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

He frowned. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“Remember what we talked about?” Ellabell said, a warning in her eyes. “It’s just for the time being, and you’re the only one who can ride Storm. I’ll be fine, I just want to make sure everything’s okay,” she added. Alex knew she was right, even if he didn’t like it. He was still getting used to not worrying. “Though you should probably take the essence back, and bring it with you again when you return,” she whispered, just out of the earshot of Vincent.

“Good thinking,” he murmured. At least then, the essence would be safe if something went awry. He had a feeling he might even need it, to face whatever it was Aamir was warning him about. Two bags were better than one, and right now, Falleaf was in greater need.

Leaving Ellabell behind didn’t sit well with him, but there was nothing he could do about it now. If anything dangerous arose, he knew she was more than capable of handling herself. It was the not knowing that plagued him. Until he returned to Kingstone, he wouldn’t know if anything bad had happened, or if she was perfectly fine, the message successfully delivered, and everything covered in rainbows and cupcake frosting.

He kissed Ellabell gently on the lips, vowing to come back as soon as he could. With a trail of snowflakes flurrying around him, Alex raced toward the turret. Falleaf was calling, and he was ready to answer.

Chapter 20

Arriving back at Falleaf, Alex jumped off Storm’s back and ran through the woods, listening for the sound of traps, his eyes darting this way and that. He was still concerned for Ellabell’s welfare, no matter what she’d said about being fine, but he knew he couldn’t think about that now. The beacon was still vibrating weakly in his pocket.

As he reached the tree-line that opened out onto the water garden, at the front of the pagoda, he skidded to a halt. The place was in chaos. There were soldiers running to and fro like headless chickens, panicked looks on their faces, their hands hurriedly fixing parts of their uniforms that had fallen into disarray. Alex realized this could only mean one thing, as his eyes glanced up toward the pagoda itself. It was hard to make out anything from such a distance, but he could see figures rushing around beyond the glass of the windows, too.

Venus must already be there.

It didn’t seem possible, considering he’d only been away a short period of time, and yet the sight before him told a different story. There was only one reason the soldiers would be in such a hurry.

Using the confusion to his advantage, Alex dashed across to the broken door of the cellar, letting himself into the pagoda. He hurried upward, reaching the ground floor where the kitchens were. Bustling about were more servants than he had ever seen, though some of them looked too young to be staff. It appeared some of the Falleaf students had been roped into helping, at such short notice.

Coming face-to-face with a few of them, Alex’s resolve strengthened; they were just like him. Of the ones he came across, none of them could have been older than sixteen or seventeen, and they moved in deference to the older staff. These kids weren’t privileged—they weren’t like the elite at Stillwater. They were ordinary. They could have been any of his classmates back in high school. They didn’t have striking, otherworldly eyes, or extraordinary beauty. They were just plain kids, exactly like him, brought to this place against their will and making the best of it.

“Here, you don’t want to be seen without a uniform!” one of them, a bespectacled boy of around fifteen, shouted from the hallway as he launched a spare uniform at Alex.

Alex caught it. “Thanks, man.”

The boy grinned. “No worries. Definitely wouldn’t want the big dog to catch you in your skivvies! Hurry up, though, it’s all hands on deck!”

Alex frowned, wanting to ask who the “big dog” was, but the boy had already run off. With a sinking feeling, he began to put the scarlet uniform on over his normal clothes, listening to the pound of footsteps on the wooden floors above his head. Everyone was in a rush, it seemed.

Just then, Aamir came careening around the corner, wearing the same scarlet uniform Alex was wearing. His eyes went wide as he saw Alex standing there, buttoning up his shirt.

“Alex! Thank goodness!” he cried.

“What’s going on?” Alex asked.

Aamir shook his head. “It’s not good, Alex, not good at all.”

“Well, what is it?”

“Venus is here,” Aamir explained.

“That’s good news—that’s what we wanted. I didn’t think she’d come so quickly, but—”

Aamir sighed heavily, cutting Alex off. “He came with her.”

“Who?” said Alex, though he already knew the answer.

“Julius, of course—who else?” Aamir remarked. “I don’t know what we were thinking.”

Alex frowned. “How were we supposed to know Julius would come with her?”

“The stories we’ve heard, Alex. We should have thought a bit harder… He was never going to let her out of his sight, to visit a haven where she hasn’t actually got any family ties. He’s insane!”

Alex realized that Aamir was right, but it simply hadn’t occurred to him before. He’d never suspected that Julius wouldn’t let his wife visit a haven alone, where they didn’t have children. Stillwater might have been different, perhaps even Spellshadow, but Falleaf was run by the son of a bitter brother. Julius would never have allowed it, not with how controlling he was.

“It’s fine,” Alex said, with forced brightness. “We’ve still got an opportunity in front of us.”

Aamir gave Alex a look of disbelief. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am deadly serious. We carry on with the plan,” Alex insisted. “They’re here—if we don’t do this now, we may never get the chance again.”

“It doesn’t seem like a very wise plan,” Aamir remarked.

Alex shrugged. “It isn’t, but it’s the best