The Keep (The Secret of Spellshadow Manor #4)(86)

“I will speak of whom I please,” Alypia remarked churlishly. “It was for the best though, wouldn’t you say? The world is a much better place without their sort—though, quite the last laugh, right? Needing one to end this mess we’re in—a fairly surprising turn of events, though I don’t doubt that monster knew exactly what he was doing, cackling in our faces the whole time, knowing what would come of it. You tell me he cared about my mother, and still went ahead and did that? I’d say you’ve lost whatever sanity you had in your old age, Uncle.”

Alex wondered if there might be some truth to Alypia’s words, but then recalled that it was unlikely Leander Wyvern even knew Venus was pregnant with what would become Virgil. The threat from Alypia’s father had been geared solely toward Alex’s ancestor, as far as he knew; there was no knowledge of Venus’s unfortunate state. How could there have been? There hadn’t been time, nor any hint of suspicion on Leander’s part, seeing as it was ordinarily impossible to create a hybrid such as Virgil. In that final, split-second decision, Alex guessed that all Leander had wanted to do was destroy the mages and save his progeny, not realizing the Great Evil could be held back by a tide of unwillingly given essence. In performing the spell, Alex suspected his ancestor had thought only of the unborn child he knew about, growing in the belly of a non-magical woman—the one hope of Spellbreaker survival. The loophole of an entire race. When thinking in the moment, there was no time for the thought of future consequences. Leander had done what he had with the best intentions—of that Alex was almost certain.

“It seems we have managed to get somewhat off track, dear Niece,” said Caius, an eerie calm returning to the old man’s voice. “I wanted a negotiation, not a trip down memory lane. You are here for Alex, and I want something in return—a simple exchange.”

Alypia smirked. “I will take him, if you are unwilling to cooperate.”

“Try to remember my strength, dear Niece. I may look old, but there is fire in the old goat yet—I could destroy you and your guards before your next breath, so I wouldn’t recommend trying to steal my property.”

This revelation seemed to shake Alypia’s resolve for a moment, her lip trembling for a fraction of second, just long enough to be seen. Shrugging off the trepidation, she launched into another offensive move, evidently smothering her fear with bravado.

“Family is family, Uncle, no matter what our differences are. I wouldn’t try to steal something from you, just as I know you wouldn’t try to steal from me. That boy belongs to me—he has a debt to pay, and I want him to pay it. If you don’t hand him over, there will be trouble,” she said, her voice dripping with malice.

Caius smirked. “Now, now, things don’t need to get nasty. I am willing to negotiate—I have already told you as much—but I refuse to simply hand the boy over. I need to hear what you will offer in return, for the trouble of keeping him, if nothing else.”

She shrugged languidly. “How does the glory of the mages restored to their full power sound? No more fear, no more culling of exceptional talent, no more scraping the barrel with those half-formed plebeians we fetch from the outer world. Finally, there will be no more worrying about where we’re going to get our essence, though it’d be a shame not to keep a few of the lower classes around, in case we need to borrow some essence for anything major,” she mused, prickling Alex’s anger. “The mages will be able to get on with their lives and do as they please, with no trace of Spellbreaker left. It will finish the job my father, your brother, set out to achieve. It will mean justice for my mother, after what that monster did. Those are the greatest returns I can offer, for the price of this boy.”

For a moment, Caius said and did nothing. Sitting in his chair, he remained perfectly still, a blank expression on his face, his eyes giving away no secrets, as he seemed to mull over what Alypia had just said. It was an unbearable wait, even though Alex had a feeling he knew what the answer would be.

Finally, Caius spoke. “That isn’t good enough.”

Alypia flashed him a look of disappointment, her tongue clicking in a crass tut-tut as she slowly shook her head in his direction. Alex could feel the tension growing even tauter between uncle and niece as they stared one another down, neither of them willing to shift the balance of their resolution. An immoveable force had met an immoveable object, and this could only end one way.

“Then you’re forcing my hand, Uncle,” Alypia hissed, her lips forming a petulant pout. “I came here today to give you the benefit of the doubt, hoping your time here might have changed something, but I can see you’re as stubborn and disrespectful of our kind as ever. I might have known, but I am warning you, if you don’t hand that boy over and give me what I want, I will send word to my father and make sure you pay a suitable price for your latest betrayal of our race. He is still your king, unless you had forgotten? You might not be so insolent toward him.”

With a reluctant sigh, Caius raised his palms in surrender. “Very well. You leave me no choice,” he murmured.

Alypia’s pale eyes widened in gleeful delight, clearly believing she was about to get what she wanted, thanks to the threat of her father’s involvement.

Caius stood, moved over to where Alex was sitting, and dragged him to his feet. “You’ll have to come and help me—if you’re going to get him through the portal, he’ll need sedating,” Caius explained.