Page 12 of The Fearless Witch

“Shocking, isn’t it?” he scoffed. “You, me, Regina, Mariam… all Castle descendants.”

I ran a hand over my face, trying to wrap my mind around this. Why did Regina need someone else to inherit the bond, and how did Mariam fit into that?

When I repeated those questions out loud, Mathias just clicked with his tongue like he was disappointed I hadn’t figured it out already. I wracked my brain for the answer, going over everything he had said before, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t connect the dots.

“I don’t fucking get it!” I shouted. “Tell me what Mariam wants with me!”

Mathias looked like he had no intention of replying, so I reached for that thread between us, tugging it gently. His body jerked in response and when he met my gaze, the nonchalance gave place to a warning.

“She wants your body,” he spat, his eyes darkening with anger. “She wants to transfer her soul into your nice little shell and wear it until it falls apart.” Horror gripped my throat, and I shook my head because that shouldn’t be possible. The cruel smile on Mathias’ face told me I was wrong. “She has done it many times before Mariam Castle. Regina didn’t want to become a vessel, so she found a new one for Mariam. That was the terms of their agreement. You were never supposed to control me. She was.”

My feet wobbled, and I leaned on the footboard of the bed.

“What do you think all that training was for? She was grooming your body to be strong enough to sustain her presence and the bond with me. You were saved to be sacrificed.”

“No,” I heard myself whisper, searching his eyes for any hint of a lie, or even mockery. I found only pity there. “This is insane!” When the weight of his words finally settled on my shoulders, I sat on the edge of the bed, afraid my legs would fail me.

I had lost everything that night—my family, my memory, my identity. The only thing I knew was that Regina had saved me and, in her way, she cared enough for me to make me her successor. But even that was a lie because she never saved me. She just delayed the date of my death for her own selfish purposes. And here I was now, carrying a burden I didn’t deserve and facing a choice I didn’t want to make. I wanted to cry and scream and break things, but I felt so weak, I wasn’t sure if I could even stand.

Mathias moved, but I didn’t raise my head until he was standing in front of me, his fingers brushing the side of my face. I scrambled backward on the bed, grappling for my magic, but he just let out an amused chuckle.

“So, now that you know,” he said with the familiar cat smile that had made me bristle more times than I cared to count, “do the smart thing and release me from the bond. I’ll even do you a small favor and take care of Mariam for you.” He slid his knee onto the bed, drawing closer without breaking eye contact. I couldn’t sense his magic, but I could feel something crawling over my body, tasting me, testing me, looking for its chance. Fighting his power with mine was pointless—I could never win. I only had one weapon now, and that was my words.

“I…” His hand covered my mouth before I could finish the sentence, and my eyes widened in surprise as he shifted his body closer. He was too close for comfort, and the way he studied my face made my insides twist uncomfortably.

“Before you say something dangerously stupid, let me paint you a picture,” he said, leaning even closer. The light of the fire danced on the edge of his sharp cheekbones, making his features more sinister than ever. “You let me go tonight, and I will allow you to return to your family, reclaim your place among them, and enjoy your life for the first time since you can remember. It will be my gift for your… care.” His fingers slid off my mouth, traveling to my cheek where they lingered. “Or… you say whatever you were planning to say and bind us both to a fate that can only end in death.” His eyes lowered to my lips, and I realized I was licking them nervously. “Choose wisely.”

This sounded so, so tempting. Returning to my family, living the life that was stolen from me, away from witch politics and body-stealing monsters. But…

“What… what are you going to do if I release you right now?” I asked with a shaky breath.

His smile made my heart skip a beat. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want to hear the answer to,” he chuckled. “But you’ll be fine. I give you my word. I won’t touch you… unless you ask me to, of course. That could be fun.”

I tried to shove him off me at the implication, but he stayed as immovable as a boulder. My magic exploded along with my panic and he lost his balance, falling sideways onto the bed. I expected him to get angry and retaliate, but he only chuckled with amusement.

“Fine, you can be on top,” he smirked, raising his hand in surrender. I slid further away from him and he rolled his eyes.

“What will you do to the world?” I asked, even though I knew that hearing the answer to that question would make it even harder to make my decision.

“Oh, you know. It might get wrecked a bit, but I won’t destroy it. I still need a planet to live on, so…” He shrugged like he hadn’t just insinuated he was planning to devastate at least some of it. “Well? Let me hear it.”

“No.” I shook my head, staggering out of the bed and backing away from him. His smile withered, but aside from sitting up, he didn’t follow.

The look in his eyes was enough to confirm I was doing the right thing, even if everything in me was begging me not to. Because, for all his faults, I did think he would keep his word—at least for a little while. But how could I face my family, knowing that my decision cost the lives of hundreds, possibly millions of people? How could I expect them to take me back and forgive everything I did, regardless if I had a choice or not, when this decision was all mine and I still chose to unleash a monster? Even Regina wouldn’t have done that.

“I won’t let you do that. I can’t.”

Mathias sighed.

“Samara, be reasonable. It’s not like you care about other people.”

“It’s Violet!” I shouted, and he clenched his jaw. “I won’t be responsible for unleashing a male witch on the world! That is a sin I won’t take to my grave, even if my decision kills me!”

The air in the room felt as hot as fire, but I sucked in a deep breath, trying to prepare myself for what I had to do.

‘You can do this!’ I gritted my teeth as I grabbed the thread connecting us. ‘You have to do this!’

“You will not kill or hurt anyone unless I order it or in self-defense,” I said, keeping my voice steady as the connection between us snapped from the power of the command. The rune on his head started to glow, and the smell of his burning flesh almost made me gag. Pain flooded his eyes, and Mathias roared.

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