Page 77 of The Soulless Witch

“Yes, of course. I’ll bring a fresh pot.” I nodded, glancing at the woman sitting across from the Head Witch. Her name was Paula, if I remembered correctly, and she was one of Regina’s new minions—another naïve woman who thought cozying up to the Head Witch would bring her power and respect. Little did she know about what she was getting into.

The woman eyed me for a moment, dark eyes following my every step while I crossed the room. Her bob brushed against her sides when she turned to face Regina. I slipped out, closing the door with a sigh.

“Got in trouble again?”

I jumped at the sound of the voice, looking around in alarm only to find him leaning on the other wing of the door, a smirk dancing on his lips.

“Mathias.” I sighed, a mix of relief and unease settling in my chest. He was easily the most handsome man I had laid my eyes on, with smooth ivory skin and black hair and eyes. But beneath the mouth-watering exterior lay something sinister, even more so than the dark soul Regina possessed. But that beast was caged and chained, or so the Head Witch claimed, and I had no reason to doubt her, considering that the leash she held on Mathias’ mind was even thicker than the one she had on mine. “What do you want?”

“Is that how you should talk to your only friend?” He gasped dramatically, pushing himself off the door as I strode toward the kitchens. Regina’s home—my home—was a building of excessive size and style, considering it only housed three people. But she liked to be admired, so the place served its purpose.

“You are not my friend,” I mumbled, ignoring the urge to protect my back while he dragged his feet after me. “There is a guest in that room. Aren’t you supposed to be staying out of sight? Regina would have to kill her if the woman saw you.”

Mathias groaned in annoyance, speeding up, so he reached the door of the kitchen first and opened it for me. I went in without a word and walked to where I had left the kettle earlier. Refilling it with water and putting it on the stove, I set out to prepare the china, milk, and honey while his eyes followed my every move.

“Is there something you want, Mathias?” I asked in the end, twirling to face him. He had taken a seat in one of the chairs by the table, his movements more silent than a vampire’s. When I looked at him, he was turning an apple in his hand as if it was something extremely interesting.

He ignored my question like he often did.

Rolling my eyes, I focused on the kettle, watching it impatiently until it started to whistle. I arranged everything on a silver tray and I was just turning to leave when I sensed a movement behind me. I almost ran into Mathias blocking my way.

“Damn it, Mathias! What is your problem?”

His hand shot toward my face and I instinctively wrapped myself with magic, ready to repel him. His fingers stopped just short of touching the current of energy, then pressed. I gasped as he pierced my ward like it wasn’t even there, catching my chin and lifting it up.

“Let go!” I snarled, trying to free myself, but I froze as the porcelain chattered, almost falling to the ground. If I broke this, Regina would be furious, so whatever he was planning, it was better just to endure it. Regina had compelled him not to cause me harm, so anything he was after would likely be just mildly annoying. “What is up with you?”

“The resemblance is uncanny,” he murmured to himself, studying my face as if he were seeing it for the first time. Frowning, I waited for him to release my chin, and soon he lost interest—or maybe found what he wanted—and let go. “What are the chances?”

“What are you talking about? You’re being weirder than usual.” I gasped when the word slipped from my mouth. He hated being calledweirdto the point where he would destroy things, or people, in his rage. Even Regina avoided that word. Mathias’ back stiffened, and I prepared for him to lash out, but to my shock, he just smiled over his shoulder.

“What’s the fun in telling you now? I think I’ll wait to see how it all plays out.” I opened my mouth to tell him he was being a brat when he added, “If you keep standing there, the tea will get cold, and you know how my mother gets when she is served cold tea.”

Gritting my teeth in annoyance, I glared at him as I headed toward the door. He didn’t follow this time, so for the short walk to Regina’s study, my steps were the only sound I could hear. The Head Witch’s eyes lifted the moment I stepped into the room, and I made sure I was above reproach while I poured both women a cup. The pleasant smell of expensive tea and sweet honey filled the air as I took my spot behind Regina’s seat, straightening my shoulders. Paula glanced at me as if expecting me to leave, but Regina waved her hand.

“Don’t worry, she can’t say a word to anyone, even if she wanted to. She made a vow to serve when she was a child. That is why she is the only person I could trust completely, despite all her…failings.” She turned her head to look at me, eyes sharp and unforgiving, then smiled again when she faced the other woman. “You were saying?”

Paula sipped from her tea, setting the cup down before she replied.

“Everything went as you predicted. The attack happened on all three of the headquarters and now the remaining hunters are in the wind. It will take them some time to reorganize and reclaim their position here, but for now, the city is free of the Order. The only surprise was the Fae’s involvement, but they withdrew before the battle at the other two locations was even over. We believe they were recalled by their Queen, but we can’t confirm it for certain.” Regina nodded, her eyes studying the amber liquid in her cup with keen interest. “They were successful in retrieving the taken children, but they lost a great deal of their forces.”

“Good, that should keep them quiet for a while.” Regina smiled.

“I am curious…how did you get your hands on all of those werewolves and Fae? And without exposing yourself? We know how powerful you are.” Her eyes darted to me, but then quickly looked away when she found me watching her. “But still, how did you do it without leaving a trace of your magic? Is it some artifact from the coven of the Silver Flame or…?”

Regina’s smile didn’t falter, but her eyes narrowed, and that was enough to have Paula sweating in her seat. I almost felt bad for the woman.

“Paula, dear, curiosity often kills the cat,” Regina said in a sweet voice. “What you need to know is that I did it all for our coven, and now, the witches are the strongest they have ever been. Our enemies are weakened and the hunters are gone. We can finally move forward with the plans we made. And all of that was possible because ofme.”

Paula sucked in a deep breath, nodding reverently.

“Yes, Head Witch. Please forgive me.”

“Oh, dear, there is nothing to forgive,” Regina chuckled, sounding pleased. “Anything else to report?”

Paula hesitated, as if trying to think of something, then braved a look up.

“We sawher. The Ancient one.” Regina didn’t react, but I could feel her excitement rising to the roof even without the help of my magic. “They carried her out of there, unconscious. She is weak, just like you said. And judging by the way her vampire was acting, she might not make it.”

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