The Secret of Spellshadow Manor 5 by Bella Forrest (best biographies to read TXT) 📗

did manage to get home again, things would never be the same. There was no going back to that previous life. Not now.

“Ah, glad to see you’re all awake!” a melodic voice called out. Hadrian appeared in the doorway, his demeanor much calmer than usual. “I trust you slept well? I didn’t wish to disturb you before you’d had the opportunity to regather your thoughts.”

“Good morning, Hadrian,” they chorused.

Alex gestured for Hadrian to join them. “You’re just the man we wanted to see.”

“Oh? And what makes me so popular on this fine morning?” Hadrian asked, taking a seat at the low table. He reached for one of the copper kettles that had been laid out, and poured a cup of something dark and aromatic.

“We’ve been discussing our next plan of action,” Alex explained, “and we need your help for two parts of what we have in mind.”

Hadrian’s face fell. “I will try to help where possible, though I can’t p-promise anything.”

“We need essence. I know it’s asking a lot, but if we can’t get our hands on more essence, we stand no chance of freeing the mages from the Great Evil. Right now, you’re the only person we know who might have access to some—I’m guessing there is some stashed away at Falleaf, as there is at the other havens?” Alex said, leveling his gaze at the white-haired man.

“Indeed, there is essence here at Falleaf House,” replied Hadrian, with a touch of reluctance. “I would be more than willing to share s-some with you, though you will not f-find it to be quite what you’re expecting.”

“Don’t tell me—it’s too powerful?” Alex pressed, remembering the ferocity of the Kingstone essence.

Hadrian shook his head. “The very opposite, in fact, though I would be willing to g-give whatever quantity you require for your endeavors. It’s n-not something I could do, what you want to do, but I can help a little bit, so long as it doesn’t b-bring anything bad down upon m-me,” he stuttered nervously, his resolve teetering on the brink. “I have never been able to fully bring peace to the s-students under my tutelage, but their b-best chance rests on your shoulders. I know you have struggled to put your f-faith in me, but I w-will help you now.”

“That’s good to hear, Hadrian,” Alex replied. “And though I hate to ask, there is one other favor we need.”

Hadrian frowned. “I will d-do what I can.”

“We need you to ask Venus to visit Falleaf,” he said.

Hadrian’s expression morphed into one of alarm, the blood draining from his face. “We shall discuss this f-favor later, though, as I say, I will do what I can for you. I p-put this on hold only because your first favor is a little time sensitive. If we are quick, I can take you to f-fetch the essence now. They will be changing the g-guard, but if we stay here too long, we will miss the gap,” Hadrian explained hurriedly, his eyes flitting toward the clock on the wall.

“Okay, it can wait,” Alex confirmed. “If we have to go now, we should go now.”

Ellabell and Aamir nodded in agreement.

The anxious expression Hadrian had given him left Alex feeling dubious, and not for the first time, about what the latest royal would actually be willing to do with regards to Venus, but he knew that now wasn’t the time to apply pressure to the situation. Hadrian was the first royal who had shown willingness to share essence, and Alex wasn’t about to ruin that opportunity by hanging around to ask further questions. Plus, he feared that if he asked too intensely, the anxious royal would bolt; he was like a spooked horse at the best of times.

Venus would be coming. It wasn’t a matter of if, but when. Even if Alex had to call her down himself, he would get her close enough to retrieve the blood he needed.

But, for now, the hunt for essence was underway. Royal blood could wait.

Chapter 17

They snuck out of the pagoda with as much speed as they could muster, rushing down the stairs and out into the forest. For the first time, there was no military presence, though Alex could make out the shapes of people moving in the treetops toward the other side of the pagoda. They weren’t soldiers, but looked to be young men and women a little older than Alex and his friends—the students of Falleaf House, the strangers he was fighting for.

The group wandered through the dripping forest, Hadrian using his device to ensure they didn’t accidentally trip over any traps, though he muttered to himself the whole way, his mood decidedly on edge. It was a strangely peaceful walk, the only sounds the brush of their feet against the grass and the rustle of the leaves as a breeze wound through the branches. There was the odd coo, and flutter of wings, reminding Alex of the Thunderbird he hoped was still waiting for him at the edge of the forest. If he was going back to Kingstone, with essence in his possession, he knew he would need her soon, and could make amends for the couple of days he had spent away from her. He still had to introduce her to his friends, after speaking so highly of her and the manner in which she had delivered him to Falleaf. They had known he was telling the truth when he first spoke of her, but she was a strange thing to wrap one’s head around, and he just hoped that seeing would be believing.

They followed a winding stream, the water babbling beside them, and stopped in front of a cluster of stones that rose up from the wet earth, one of them almost three times the size of Alex. It seemed to be their destination.

Rounding the rock cluster, Alex saw a door tucked away in the rock. It had to be approached from a certain angle to see it properly, but it was there,