Chapter 50 #2
If Nicole and I failed to complete the trial, we would have been punished—in Hell or elsewhere—but at least we would have been beyond Madeline’s reach.
Now, if she defeats me in the duel, she’ll be the first harvest to beat me.
I’ll remain trapped in this castle forever, my consciousness imprisoned in a cage of guilt.
And Nicole will no longer be a harvest. She’ll be Madeline’s plaything.
My blood boils with rage. I summon my magic, prepared to unleash it—
A beam of pure energy fires at me. I lift my hands in front of my chest to block the impact. The blast cuts into my palms, burning my skin. The air fills with the stench of charred flesh.
Madeline’s magic is wild and brutal, crushing against my arms with such force that my bones crack. If I let it pass, it’ll tear straight into my heart, scorch the few drops of power left in me, and leave me a powerless mortal.
I hold it back. For now. If I last long enough, she’ll burn out. No witch can sustain a surge like this forever. Neither can you, whispers the voice of defeat inside my head. I glance at the clock. Five minutes to midnight.
“You know why you’ve never been able to beat me, Gaetano?!” Madeline steps closer. My skull tightens around my brain until it aches. “You have magic, but no heart to fuel it. You’ve always been weak. Afraid.”
She presses forward, and the energy scorches new welts into my skin. It’s becoming harder to hold firm, especially when part of my power remains focused on protecting Nicole.
Madeline comes closer. My knees give out, forcing me to the ground. She takes another step, then another, until she’s almost towering over me. “You’re nothing but a desperate boy, craving power too vast for his fingers.”
The veil shielding Nicole collapses against my will. I’ve got no more magic to maintain it. All I manage to do is gather the last scraps of energy in my hands in a vain attempt to hold Madeline in place.
“Gaetano!” Nicole’s voice pierces through the chaos.
“Don’t come any closer!” I yell, struggling to keep her safe.
Fear grips my heart, shaking my magic loose, enough for Madeline to advance another inch. She’s going to win. Panic rises in my chest. She’s going to win, just like I’ve always feared.
Madeline’s lips curl in a vicious smile.
“I’ll destroy you in front of your lover.
Let her watch. Let her see what kind of worthless man she chose.
Then, I’ll burn her at the stake every single day.
Peel the skin from her face. Tear out her fingernails one by one.
Carve curses into her flesh with a knife.
And at night, she’ll belong to my apprentices. They’ll do whatever they want to her.”
Every word sinks into my mind like a nail. My chest constricts in agony. One by one, my fingers start to bend under the pressure. Bones crack, the pain distant, overshadowed by my despair.
“I’ll survive it all, Madeline!” Nicole screams. “And I won’t regret a single moment. Whatever you do to me, it’s all worth it. Just for the days I had with him.”
Her words slide into my heart, heavy with love and helplessness.
I can’t save her. The fear spreads through me, deeper than adrenaline.
Madeline twists her face in pure contempt. “You believe that now, don’t you, you stupid girl? Pain will erase your sweet memories! The kisses and the lies he whispered in your ear? They’ll soon fade. I’ll make sure of it.”
I grit my teeth, unable to speak. My wrists twist inward, still holding back her magic with the last of my strength.
“No, they won’t, Madeline!” Nicole’s voice cuts through the air again. “That happened to you, because to him, you were just a lover. I’m his soulmate.”
Fuck.
The ground trembles beneath my knees. That’s the one thing Madeline should never have discovered. Under any circumstances. If she was determined to destroy us before, now, it will become the sole purpose of her existence.
To my surprise, Madeline flinches. For the first time since the duel started, the beam of her magic weakens a little.
Something shifts in my chest. My mind, pushed to the brink of ruin, sharpens. She hesitated. Just for a split second—but she did.
Madeline’s eyes lock onto mine with a darkness that feels timeless, endless. It’s not the thick, absolute blackness she summons when she’s about to incinerate someone. There’s a crack in it.
At last, I see the weakness that’s been hiding in plain sight.
It’s her fear of being outshined, outmatched, or dethroned in any way.
A weakness I failed to see, until Nicole lit it up simply by existing.
For the first time, Madeline is no longer the number one.
No matter what she does next—shatter me, chain me in eternal agony, rip my heart out and crush it in her hands—she will never hold the same power over me that my soulmate does.
Nicole’s words may have rattled Madeline, but in me, they spark something much greater—a surge of power, purpose, and love that no spell could ever match.
Yes, Madeline was powerful. Dangerous. Yet, she was never anything more than a lover.
Nothing more than an addiction. Will she ever stand a chance against what truly matters to me?
“Soulmate?” Madeline shrieks, blasting me with another jolt of energy. “That’s nonsense. Magic isn’t supposed to be shared. It must be focused. That’s when it’s strong. That’s when it’s at its peak!”
A lie. I’ve held black magic in my hands for centuries, and the thrill of power it gave me doesn’t compare to a single moment with Nicole.
Feeling slowly returns to my numb fingers. My strength gathers, pooling in my chest and hands.
Madeline’s magic flickers again, and I seize the chance to stand up.
She twists her lips in disdain. “That’s why you’ll never amount to anything. You’re too weak to choose real greatness. You hide behind the illusion of love. Then again, what else should I expect? You’ve always been a pitiful illusionist.”
“Don’t listen to her!” Nicole shouts. “You’re the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me, and it has nothing to do with your illusions. I swear to you! This is just the beginning. We’ll have more moments. So many more.”
I want those moments.
Magic flows from my fingers, rushing out and knocking Madeline backward.
“Shut your mouth, you little fool!” Madeline screeches.
Her hand lashes out, summoning a wave of fire-like magic that hurtles straight at Nicole.
The second stretches out. Everything inside me falls silent, except for one urge.
To protect her. Instinctively, I unleash all I have.
Ancient magic erupts from my chest. A vortex of energy cuts through the air and crashes into Madeline with unexpected force.
She tries to block it, but it’s too late.
My magic pierces her, lifts her off the ground, and flings her back. She hits the ground with a dull thud.
Nicole is unharmed. I long to pull her into my arms and assure her it’s over, that she’s safe.
Not yet. The harvest still awaits.
I walk up to Madeline, power crackling at my fingertips, ready to unleash it again. She tries to stand. I force her back down with another wave. Her arms twitch upward, but nothing happens.
“You were wrong, Madeline.” My voice is ice-calm. “You thought love drains your power? No, love comes from the same place as power—the heart. And when they work together, they don’t weaken each other. They sharpen. Especially when one is bound to a soulmate brave enough to stand beside them.”
The air around me stirs, filling with the scent of my soulmate. I let her approach. If Madeline so much as tries to touch her, I’ll make her last—I glance at the clock—fifty-three seconds a living hell.
Nicole is next to me, holding my hand. Pain shoots through my fingers, but it fades into her warmth. Her eyes drop to Madeline. “And in case you still don’t get it, I am the lioness.”
My broken fingers twitch. My heart races chaotically from the storm of magic. Still, the corners of my lips lift. “My Baroness…” I shake my head, then kneel beside Madeline. My magic plunges deep into her core, scorching everything in its path.
The clock above us disappears.