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

“I’d prefer to stand,” Vincent said, smiling.

Hadrian began to wring his hands as he walked over to the low table and sat down. Alex sat opposite, dreading the conversation that was to follow.

Hadrian sighed heavily. “What h-happened?”

“The spell went wrong. The mist got loose, and I had to evacuate Spellshadow Manor. I have over fifty people waiting in the forest, by the portal, who need your help,” Alex replied, trying to keep the anxiety from his own voice. “I know what you’re going to say—we should integrate them into the students here, and make it look like you were doing Julius’s bidding, but I won’t do that. I won’t have them out of the frying pan and into the fire.”

Vincent gave a sharp intake of breath. “Oh dear,” he muttered. “I am afraid I departed shortly after helping that silver-haired young woman retrieve that device. I sensed that my dear Agatha was in some distress, but it also seemed prudent to inform Hadrian of what was occurring at Spellshadow—that is what I did, but had I known the danger you were in, I would not have tarried so long.”

Hadrian gulped loudly. “The spell w-went wrong?”

“Yes. Something happened, and the mist got released,” Alex repeated. “That’s not the most important thing right now. There are people who need your help, Hadrian. I need you to provide us with a safe route through the forest, and into Starcross. I’m not leaving here until you agree.”

“Y-You realize the s-situation you are p-putting m-me in?” Hadrian asked, his nervous tic going into overdrive.

Alex nodded. “I do, but they deserve protection while we figure out how to do the spell again. This is all my fault, and I need your help, so nobody else suffers for that mistake. You agree with me, right, Vincent?”

Vincent raised his hands. “I think it is best I remain out of this one, Alex. This is neither my domain nor my jurisdiction, so I would not feel proper offering up my perspective. Hadrian must do whatever he deems best.”

“You s-still have the b-book?” Hadrian asked.

Alex patted the satchel still slung around his body. “It’s not leaving my side for a moment.”

“T-Two tries l-left,” Hadrian muttered, almost to himself. Alex grimaced, having almost forgotten the caveat of the spell’s limited attempts. Still, if he could pore over the book again and maybe pry some information out of Virgil when he awoke, he was confident he could try again and succeed.

“They’re out there, vulnerable, and they need you,” Alex pressed. “Can I count on you?”

For a long time, Hadrian said nothing, though from time to time he looked at Vincent, as if seeking approval. The necromancer wasn’t particularly forthcoming, his face remaining a webbed canvas of neutrality. Alex didn’t speak either, watching and waiting for the white-haired man to come to a decision. At this point, there was nothing left for Alex to say, and he was scared he might end up begging on his knees. If Hadrian wouldn’t help, then they were lost.

At long last, the royal opened his mouth to speak. “I s-suppose you haven’t l-left me with m-much choice.”

Chapter 4

Hadrian and Vincent followed Alex back through the forest, though nobody had much to say. It was clear to Alex that Hadrian wanted to ask him all about the spell, and what had gone wrong, but the truth was, Alex was still trying to figure that out himself.

“I knew it w-was a bad idea,” said Hadrian suddenly.

Alex cast a sideways glance at him. “What choice did we have?”

“You should have j-just left that s-spell alone,” Hadrian murmured.

“I am not certain this line of discussion is exactly helpful, dear Hadrian,” Vincent chimed in, evidently trying to mediate.

“You’d have been happy with that?” Alex remarked sourly, ignoring Vincent. “You’d have been happy for everything to just stay the same, the cycle repeating endlessly, until no more babies were born with magical ability, and the essence all ran out? I suppose you figured you’d be dead by then, or something?”

After the forceful show Hadrian had displayed when Alex had tried to get the survivors to join the cause, Alex had thought that, perhaps, there was more to the nervous royal than met the eye. He had thought that, maybe, Hadrian had fire in his belly after all, when it came to the injustices of the magical realms. Now, it seemed Alex had been mistaken. Hadrian was just afraid—a coward, nothing more, never wanting to rock the boat. It was hard to believe Hadrian and his sister, Ceres, could be such polar opposites. Alex had a feeling Ceres was the kind of woman who would never back down from a fight, if someone else was suffering.

“You think I’m a w-weakling.” Hadrian laughed bitterly. “You think I’m a n-nervous wreck with no moral compass, but you’re m-mistaken. You wouldn’t be the first to think so, b-but you are mistaken. I care… I really care. I want the change you seek, but I also know the r-risks.”

“They’re worth taking, if this is the alternative,” Alex replied, gesturing to the leafy world around them. True, it looked beautiful, but its core was rotten.

“I know, Alex. I t-truly do know—it’s just hard for me to change m-my ways, after so long l-living the same life, being made to kneel and scrape in the s-sight of the king.” Hadrian sighed. “You forget, the survivors wouldn’t even b-be alive if I hadn’t r-risked everything to get them out.”

Alex frowned. For some reason, whether it was the wringing of the man’s hands or the stammer in his voice, he had forgotten all the good Hadrian had actually done, within the constraints around him. It couldn’t have been easy defying a man like Julius, stowing away students in secret, and keeping it that way all these years. Alex thought back to his visit to the fifth haven, and remembered the age of some of the people there. Hadrian really had done