Chapter 88 Legend of Sabrina

Chapter 88 Legend of Sabrina
Vanessa

“This is fucking ridiculous at this point,” I groan, pacing in front of the small, abandoned well at the center of the village, frustration bubbling under my skin.

“No one wants to talk,” I snap. “The second I mention her name, they shut down like I’ve cursed them.”

Xander leans against a nearby post, arms crossed. “You do know fear like that doesn’t come from nothing.”

“I know that,” I say, dragging a hand through my hair. “But how are we supposed to find anything if everyone refuses to open their mouths?” Silence answers me, heavy and unhelpful.
I exhale sharply and turn, scanning the village again. There has to be someone willing to talk. Someone who isn’t completely ruled by the fear of whoever this woman was.

My gaze lands on a small house at the edge of the village. It's not as worn or as closed off as the rest of them.

“I’ll try one more,” I say, feet already in motion.

Xander straightens immediately. “I’m coming with you. Also, please don't be aggressive with your questioning."

I throw him a glare over my shoulders. “Obviously, I won't.”

He opens his mouth as if to disagree but shuts it anyway.

Good for him.

We walk together this time, and slower, more cautious.

Once we stop in front of the house, I knock.

Once.

Twice.

For a moment, nothing happens.

Then the door creaks open, and standing there is a Middle-aged woman. Sharp grey eyes with only a subtle amount of fear, like she's already experienced the worst.

“State your business,” she says. I raise my eyebrows in surprise.

Straight to the point I see. I like her already.

“We’re looking for information,” I say. “About Sabrina.”

She goes still, and her complexion pales a little, but she doesn’t shut the door immediately like the others. That's progress to me either way.

“…You shouldn’t say that name so freely,” she mutters.

“Why?” I press.

Her gaze flicks between me and Xander before she sighs.

“Get inside.”

The door opens wider. We step in, and the air inside is only slightly warmer. She closes the door behind us, locking it firmly, then turns.

“You’re not from here,” she says.

“No,” I reply truthfully.

“I can tell.” She studies me for a long moment.

“She’s dead.” The words come out blunt. “Sabrina is dead.”

I nod slowly. “That’s what we heard too.”

“But her daughter isn’t,” the woman adds.

My heart skips a beat. "Her daughter?”

“Ursula.”

The name settles heavily like a weight in the room.

“She lives,” the woman continues. “And she is far worse than her mother ever was.”

A chill creeps down my spine at those words.

“How?” My voice is a little shaky when I ask.

The woman laughs bitterly. “You really don’t understand what Sabrina was.”

“Then help me understand,” I plead.

The silence stretches for a while between us before she speaks again.

“Sabrina wasn’t just a witch,” she says. “She was something else. Something… twisted. Unhinged.”

Xander shifts slightly beside me, listening intently.

“She experimented,” the woman continues. “On magic, on people, on things that should have been left alone.”

My stomach turns even as she keeps speaking. “She didn’t fear consequences,” the woman adds. “Because she didn’t believe in them.”

That sounds familiar, a little too familiar infact.

“And Ursula?” I ask quietly.

The woman’s expression hardens. “She learned from her mother.”

Of course she did. Who else would it have been?

“Where is she?” I ask. "Ursula. Where is she now?"

The woman hesitates. “She used to live beyond the northern ridge in a house near the forest line.”

“Used to?” Xander repeats, speaking for the first time.

The woman nods.“She doesn’t stay in one place anymore.”

I'm not surprised to hear that.

“People like her never do.”

I exchange a glance with Xander before looking back at the woman. “Thank you.”

She waves it off. “Just leave,” she says. “And forget you ever heard that name.”

I'm sorry to inform you that's never happening.



We don’t speak much as we leave the house.

The weight of what we’ve learned settles heavily between us.

“Ursula,” I murmur.

“She’s the key,” Xander says.

“Yeah.” She's then one thing standing between us and ending all this once and for all.

We reach the location by nightfall, and indeed, the house stands at the edge of the forest.
It's old, abandoned and obviously empty, but I step inside anyway.

Dust is the first thing that greets me, then comes the silence. There's no presence and no traces of anyone ever living here before.

“She’s not here,” I say quietly.

Xander nods. “It seems like she’s been gone for a while now.”

Frustration claws at my chest and my fingers tighten into fists instinctively. “We were so close.”

“Not close enough,” he replies.

I turn away, clenching my fists tighter.

“This doesn’t end here,” I mutter, stomping out of the haggard house.

“It won’t,” he assures me. But it's not enough.

\---

By the time we return, exhaustion sits heavy in my bones but I don’t stop thinking. I just can’t.

There has to be another lead, another way.

I push the door to my room open and freeze.

She’s standing there, as if she's been waiting for a long time.

My breath catches.

"Mom?”

Her eyes lock onto mine, sharp and worried.

“You need to stop this, Vanessa,” she says immediately.

“No,” I reply just as quickly.

Her expression tightens.

“Vanessa—”

“I’m not backing down,” I cut in.

“This is bigger than you realize,” she warns.

“I know,” I say, and I mean it. Then I cross my arms over my chest and ask, "And where have you been all these while, after your failed kidnap attempt?"

A frown tugs her lips downwards at my accusations. "I wasn't trying to kidnap you, Vanessa. I was only trying to stop you from throwing yourself in danger."

"Still haven't answered my question."

She rolls her eyes. "I lost contact and tried reaching you again but it was all futile. You completed the mate bond?"

The question throws me off guard my snappy responses falters on the tip of my tongue. "H-how did you...know?"

"Mothers know everything, sweetheart," she smirks.
Her gaze softens for a fraction of a second before hardening again.

“You really should be even more careful than before, Vanessa," she says more seriously.

"Not bothering to stop me one more time?" I tease.

She huffs out a frustrated breath. "It's not like you'll listen to me and I can't really stop you when you've gotten this far." Then she mutters. "You're just like me, probably even worse."

I hear it anyway. Then I step closer.

“I will," I tell her, a promise in my gaze. She nods, and with one last smile, disappears.

I'll be careful, but I won’t stop. Not now, not when I’m this close, and especially not when something ancient is already moving.

I’m going to find her, and when I do? This time, I won’t just be looking for answers.

I’ll be ready for an ancient war.