The Keep (The Secret of Spellshadow Manor #4)(36)

“It’s easy—you open your mouth and speak,” he remarked coldly.

“We are governed by rules of our own, Alex. It is not in our jurisdiction to directly intervene, and I would not be speaking to you now had my hand not been forced by the progression of recent events. We can only answer to what you already know, or if the right question is asked. It’s intensely frustrating, for both parties, believe me, but we can’t give you any new information, theoretically,” she explained.

Alex wanted to scream at the cryptic nature of it all; it didn’t make sense to him, and he couldn’t wrap his head around it. He was tired of the games—he didn’t have time for riddles. Still, he managed to force his mind to concentrate for a moment, trying to consider what Siren Mave had said, and trying to think of what the right questions might be to get the answers that he wanted.

His brow furrowed in thought. “What is your purpose, as a guardian?”

“We are supposed to seek out hope for the magical race.”

“What does that even mean? You say these things and they don’t mean anything!” Alex cried, exasperated. “Why am I so valuable to them? What is it that the royals want from me?”

“You are vital to their existence,” she replied, with the same maddeningly cryptic tone.

Alex’s cheeks were purple with frustration. “I am vital to their existence? How?”

“There is something within you that they lack,” she said, clarifying nothing.

Alex wanted to scream, and shake the toady woman until she told him something in plain terms that he could wrap his head around. Infuriated, but knowing he wasn’t going to get anything clearer from the over-painted lips of Siren Mave, he switched his train of inquiry, trying to fill in some other gaps.

“And my father didn’t know that he was a Spellbreaker?”

Siren Mave shook her head. “He didn’t know—he didn’t know why he was being followed and chased. He was scared, and Elias misjudged the situation.”

“And when he died, what did you think?”

“When he died, as I say, we thought that was it. No more.”

“So, you can’t believe my surprise when I saw you,” whispered Elias, appearing sheepishly from the gathering darkness.

Alex wasn’t sure he could control his rage, seeing the shadow-man shift into sight. Whatever the reasoning, Elias had still killed his father, and he wasn’t sure there was anything that could be said to make him forgive that.

“What did I tell you?” snapped Siren Mave.

Elias lifted his misty shoulders, playing coy. “I couldn’t just watch.”

“You could, but you had to slink into the spotlight, didn’t you? I have this handled, Elias—your presence is neither required nor wanted,” she said frostily.

“I don’t ‘slink,’ I sashay,” he remarked sourly. “It only felt right that I come and defend myself.”

Siren Mave raised an eyebrow. “Says the creature that wouldn’t know what the decent thing was if it came up and smacked him in his wispy head.”

“If you’re going to call me a creature, at least include the ‘exceptional’ part—I thought we were pals,” he purred.

Siren Mave rolled her eyes. “How about vexatious creature?”

He flicked a wispy wrist. “Better… It brings me such joy to know I get under your skin.”

Alex listened to their back-and-forth in silence, wondering if they even knew he was still there. Glancing between the two of them, he thought about what his next move might be, but found he no longer had the patience to confront his shadowy acquaintance. Siren Mave had told him all he needed to know on that score, and to ask Elias would only bring forth a barrage of smart remarks, vague comments, and backhanded compliments. It wasn’t something he particularly felt like suffering through. There were too many other things whizzing about in his overwrought brain.

“If you two are finished, I’d like to go now. I have pressing matters to attend to, and I’ve wasted more than enough time on the both of you,” he said, cutting Elias off mid-insult. The shadow-man was in the middle of a rude remark involving a toad, in response to Siren Mave calling him an idiotic, self-centered ghoul.

They looked at him in surprise.

“No, don’t go!” said Elias hurriedly. “We have a lot to talk about, Webber.”

Alex shook his head. “I’m done talking. I have more important things to do right now. Seeing as neither of you would stand in the way if Alypia wanted to tear out my insides, I need to go and make sure she doesn’t.”

“See what you’ve done!” snarled Elias, rounding on Siren Mave, teeth flashing. “Alex, I was trying to protect him, you have to believe me,” he pleaded suddenly, turning back to Alex.

“I can’t forgive what you did, Elias. Not today, not tomorrow, probably never,” Alex replied heavily, turning to leave. His father was dead and his mother had been left alone, wondering what happened to the love of her life, because of what that shadow creature did—and worse, kept secret.

He was done with questions. He just wanted to be left alone with his thoughts, and the memories of what he had seen. He had no energy left to give.

Walking back down the stone steps, into the main body of the keep, he didn’t know if he’d ever see either of them again, and, with sudden realization, he knew he was absolutely fine with that. His world would be much quieter without them.