Marie held back tears brimming on the rims of her eyes. She bowed her head as single tear escaped, moistening her facial covering. Sybil was careful not to let her see the path leading to the location. She revealed no way for her to return to familiar grounds.
Never in her life would Marie have expected to find herself in a situation like this. She was powerless, in pain and completely alone. The helpless feeling engulfed her rapidly. There wasn't much more that she could take.
She would never see Sargon again. She would never be able to help Harold. Sybil would surely kill her this time around. There was no escaping her without magic. She leaned her head back as the throbbing pains grew more intense.
The vehicle came to a halt and Marie heard the doors open and shut. She was dragged out of the vehicle and up many stairs. As she was thrown into a room, she lost her balance. She let out a cry as she fell to the floor, hitting her back against something hard. Reaching her hands behind her, it felt like some kind of wooden post.
When the face covering was removed, Sybil's wicked grin obstructed her vision.
"Welcome home dear. We have been waiting for you." She said, pushing Marie onto a small bed in the corner of the room. Sybil sat herself in a wooden chair opposite Marie and glared at her with her hands interwoven on her lap as she tapped her foot slowly.
Marie looked away from her while she inspected the space. The tiny room looked like it once belonged to a child. It was dusty and had a strange smell. It seemed as though the child left, and the room had not been touched since. Discolored, paper drawings and colorings of artwork was pasted on the walls. The child may have been around five years old, based on the details of the drawings.
The pictures were very creative. One was of a princess with a wand and stars coming out of the wand. The princess was waving her wand at something covered in a cloak. Marie couldn't tell what was hidden under the cloak. The drawing gave her chills.
"What is this place? Why am I here?"
"What, this room is not good enough for 'the chosen'?" She smirked. Marie ignored her comment and kept looking around.
The room had one window with metal bars barricading it. The glass was so thick with dust that you couldn't see out of it. The door looked like it was heavy. It locked from the outside with a key. There was no way out of that room so easily.
"Can you untie me? I have no way to escape. You have my power. I couldn't leave even if I tried." She asked completely void of emotion. Her exhaustion had caught up to her. Her body ached and her eyes were heavy. She didn't have much fight left in her.
"Well, you do have a point. I suppose I could make your last days a little more comfortable since you will be giving me your power and all. Whatever powers you currently have left won't be enough to get you out of here anyway so you can try as much as you want. Your end is inevitably growing near." She said with a wink.
"You will have to go on and kill me. There is no way I am willingly going to give you, my power. It's best you end this now. I don't care anymore."
"Oh, you will give your power over. Trust me. Timing is everything." She said.
"You seem confident."
"That is because I have already seen it. You will see it soon as well."
Marie turned away and looked at the dirty window. "Don't you people clean here?" She asked as Sybil scoffed.
"Said the woman who is mated to an animal." Sybil said with a cackle as Marie glared at her.
Sybil advanced towards Marie, grabbing her by her throat, pulling her face closely.
"You are a traitor, a disgrace to our kind. You are the Chosen. How you are mated to a wolf baffles me. Witches have not mated with wolves for a very long time. Now you decided to start this again. The Gods really messed up this time. How could they allow 'the chosen' to be mated to a wolf? You are a supreme being. Not to worry though. You will find your end and in turn, he shall as well. You are connected in life and in death. It will be a lovely end to you both."
"No! The mate bond! This is not happening." Marie cried. She forgot that she and Sargon were connected as one. If she was to die, he would die as well.
"Wait, witches have mated with wolves?" Marie asked in disbelief when she realized what Sybil said.
"Unfortunately, there were a few who did. It did not end well. The two worlds were not meant to be united. Witches have been banned from mating with any except our own. It is the way the Gods originally intended."
"If the Gods intended for it to be so then why is it still possible?" Marie asked as Sybil struck her with the back of her hand in her mouth, knocking Marie off balance. She regained her balance and sat up, glaring at Sybil. She could taste her own blood as she swallowed.
"Mixing beast and witch was not what was intend." Sybil said with a scowl as she stood up to leave.
"Please, just leave him alone. He has no ill will towards witches. He only cares to protect his kingdom and his family. There must be a way to let him live"
Sybil stopped looking at Marie in deep thought. She returned to her seat without a word uttered as she sat. Marie knew she was wondering how keeping her alive would benefit her.
"Sorry, my plan is perfectly put together. I get to eliminate 'the Chosen' and the all-powerful Sargon. Then I become the supreme being. There is nothing better than that. Besides, if I let you live, he will come looking for you and I will kill him without a second thought. Either way, the wolf dies."
Marie's chest pained her. She couldn't bear anything happening to Sargon. One of the main reasons she left the castle was to protect him and his family. Now he was in more danger than before. If she escaped, Sybil would find her easily without her power. If she stayed, she would be the cause of Sargon's death.
Nausea built within her the more she thought of it.
"Wait, can you break the mate bond? It must be possible. I do not have a wolf. Our mate bond has also weakened since I lost my power. It must be possible."
"You do realize that even if I remove the mate bond, I will kill Sargon anyway, right?"
"At least he would have a better chance."
"After what you witnessed in your house, do you really think he will ever be able to kill me? Ha! He is a weakling. It is too easy to kill him."
"Then let him live. He poses no threat to you or your coven."
"I simply don't like the filthy bastard. An animal should not rule the kingdom. Wolves should be in a cage, underneath the earth. Ugh, I can even smell him on you. It is disgusting." Sybil said, pinching her nose with her fingers.
"What if I give you my powers in exchange for his life? Once the bond is broken, it doesn't matter what happens to me. He will never learn of it. Even if he looks for me, which he won't because the bond will be broken, he will not find me. He has many options in mates. He will move on." She said as she felt her stomach sink with her own words. She was giving up her own heart.
"Hmm…that's an idea. It is not a terrible plan but gaining your power is the best part." She smirked.
"There is one condition. The Witches Bond must be applied to this agreement, and it cannot be broken. You cannot kill him once I have given you my power."
"Ugh, you are definitely smarter than I anticipated. What do you know of the Witches Bond?"
"I learned about that long ago. It is the most powerful way to seal an agreement. It is a blood oath. Do we have a deal?"
"I will think about it. This changes everything if I accept it. I shall return when I have decided. Until then, do not go to far." She sang as she stood up, unlocking the door, and stepping outside.
"Oh, one more thing…" She said as she returned to the room, revealing a wooden cane in the shape of a snake.
She swung the cane, hitting Marie in her head as she fell onto the bed.
"Witches are not to mate with wolves." She said through her teeth as she walked out, leaving Marie unconscious.