d shared, and hope they’d be enough to see him through the task that lay ahead.

Once more, Alex arrived at the double doors of his bedroom and went inside, walking over to the edge of the bed, where he sat down, holding his head in his hands. It was lonelier than ever within the silent walls of his pretty prison.

Before long, shadows began to trickle from the ceiling.

Alex looked up, half glad, half exasperated that the shadow-man was arriving just when Alex needed company most. It wasn’t exactly great timing, considering the red rims around his eyes, which the vaporous man would no doubt comment on, but Alex was pleased not to be alone anymore.

“They didn’t blast you back into the ether, then?” Alex asked as the shadow-man stretched into his full form, a yawn spreading from the cavern of his black mouth.

Elias grinned. “Not this time. When one is a master of wriggling out of tight spots, one finds you can talk your way out of just about anything,” he explained, giving a low, dramatic bow. “Flashing a face of pure innocence doesn’t hurt, either,” he added, putting on his best naïve expression.

Alex gave a half smile. “Glad you got out of it. I thought you were a goner for a moment there.”

“Takes one to know one,” Elias retorted.

“I take it you heard about my meeting with dear old Julius?”

Elias gave a slow nod. “Oh, yes, I had a feeling it would go down like