Chapter 41 Gaetano
Gaetano
Her words strike deeper than Madeline’s curse.
She… wants me to stay?
I shove the thought aside before it takes root. I am the worst thing that could ever happen to her. The anger that surfaces isn’t at her. It’s for the impossibility that keeps us trapped in separate universes. My fists tighten, the runes on my skin burn with a searing ache.
I can’t give her what she wants.
“I’m not the kind of man you should be with, Nicole.”
She crosses her arms, meeting my gaze without flinching. “As far as I get it, you are my soulmate. So, how exactly does that make you the wrong man?”
That draws a bitter laugh from me. She’s right.
The whole point of soulmates is to find the one who fills what you’ve always been missing.
For me and Nicol, it’s more of a curse. I can only hope that my baroness—being human—won’t feel our parting the way a witcher would.
Because for me, it’ll be akin to suffocating on carbon dioxide—air all around, yet none of it supplying life.
I pull her into an embrace.
“Is there really nothing we can do?” she asks against my chest.
I breathe in the scent of her hair and let her warmth seep into my skin. A dark force stirs within me. It’s not the first time. Now, Nicole’s words feed it, giving it shape. It’s a root of evil. It’s a pillar of hope.
“There is,” I say carefully. “But it’s practically impossible.”
She jerks back, eyes locking onto me with such fierce expectation I can’t meet her gaze. Despite the aching desire to turn the world upside down for her, I’m not ready to burden her with the cost.
“Whatever you think of me, it’s a shadow of the truth. I’m not a good man.”
Nicole raises an eyebrow. “I figured that out when you threatened to set Sofia’s elite on fire.” I suppress a grimace. “I get it. You survived. So did I. I wore the mask of the Little Baroness. You wore the mask of the Black Joker. Yours just came with… harsher terms.”
A bitter smile tugs at my lips. “The problem, my sweet baroness, is that I served darkness long before I ever became the Black Joker. You want to know why Madeline cursed me? I’ll tell you.
I was plotting behind her back, preparing to take everything from her.
What I wanted was her place as the head of one of the most powerful witch clans in the world.
I’d already undermined her from within. The next step was to do it publicly and shatter her image in front of the most influential magical families. ”
Nicole shakes her head, almost childlike. “I’m sure she deserved it.”
I want to believe that. It’s not that simple though.
And it depends on who you ask—the man I was then, or the one I am now.
“Yes, Madeline was cruel. Manipulative. Greedy. Willing to ruin anyone who wouldn’t kneel to her.
But the truth is… I wasn’t any better. Just more discreet.
More cunning. And while you may have never had a choice, being your father’s daughter, I went to her willingly.
I begged her to take me in, to teach me everything she knew about dark magic.
Without limits. Did she deserve what I planned?
Probably. The point is, I was every bit as corrupted as she was. And now I’m even worse.”
Nicole’s brow furrows as she processes that, then she gives a sharp shake of her head. “Gaetano, I don’t care. When I’m with you, I feel like myself. Like I’m in my own skin for the first time. I want more of that.”
My heart stumbles in my chest, overwhelmed by a feeling I can only call love. The magic responds—flaring in my veins, rushing outward—not with a hunger for power, but for the woman in front of me. The urge to stay with her wins.
Isn’t that what soulmates are for? To give the best of yourself, even when the cost is steep? How could I do that while trapped behind prison walls?
I untangle our fingers and cradle her face in my hands.
“My little baroness…” I drink in the perfect lines of her cheekbones, torn between longing and pain.
“The only way for both of us to be together… is for me to collect eleven harvests before the time on our contract runs out. Eleven living beings would have to summon me before the last hour. They must be over twenty-one for the contracts to take immediate effect.”
She turns to stone before me, locked in silent contemplation. Though I’m touched by her considering it, I know that her conscience will prevail. And I’m ready to accept it.
I can’t resist pulling her into a kiss. My lips meet hers, claiming them with a hunger I’ve never felt for anyone else. If our time is short, I want this—her.
She breaks away, searching my face. “Has it ever happened before?”
“What?”
“So many people summoning you at once. Taking all their souls in one go?”
The question makes me wince. “I’ve pulled it off twice. Once, I tricked a harvest into believing she could survive if she convinced her friends to summon me. I harvested all their souls together. Hers included. A century and a half later, I did it again.”
She holds her breath. “So, it can be done?”
“Nicole… You do realize we’re talking about murder? These people will die.”
The light in her eyes dims. Her lips part, but no sound emerges.
Her grip on my hands loosens. A long silence settles between us, heavy with everything that’s been said.
In that stillness, every fragile seed of hope—no matter how selfish—withers.
She has her whole life ahead. I can’t bind her to this.
“What if I just wish you free, when I win?” she asks.
I shake my head. “That’s one of the hidden clauses in the contract. You can’t use the wish to undo my curse.”
“It’s not fair!” She bites down on her lip and looks away.
