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

be trembling too hard to hold anything if you continue to terrify them with your terse manner,” she chastised. Something hypnotic seemed to have happened to Julius, who smiled lovingly at his wife, no hint of malevolence behind his eyes.

“Whatever you say, my precious sweet pea,” he cooed, like a teenager in the first throes of love. It wasn’t to last, as he turned to Hadrian, a steely look overwhelming the doe-eyed expression. “You really ought to have learned the proper way to receive guests by now, Hadrian. Honestly, this isn’t good enough—I expect you to keep this place spotless, and you turn it into a crass, uncouth dump. It wasn’t by chance that you received the finest haven, filled to the brim with all my precious things. I took a chance on you, and you have let me down.” He sighed dramatically.

“Come, darling, you were praising him a moment ago,” Venus said softly, though Alex could tell her comments weren’t appreciated by her husband. She dipped her head, knowing she had gone a fraction too far in her boldness. Alex guessed it was a delicate tightrope she walked, between saying the wrong thing and saying just enough. It was neither right nor fair, but Alex didn’t dare speak up.

Julius stared at Hadrian. “No, I really am most disappointed by your upkeep of this place. I won’t stay a moment longer,” he said, standing sharply.

“Now, darling, we mustn’t be rude,” Venus said, her tone soothing, but it seemed her charms had worn off for the day.

“We are leaving,” he snapped.

She tilted her head toward him, almost like a bow of reverence, as she too stood to go. Alex began to panic, wondering how he was supposed to get his hands on the required amount of royal blood if they left now, and yet he could think of no way to stop them.

While Alex was wracking his brain, Julius was gathering his own servants together by yelling loudly down the hallway. The two married royals seemed to have arrived with an entourage, which Alex supposed was to be expected, given their status.

“Are we ready?” Julius demanded, turning toward his wife.

She smiled pleasantly. “Yes, darling.”

“Well, what began with such promise has turned into something of a wasted visit,” Julius remarked, pulling up the edges of his high collar. “Nephew, I require… nay, I demand more essence from this place. These havens cannot expect to go on giving the bare minimum, and though you have displeased me, I dare say you have been the one to inspire me. More essence must be collected. You must increase your yield, and I would see you add to the number of children taken in the annual lottery. Let’s give first-born and last-born a whirl, shall we?”

Hadrian nodded reluctantly. “Whatever you wish, Uncle.”

“Well, don’t sound too pleased about it.” Julius scoffed. “At least I offered you a small sliver of the credit. I am a generous man, let’s not forget.”

“Of course not, Uncle.” Hadrian forced a tight smile onto his face. “You do me a g-great honor, and I will not let you down.”

Julius flicked away an invisible dust mote. “Very well, see that you don’t. I shall return in a few months’ time to check on your progress; I expect to see an entirely new intake among your ranks. The essence here is so puny anyway that you shall have to bolster your numbers, more so than any other havens, though they too will be receiving word from me about what I want from them.”

“I shall endeavor to m-make things more pleasant for your next visit, Uncle,” said Hadrian, teetering on the edge of what Julius found acceptable, from the flash of warning in the king’s eyes. Seeing the expression, Hadrian visibly retreated into himself, clamming up like a startled tortoise.

“See that you do.” Julius turned around and left the room with a dramatic swish of his long, cream-colored coat.

Venus followed, though she cast a strange look back at Alex, Aamir, and Hadrian. There was an apology in her expression, and she mouthed a word at them which looked a lot like “sorry.”

“Venus!” Julius barked, from the hallway beyond.

With a captivating smile, she swished the rich fabric of her kimono, and was gone in a haze of sweet-smelling perfume, hurrying after her cantankerous husband. Alex stood, frozen to the spot, as he watched his last hope disappear.

Well, not quite his last hope. A second later, Alex dived for the glass, hoping for some trace of something that he might use. Although he hadn’t managed to vibrate the glass properly, he had run some energy through it, though whether it had been enough to break anything, he didn’t yet know.

To his delight, he saw a hint of red at the very bottom. There was a chip in the base, and it looked as though Julius had caught his finger on the jagged indent. Gleefully, Alex raised the glass to the light, to get a better look, but his optimism soon died. There couldn’t have been more than two drops present on the jagged edge, and extracting what was there was a near impossibility; most of it had already dried up.

“Anything?” Aamir asked, standing over Alex’s shoulder.

He shook his head. “Not nearly enough.”

“You didn’t get what you n-needed?” said Hadrian mournfully, his whole body trembling.

“I got distracted. I missed our chance,” Alex confessed.

“But you must hurry on with your p-plan, Alex, before we are all left in r-ruin,” Hadrian warned. “You heard what Julius said—he wants more. If you don’t succeed, I will have to get him m-more. It’s in his head now. He won’t let it g-go.”

Alex frowned, wanting to tell Hadrian how unhelpful his words were, but the royal looked deflated enough as it was. “I know what’s at stake, Hadrian, but I can’t do it without the blood,” Alex said.

“There has to be someone else who can help us,” said Aamir.

A smile pulled at the corner of Alex’s lips, as it came to him. “I