Once Upon an Enchantress by Hermione Lee

Author:Hermione Lee
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: World Castle Publishing, LLC
Published: 2022-11-20T12:50:21+00:00

Chapter Ten

It was Samuel. Everyone stared at him in astonishment.

“Samuel?” Sharon’s mind went blank.

“You sent the tarantulas after us?” Felicia said, stunned.

“Indeed. I had them shrunken and kept in the urns all along.” Samuel let out a laugh that made Sharon’s insides turn to ice.

“But—there...there must’ve been a mistake,” Stephen reasoned. “Samuel, you—”

“There is no mistake. I joined the Vanquishers a day ago. How are you, old friends? I heard you’re forming some pathetic organization to fight us. Is that true?”

“So, you’ve gone and betrayed us, haven’t you?” growled Cynthia. “What makes you believe you have the right to stand here and question us?”

Samuel, however, did not seem offended by her attitude at all. In fact, he didn’t even bother to address her question. “Sharon, Sharon, Sharon. Always you. The brave one, the wise one, the kind one. The hero who mesmerized the Snow Giant into a good fairy, the saint who spared a monster from death, the great president of the student council. Me? A sidekick. A nobody. But that’s in the past. I’m not a nobody anymore. The Vanquishers cherish my talent and potential, Sharon Gale. I won’t be second-best to you ever again.”

Sharon was starting to understand what her boyfriend—no, her ex-boyfriend—meant. She could hardly believe her ears. A lump formed in her throat. Was she a terrible person? A sanctimonious hero ravenous for attention, belittling her close friends and deeming them inferior?

“Here, with the Vanquishers, I’ve found my second home. I worship Master Icarus.” Samuel’s words arrowed through Sharon’s heart, inflicting on her pain no wound nor blade could bring.

“Samuel, please. You’re not yourself. We were friends, remember? All the things we’ve been through and….” Sharon’s voice stumbled and faltered at the icy smile etched upon his face.

“Those are in the past tense. The Samuel you knew is gone. Forever.”

Just then, a horrible thought struck Sharon. She flicked a frantic glance at Cynthia, who understood.

“What about Alan? Have you intercepted him?” Cynthia inquired.

Samuel laughed, and his giant bodyguards smirked disdainfully at Cynthia’s query. Their mirth made goosebumps prickle Sharon’s arms. What did Samuel know that she didn’t?

“Looks like we outsmarted you,” drawled Samuel. “We know your flaws well enough—your gullibility and naivety—which is our advantage. I also know how you tend to dive into plans before evaluating the risk. So, I advised Icarus to fabricate a letter from Alan as bait to lure Cynthia and the rest of you here.” He laughed at the incredulous expressions on their faces. “Surely you didn’t think we’d go through all that trouble to kidnap your leaguers?”

A cold fist closed around Sharon’s heart. “So the letter was a lie?” she said through gritted teeth.

Samuel nodded and grinned. “Do you like my scheme, old friends?”

“You’re brainwashed by the Vanquishers. You’re insane!” Sharon yelled, refusing to confront the truth.

“Insane, am I? I’ll give you an idea of how insane I am!” Samuel roared, raising his sword.

“Stop wasting time, Samuel,” a gruff voice bellowed. “Are they here or not?”

The door groaned opened again, and in came Alexander, Gregory, and Hazel.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.