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

that’s what matters, right?” He smiled brightly. It was a cheerfulness Alex realized he had missed.

Hadrian frowned. “Wait, did you just say f-fugitives?”

Vincent stepped forward, offering his hand. “We are acquaintances of Alex and his friends—we know Demeter extremely well, given the time he spent with us, festering inside the walls of Kingstone Keep. I assure you, we come in peace.”

Hadrian visibly relaxed. “Well, any friend of Demeter’s is a friend of mine,” he said, his expression softening.

“Do you two know each other?” Aamir asked, gesturing at the royal and redhead.

They smiled warmly at one another, clapping each other on the back.

“We certainly do,” said Hadrian, grinning. “And it seems my old pal hasn’t changed one bit—you’re as clumsy as ever. I found him in a trap, struggling to find a way out. Gave me quite a shock on my afternoon stroll. I’m glad I found you first.” He chuckled.

Demeter nodded. “Always helping me out of scrapes, this one. We go way back. The two of us were part of a peacekeeping unit during the war, though we were younger then. You’re looking a little gray these days,” he joked, ruffling Hadrian’s white hair.

“I’ve always been this color.” Hadrian grinned. “But yes, we transported refugees out of the magical realms and into the real world. We worked for a unit that tried to protect Spellbreakers too, smuggling them to safer territories, but it didn’t do much good in the end. I think we just stretched out their suffering,” he said, his voice tinged with remorse.

“Didn’t you get caught?” Aamir asked.

Demeter shook his head. “I evaded capture, and the organization I worked for arranged for me to be installed at Stillwater as a teacher, until everything had blown over. When I started telling my stories, I think they began to suspect,” he said, shrugging. “Hadrian flew straight under the microscope—nobody thought he had the guts to defy Julius, and so he got away with it. Sly dog!”

“They tried to break Demeter, once they began to suspect what he was. They thought that if they tortured him, they might get some names out of him, but he’s always been tight-lipped. He didn’t say a word,” said Hadrian proudly, though there was sorrow in his eyes too.

Alex wondered if that was why Demeter’s head was so muddled, because of the torture he had been put under. It would make sense. After all, Demeter was a smart guy, with a proven track record of intellect, and yet he couldn’t for the life of him remember how to piece an idiom together.

“I think they forgot what I was capable of, though.” Demeter laughed. “When they sent me to Kingstone, I used my powers to make everyone believe I was a guard instead of a prisoner. A neat trick, and one of the only things I’ve ever prided myself on, where my talents are concerned.”

“So, why did you come through the other way?” Ellabell wondered, changing the subject.

“I wanted to scope out Spellshadow, make sure it was safe to strike,” the auburn-haired man explained. “If I hadn’t gotten myself trapped, I’d probably have made it here before you left.”

“Did anyone see you?” Aamir pressed.

Demeter shook his head. “I promise I didn’t raise any checkered flags coming through Spellshadow,” he promised, raising his hands solemnly. “I was the stealthiest I have ever been, I swear.”

“You think it looks ripe for the picking?” Vincent asked, a hint of curiosity in his strange voice. It was the first time Alex had seen the necromancer show more than a fleeting interest in the realm of Spellshadow Manor.

“I’d say we have as good a chance as we’ve ever had.” Demeter shrugged. “I couldn’t see Virgil while I was there, but it doesn’t mean he’s not around.”

“That’s precisely why we were looking for you, Hadrian,” Alex said, turning his attention to the royal. “We’ve agreed with Helena and her team to meet at Spellshadow in two days’ time, which gives us enough leeway to rally some more troops to the cause. Right now, it’s just us and one and a half bags of essence. We could probably do with more hands. Do you think Ceres would help? Maybe we could ask some of the recovered students if they’d like to join us?”

Hadrian shook his head. “I don’t think that is such a good idea.”

“Why not?” Alex pressed, noticing that Demeter had gone strangely silent.

“I don’t want to get them involved, Alex,” Hadrian replied, with uncharacteristic strength in his voice. “They have been through enough, and though they would undoubtedly jump at the chance to help, they would not be able to take the strain. They aren’t as strong as they once were, but they think they are—a fragile mind is more easily broken than one that is whole.”

“Don’t you think we should give them the choice?” Ellabell asked.

Agatha nodded. “The girl is right—you should give them the option. It isn’t right to take choice away from a person, just because they are weaker than before.”

“I won’t put them through it,” Hadrian insisted, his eyes narrowing. This wasn’t like the nervous royal they knew at all; there was a defiant streak emerging. “If they come with you, they will have suffered for so long, only to die anyway. As the guardian here at Falleaf, they are under my care, and I will do what is best for them.” There was no hint of a stutter in his voice, nor were his hands wringing in alarm. Perhaps, Alex thought, this strength had been there all along, it was simply reserved for what the royal deemed a righteous cause.

Alex smiled. “But they aren’t at Falleaf, are they?”

Hadrian looked worried for a moment. “They are,” he insisted.

“No, they aren’t,” Alex repeated. “They’re hidden away somewhere safe—somewhere Julius and his cronies can’t get to them. If they were at Falleaf, Julius would have found them. No… you have found somewhere else to put them, I’m sure of it, somewhere far away from here.”

“Even if I had, I