Page 115 of Summoned
My jaw aches from frustration. “There are no more games, Nicole. In three days, you’ll defeat the Black Joker, and I’ll be bound to grant you one wish. Anything you choose…almostanything.”
“I don’t believe you.”
I tighten my grip around her wrists. “This—what’s between us—isn’t just desire. I belong to you, and you to me, in a way that goes far beyond the physical. We, the witchers, believe in soulmates, but not in finding them in every lifetime. And yet, I found mine… only to lose her in a heartbeat.”
Her body stiffens. At least now, I have her full attention.
“Why do you think you can sense me when no other harvest ever could? Soul-bonded magic always leaves a mark. It resists manipulating the one it belongs to. That resistance left you a thread—a way to be aware of me, regardless of what I did to hide it.”
Her face twists, caught somewhere between disbelief and pain. “I don’t believe a single word.”
I want to lift her chin and force her to see the truth in my eyes. Instead, I lower my arms to my sides. A bitter smile tugs at the corner of my lips. “You feel it, too. Why else would you give yourself to the man who once hunted you?”
Nicole’s fists curl again. “Because, clearly, I’m the biggest fool in the world.”
This time, I don’t hold back. I let my hand brush her temple. She flinches, but at least she doesn’t push me away. “You are many things, Nicole, but a fool is not one of them. Like it or not, you’re a predator. You found a way to survive, no matter the cost. And I’ve no doubt you wouldhave figured out how to beat the Black Joker, too… if it weren’t for this bond between us. One that not only ties us together”—I shrug—“ but shields us from each other as well.”
She blinks at me. My lips burn with the urge to erase her confusion with a kiss.
“Say something,” I whisper.
The silence stretches. She draws a slow, heavy breath. “So…the pull between us, it was only magic?”
The thought alone causes my brow to crease. “Not at all, my baroness. The pull was completely primal. It’s the magic that made it…transcendent.”
“I don’t understand you.”
Neither do I, entirely. But that changes nothing in me. “You don’t have to. The only thing you need to know is that you’re safe.”
Her eyebrows lift just slightly. She examines me, considering every word. Then she crosses her arms over her chest. “If that’s true, then take me back to Daria. I have to make sure she’s okay. You terrified her with the fire.”
My shoulders tense up. What was I hoping for? That she’d collapse into my arms as if nothing had happened?
“Do you still have the dagger?” I ask. She presses her lips together, and I interpret that as a yes. “You probably figured it out from the note, but it’s a kind of portal. It’ll only work for a few more days since it needs strong magic. I had to lower the defenses around my castle just to make it possible.” Nicole looks at me like I’m speaking a different language. “I mean, you can use it to come to me in the castle while I’m still there. Or call for me. Either way, I won’t block the connection between us again. Not for the three days I have left.”
Her eyes narrow at that last bit. When her lips part, it’sto repeat, “Bring me to Daria.”
The ache in my chest spreads as I slice the air with my hand. The space tears open in front of us, with silver strands pulsing along the edges of the emerging portal. She rushes into it, and I follow behind, my gaze fixed on the graceful curve of her back and the sway of her hair.
In a heartbeat, the cave dissolves into Daria’s apartment. Nicole crosses the room in silence.
Daria appears in the hallway. “Niki?! Are you okay?”
Nicole gives a small nod, never once glancing over her shoulder. I linger in the doorway’s shadow. Daria turns toward me, apprehension shining in her eyes.
Had Itrulybelieved she might want to spend the little time I had left…with me? I step into the portal behind me and blend into the waiting dark, its tendrils slipping beneath my skin and piercing my heart.
39
Nicole
The smell of coffee drifts through the air. A music channel plays on the TV, but it doesn’t drown out the relentless echo of his words in my mind.Soulmates. The very idea sharpens my senses, leaving a bitter taste.
Daria is busy in the kitchen—the clinking of cups and the sound of running water remind me that all of this is real. I drag a hand across my face, rubbing my temples as though that alone could erase the memory of his touch. It doesn’t work.
I can still hear him, as if he’s standing right behind me.We, the witchers, believe in soulmates, but not in finding them in every lifetime. And yet, I found mine… only to lose her in a heartbeat.
My throat tightens, and my lungs feel heavy. Could there possibly be a hint of truth in it?
