The Secret of Spellshadow Manor 3 by Bella Forrest (i can read book club txt) 📕

always listening for the sound of footsteps. The only sound Alex could hear was the anxious whisper of their collective breath as they followed Helena, who led the way. In the dim light, her hair seemed to glow ethereally, creating a halo around her head as it swung side to side with the rhythm of her movements. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad to have her around, he thought. Everyone seemed to like her, including him, and it would definitely improve Jari’s mood, he mused. Plus, she was incredibly strong, which was definitely an asset for whatever hardship might lie ahead.

If only I could get rid of this doubt, he thought to himself, watching Helena more closely than he realized. It was only when he caught sight of Ellabell watching him that he quickly dropped his gaze, which had been lingering a moment too long, perhaps. Sneaking a glance at Ellabell, he saw a subtle look of dismay on her face, which he desperately wanted to wipe away. He hadn’t been looking at Helena because he was attracted to her, although she was undeniably beautiful, and now he was worried Ellabell might have gotten the wrong impression. Indecision plagued him—if he tried to reassure her he wasn’t looking at Helena, it would no doubt confirm her suspicions. If he left it unmentioned, she’d probably think that anyway.

When he turned to speak to her, deciding to go with reassurance, she had already moved on ahead, whispering companionably with Natalie, who was leaning in to hear better. He wished he could hear what they were saying, as he heard the tinkle of a hushed giggle, echoing through the air toward him.

With his mind so distracted by the whisperings of the two girls, Alex didn’t realize they had entered one of the many parts of the villa he had never seen before. They were in a narrow corridor, leading down beneath the earth. They treaded carefully on the stone steps as they descended, coming out into a long, rubble-strewn corridor, with peeling doors tucked away all along the length of it.

Helena paused, her mouth moving silently as she counted the doors, pointing toward one midway down the hall. She stopped beside it, gesturing for the others to do the same. Alex felt nerves clawing at his insides as he watched the girl reach out for the handle and pull it open with startling force. She stepped over the threshold, and the others moved to go in after her, following suit, but the blood-curdling scream that erupted from the girl’s lungs stopped them dead in their tracks.

Beyond the door, Alypia was waiting with a menacing grin and a team of armed guards.

Helena turned, her golden eyes wide in desperation. “Run!” she cried.

In a mess of confusion, Alex tried to urge his friends toward an exit, only to find that they had all been blocked. Guards had appeared along the length of the corridor, standing ominously in front of the entrances to every hallway. There was no way out.

They had been betrayed.

Alex’s eyes snapped toward Helena, but she looked just as horrified as he was. She ran toward a row of guards, trying to force her way past them. Golden, fierce energy crackled from her palms, but they were ready for her, as several guards at a time sent up shields of superior strength to block her magic. Helena roared, sending spears that thrummed with life directly at their heads, only for the missiles to shatter into a thousand glittering pieces, falling harmlessly to the floor.

The guards moved inward with their gleaming shields, forcing Alex and his friends into the center, where they could not break free. Although they all tried to use their magic, there wasn’t enough room to forge anything potent, the bolts and streams of gold and silvery black getting lost in a mist of confused energies, until nobody could tell what belonged to whom. In the fracas, Alex couldn’t think straight, struggling to get his mind to focus clearly enough to conjure something useful. The surprise had robbed him of his skill, and the guards edged ever closer.

Once they had been pushed back in front of the door, the guards shoved them roughly into the chamber beyond it, pinning their arms behind their backs.

“I didn’t do this!” Helena cried to the others, her eyes glimmering with furious tears as she looked upon her mother with such palpable hatred that the guards standing beside Alypia had to lower their gazes, uncomfortable beneath the ferocity of it. “Please believe me—I didn’t do this!”

Alypia smiled, her voice cold and calculating. “Of course this wasn’t my daughter, though I can see why you might have mistrusted her. You don’t seem to like me very much, so it only seems natural you’d find her deplorable by association.” Her mouth curved into a vicious grin. “No, no. You have been betrayed by someone much closer to home.”

Alex struggled against the guard holding him, and the sight made Alypia chuckle icily, her eyes glittering with malice.

“Oh, you’re going to find this one very hard to stomach, Alex Webber,” she purred. “She only did it for you, Alex—she only came to me, whispering secrets, to save your life. Isn’t that right, Ellabell?”

Alex turned to Ellabell, a look of bewilderment on his face, but Ellabell’s expression showed nothing but rage as she tried to struggle free of her guard, wanting to lash out at Alypia. There was no shame, no guilt, just pure fury from the fiery, bespectacled girl as their eyes met.

“Liar! If you’re going to tell tales, at least make them believable!” Ellabell smirked, her eyes burning brightly. “Alypia threatened to kill you if I didn’t feed her little tidbits about your powers and secrets,” she explained, turning from Alex back to Alypia, “but I knew it was a load of garbage! I would never betray him like that. You needed him too much! I knew you’d never lay a finger on him. It was all smoke and