Chapter 90 Chapter 90
_Leah’s POV_
Time passed slowly after Tariq left. I did not know how much time had gone by. The room stayed dim and cold. My body hurt everywhere. The ropes felt tighter with every breath I took. My hands throbbed. My shoulders burned. My throat was dry beneath the gag.
Athena stayed close inside me. I could feel her presence like a thin shield around my heart.
Stay with me, Leah, she whispered. Do not drift too far.
“I’m here,” I replied inside my mind. “I’m trying.”
The door creaked open again.
My heart jumped painfully in my chest. Fear rushed through me like ice. I lifted my head as much as I could.
Susan stepped inside.
She wore a dark cloak that brushed the floor. Her eyes gleamed with cruelty when they landed on me. In her hands was a large leather bag. It looked heavy. It was old and stained, as if it had been used many times before.
She smiled. It was not a kind smile. It was sharp and satisfied.
“Well,” she said slowly, her voice smooth and cold. “We finally meet after so long.”
Athena growled low inside me. This is her. The witch.
My stomach twisted.
Susan stepped closer and looked me up and down. Her gaze lingered on the ropes. Her lips curved even more.
“I have waited a long time for this moment,” she added.
Behind her, the door opened again.
Tariq entered the room.
He looked pleased. His eyes were bright. There was excitement in his posture. He closed the door behind him and leaned against it, watching us.
Susan placed the bag on a table nearby. She opened it slowly....almost lovingly. One by one, she removed its contents.
Small glass vials filled with liquid. Some were clear. Some were cloudy. Some glowed faintly in strange colors. She laid out small packets of powder. There were dark powders, pale powders and powders that shimmered faintly in the dim light.
My breathing grew shallow.
Then she pulled out a long silver dagger. It gleamed sharply. The blade caught the candlelight and reflected it onto the walls.
Athena tensed. We are in danger.
Susan picked up the dagger and weighed it in her hand. She seemed pleased.
She walked toward me.
My heart pounded so hard I thought it might break through my chest.
She reached for my face and removed the gag from my mouth.
Air rushed into my lungs. I gasped and coughed.
“What are you planning to do?” I demanded hoarsely.
Susan chuckled softly. “What we should have done long ago. We will bind you to Tariq.”
My blood ran cold.
She turned slightly and looked at Tariq. “The ritual will seal the dark wedding vows,” she said calmly. “Without this step, the sacrifice will be useless.”
My hands clenched into fists as much as the ropes allowed.
“No matter what you do, you will never succeed. Kayden will not abandon me. He will find me. He will free me from here.”
Athena surged with sudden strength. Yes. He will come.
Tariq laughed loudly. “Oh, stop dreaming, Leah. Kayden will never find you.”
He stepped closer. “This place is hidden. It is difficult to access.”
Susan nodded. “I wove an illusion spell around this building,” she added. “Even if Kayden passes nearby, he will see nothing but forest. To outsiders, this place does not exist.”
My hope flickered but I forced myself to hold onto it.
Athena whispered, Illusions can break.
Susan reached for my hands.
“No,” I said sharply.
She ignored me. She grabbed both of my hands and pulled them forward. The ropes dug painfully into my wrists.
She raised the dagger.
Fear exploded inside me.
I screamed.
I struggled wildly but the ropes held tight. My body shook. My breath came out in sobs.
Susan brought the blade down.
Pain ripped through my palms as the dagger cut deep into my skin. Fire shot through my hands. I screamed again, louder this time.
Athena screamed with me.
Blood flowed freely from my palms. Susan held them over a bowl and let the blood drip inside. My vision blurred from pain and tears.
“It is almost done,” Susan said calmly.
When she finished, she turned to Tariq.
“I will need your blood as well,” she said.
Tariq stepped forward eagerly. He did not hesitate. He held out his hand.
Susan cut his palm. He did not even flinch. She let his blood drip into the same bowl.
The smell of blood filled the air. It made my stomach churn.
Susan mixed the blood together slowly. She began to chant. Her voice dropped low. The words were strange and dark. They made my skin crawl.
“By blood and shadow,” she said, “by pain and devotion, I bind what must be bound.”
Athena whimpered. This magic is old.
Susan added a colorless liquid to the bowl and stirred. Then she picked up a vial of green liquid.
She threw some onto my face.
I gasped as it burned slightly against my skin.
She splashed some onto Tariq as well.
“Now,” Susan said, handing the bowl to Tariq, “make her drink half.”
“No,” I cried.
Susan grabbed my hair and yanked my head back. Pain exploded through my scalp. My neck strained painfully.
Tariq pushed my cheeks together. My mouth was forced open.
Susan continued chanting.
“Drink and bind,” she said. “Drink and obey.”
The liquid was poured into my mouth.
I gagged. I tried to spit it out but I couldn’t. I swallowed against my will. The taste was bitter and foul. It burned my throat.
Athena cried. Fight it. Fight it.
When it was over, Susan nodded.
“Drink the rest,” she told Tariq.
He did. He smiled as he swallowed.
Susan continued chanting louder now. The room felt heavy. The candles flickered wildly.
Heat spread through my body. I began to sweat. My skin burned. Then my palms burned again.
I screamed.
The wounds from the dagger closed suddenly. But something else formed in their place.
There was a symbol burned into my skin; a triangle with three circles inside.
The same symbol I had seen on Tariq’s back. The same symbol from his cursed diary.
Susan plunged my hands into a bowl of liquid. The burning stopped immediately.
I stared at my palms in horror.
Athena sobbed softly. They marked you.
Susan smiled with satisfaction.
“It is done,” she said. “You are husband and wife, bound by the curse.”
She looked at Tariq. “Now, when you sacrifice her at the right time, you will be free forever.”
Tariq threw his head back and laughed like a madman.
I felt empty and hopeless.
But deep inside, Athena whispered.
Hold on, Leah. This is not the end.