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

school, the Head, the Headmistress, Malachi Grey, Renmark, and all those magical forces had taken from him. Soon, they would take Ellabell and his friends too, and with them any hope he had left of returning home to his mother and a normal, teenage existence.

Even as a ghost, Renmark had managed to crush them.

Chapter 39

Alex wasn’t sure of the time or the day when the guards came for him.

Ellabell was asleep in his arms when they threw open the cell door and demanded he follow them. Lifting his finger sharply to his lips, Alex was amused to see the guards stop mid-sentence, putting on a silent display of charades as he gently extricated himself from Ellabell’s arms and lay her carefully down on the floor. She stirred, but did not wake, much to Alex’s bittersweet contentment. It would be easier this way.

He followed them dutifully, keeping his head down and his thoughts sharp as he traipsed through now-familiar paths and hallways to the underbelly of the villa. To his surprise, he realized the guards weren’t taking him to the glass-ceilinged office, but toward the gloomier, more desolate part of the school. It was strange to admit, but he felt a pang of disappointment; he would have liked to have seen that room again, with the heady scent of citrus and flowers and the warmth of it enveloping like a comforting embrace. Funnily enough, he found he also had a desire to see the lake one last time, to say a goodbye of sorts to the ethereal specters beneath the water, knowing he would soon be joining them. He wondered morbidly if that was where Alypia would put him, once she had used him for whatever grim purpose she had in mind. Part of him hoped so.

Turning past an instantly recognizable corner, he understood he was being taken to the windowless study, with the grisly antechamber next door. Pausing beside it, one of the guards pushed open the door and gestured for Alex to step inside. There was no pushing, no shoving, just a civilized walk into the room.

Alypia sat in her chair behind the desk, impatiently tapping her long fingers against the sleek surface. The way she was sitting looked almost constructed, her body draped languorously, as if she had spent a long while trying to look as dramatic as possible. The idea made Alex smirk, causing a flash of irritation to spark across Alypia’s eyes as she saw the insolent look, which only served to widen his discourteous smile. For a moment, the mask slipped, as Alex saw Alypia’s beauty turn ugly, revealing the true, twisted face beneath. It was as Alex had suspected all along: her beauty hid a rotten core.

“Sit!” she barked.

He did as he was told, trying to wipe the smirk from his face. “You called?” There was a sing-song note to his voice that seemed to irk Alypia even more.

Her expression was icy. “I thought we had a deal, Alex Webber.”

“I think we both knew that was never going to pan out,” he grinned, challenging her.

“Be that as it may, a deal is a deal, and you broke your end of it,” she replied, a threatening smile curving at the corner of her lips.

“Is it just me, or is it cold in here?” he mocked, knowing he was pushing his luck and finding he didn’t care.

“You’re trying my patience, Alex.”

“Sorry—you were saying?” he encouraged, sprawling across his chair in much the same manner Alypia was.

“It’s unfortunate, Alex, but thanks to your misconduct we are going to have to speed up proceedings. A broken contract cannot be tolerated, and you must be punished for your insolence,” she began, her face devoid of humor. “You know, Alex, you might not believe me but I truly wanted to keep you and your friends safe here, away from those who might seek to use your powers for their own ends. I merely wanted to help you control and utilize them, in the hopes that one day you could use them for good.”

He sniggered, gaining a sharp glare. “You were just the benevolent spirit-guide, helping me on my way?” He raised an eyebrow in disbelief, willing her to challenge him so he could rip her to shreds for it.

“It’s not a joke, Alex. This is not a silly game you and your friends can play at your leisure,” she hissed. “This is serious. This is life or death. I wanted to build you up, to be a formidable Spellbreaker, but you have squandered what goodwill I had toward you. I may not be entirely altruistic, but I am fair. With me, you would all have had a better chance at returning home. Now, you have zero chance—do you hear me?” She snapped her teeth at him. “Zero.”

For the first time since entering the room, he felt fear. Not for himself, but for the others. Alypia was not a woman to be messed with, and they had caused her a world of trouble. The offers had been just, and they had flouted them. He began to wonder if, perhaps, they hadn’t just made a huge, irrevocable mistake. The others might have been happy here, even.

“What are you going to do?” he asked, clearing his throat.

“I wanted you trained and coached, but I’m going to have to make do with the strength I’ve got,” she muttered under her breath. “You understand I cannot permit you to remain within the school walls, after the way you have influenced my daughter? I could perhaps have forgiven an escape attempt, had you not tried to rope my girl into it, leading her astray the way you have. She’s a fantasist, you know?”

Alex thought that was unlikely, musing that perhaps a lifetime under the same roof as Alypia was what had driven Helena to want to leave. He didn’t dare say as much, though the words danced on the tip of his tongue for a moment, begging to be spoken. For