Page 79 of The Powerless Witch

“I’ve heard rumors, but I have never seen him do anything other than get drunk at meetings. I still warned you to be careful with him. What exactly happened?”

“Shehappened, of course!” Mariam snarled and I didn’t have to ask who ‘she’ was—it was always the same person for them. The Ancient One. The bane of everyone’s existence.

Yet it wasn’t the same emotion that brewed in their eyes as they stared at each other in understanding. Mariam’s was deeper, rawer, past the superficial hate and jealousy of someone much more powerful than them. It felt…personal.

“So you didn’t get her out of the grove,” Regina said carefully, and Mariam let out another snarl, returning to her pacing. “What then? Do we postpone the spell until she is out? We can—”

“No, she’ll be leaving the grove,” Miriam snapped back. “Her magic is back. I don’t know how or what they did, but she was ready to erupt when I saw her. And they won’t let her stay in the grove out of fear that she’d destroy it. So they will send her out soon, and when that happens, I want every supernatural creature gone from this land, so she has no one to turn to.”

Regina’s face paled, glancing at me and Mathias as if just now realizing we were there.

“We are not ready,” she said, catching her hands in front of herself like she often did when she was nervous or agitated. “A few more days and—”

“No,” Mariam said calmly, but the finality in the voice cut like a knife. “We do it tonight. I’m going to the ritual site and summoning everyone. Do what needs to be done. We start at the witching hour and not a moment later. Whoever is not in their place can die for all I care.”

Miriam dusted the remnants of her clothes as if she were wearing some expensive regalia instead of her tattered pants and shirt. Yet, when she looked back at the Head Witch, Regina inclined her head.

“We’ll meet you there.”

Mariam nodded, sidestepping Regina and heading toward the door. She slowed as she reached us, her eyes lingering on my face before switching on Mathias.

“Stay out of sight,” she told him, and Mathias raised an eyebrow. It had sounded almost like an order and if I knew him well, that probably made him regret healing her. “Prepare her. I’m compromised already,” Mariam added on her way to the door, and I frowned at her back.

Prepare who?

“I will,” Regina said as the sound of her steps disappeared into the foyer. I held my breath while we waited for our orders. When Regina met my gaze, something akin to pity passed through her face.

“I need to make a few phone calls.” She straightened the non-existent wrinkles on her skirt, then strode to the table to grab her phone. “I’ll be right back with your orders. Wait here.”

We didn’t bother to reply because her phone was already ringing by the time she left the room. I gritted my teeth, glancing toward the couch. I could barely stand on my feet, so it was best to rest if I wanted to survive tonight—the thought seemed less and less appealing the longer I thought about it.

Mathias’ fingers wrapped around my upper arm, squeezing hard enough to make me stop. When I turned to look at him, he was leaning so close that our noses were almost touching. I tried to step back on instinct, but he held on, his eyes shining with an emotion different from his usual mockery.

“We need to kill her tonight,” he whispered, and I felt the air rush out of my lungs while I stared with shock. I opened my mouth to ask why, to tell him I wasn’t ready and that there was no chance with everyone there, but nothing came out. As if he could taste my fear and panic growing, Mathias released me. He didn’t pull back, though. “Tonight, after the ritual, they will kill you.” A smile appeared on his lips when I frowned. “Haven’t you ever wondered what Regina has been preparing you for so long? It’s not for taking over once she is done. It’s not for your own benefit either. Because of your blood, you are to be the bond bearer that controls me, Violet, but it seems they never intended it to beyouin that body.”

“How do you know all of that?” I asked.

“If you survive tonight, I’ll tell you,” he smirked, glancing at the door. “You’ll bear the bond, anyway. I won’t have a choice.”

I shook my head, unable to comprehend a word of what he was saying, even if, for once, he looked like he was telling the truth. No mockery, no taunting, no threats. But what…

“You called me Violet,” I breathed.

“That is what your parents called you before you became Samara. Violet Marten.”

My vision blurred as I repeated the name, feeling the rightness of it, the trueness of it. But Mathias left me no time to enjoy this little piece of myself that I have been given back.

“So, what do you say? Are you ready to die or are you ready to kill?”

I took a deep breath and wiped my eyes.

“How?”

The smile on Mathias’ face was nothing short of wicked.

“It just so happens that we are not the only ones who want her dead. So all we need to do isletthem get close to her—and if we are lucky, they might even kill her for us.”

Chapter 35

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