“Life never is, my baroness.” The pain in my chest rises, swelling as if something inside refuses to be contained.
Just when I thought she’d given up, she straightens her shoulders. “Fine then. I’ll help you gather the eleven harvests.” The cave echoes her words, emphasizing their significance. “There are enough people whose disappearance could benefit the world.”
I grip her hands, smiling at her defiance. “You have no idea what that will cost you.”
Her features sharpen as a fire ignites in her. “You show up, push me to stand up to everything that’s crushed me all my life, to stand up to my father… You talk about how we’re soulmates, and then you plan to leave and expect me to be okay with it?”
A shiver runs down my spine as her words strike deep. Raw, ancient magic wakes like a beast stirring from sleep, fed by her fire. It moves through my veins and rises to the surface. My pulse pounds with it, and for a moment, I stop pretending I’m anything but what I am.
My voice lowers. “Despite my mother’s delusions about my good heart, I’m selfish and I don’t hesitate to take what I want. Don’t make me break the last thread of self-control I still have.”
There’s a wild gleam in her eyes—a reflection of what’s raging deep within me.
The darkness continues to spread inside me, pushing me to the edge. It whispers, What good is there in letting the woman I love suffer because of me?
Yet, another more reasonable voice reminds me, Would it have been any better to make her an accomplice to murder?
“I have one condition,” I say. “Stay in my castle tonight. If you still want this in the morning, I’ll tell you what it would take.”
* * *
The moment we teleport into the castle, an unexplainable feeling of danger floods over me. I sharpen my senses, scan the area for anything strange. Everything appears normal. Still, my heart pounds faster than it should.
I know why. It’s fear. It was already too good to be true when she forgave me for lying to her. Soon enough, she’ll snap out of her childlike stubbornness and realize that certain lines shouldn’t be crossed… not even for me.
I glance down at her, so light in my arms. This time, she didn’t pass out during the trip, but her legs gave out. Next time will be better…
Next time. My knees go weak. There could be no next time.
I shake the thought away. Now, all I need to do is give her tonight. One whole night to feel. To choose.
Her body tenses. She lifts her head, her eyes widening at the sight of the shadows. They’re so close, she could reach out and touch their misty surfaces.
She scans the trophy display next, the wall of names, and then the window. Beyond, the graves lie in neat rows, silent witnesses to my truth. Forgive me, Baroness. As much as I want to give you beauty, tonight it will only be me, you… and the raw reality.
She steps out of my arms, straightening her shoulders. “I know what you’re doing. You think if I spend the night among them, I’ll give up.”
“I think nothing, my Baroness.” I’m trying to frighten you… and praying that you won’t be frightened.
“I’ve already seen it.” Her eyes lock on mine. “But I’d rather look at this.”
My lips twitch, but the weight in my chest won’t let the smile form. “Did you tell your friend what you want to do?” I ask. Nicole insisted on speaking to Daria before we came here, and I let them have privacy.
She presses her lips together. “No…”
“You don’t even dare to admit it, Nicole. Then how will you dare to do it?”
“It’s not that. I just don’t want to burden her. She’s had enough to deal with during the last five years. She wouldn’t try to change my mind, but she’ll worry about me. It’s enough that I told her I’m leaving with the man I’d been running from just a day ago…”
I arch an eyebrow. “Did she tell you you’ve lost your mind?”
Nicole lets out a faint laugh and meets my eyes. There’s a spark in hers now. “Actually… she told me she must have lost her mind because she actually believes that you care about me. She said you seemed like you’d murder anyone who dared to look at me the wrong way.”
A slow smile breaks across my face. “She’s not wrong.”
Nicole takes a step closer, lifting her chin. “See, that’s why I can’t allow you to stay trapped in this cursed castle forever.”
Her words land heavily on my heart, warming me in a way I haven’t felt in a lifetime.
And yet, I can’t miss the subtle wavering in her voice, carefully masked behind her confidence.
“Has it occurred to you that maybe I’m lying?
” I say. “That I’m just tricking you into helping me gather my harvests faster…
and then I’ll take both them and you? You know I’ve done it before. ”
She stares at me, unblinking. “Is that what you’re doing, Gaetano?”
“If I tell you the ending, will you stay to watch the rest?”
“Yes. If it ends with sex.”
Heat floods my veins and shoots downward to the most primal part of me, burning away every scrap of self-control in its path. “My bold baroness…”
My gaze slowly traces her form. She stands before me in nothing but jeans and a T-shirt—no gowns, no makeup, no glittering shoes. And in that simplicity, she’s radiant. At once confident and fragile. Wrapping fear in brave words without backing down.
Suddenly, I want to dance with her. So I play some music. She startles at the sound but doesn’t hesitate when I offer my hand. I say, “If I stay, you’ll belong to a witcher for the rest of your life. I can be… rather possessive.”
She spins in rhythm, her hair swinging with her. “I’m pretty possessive myself, Gaetano. And I’ve got claws.”
Despite the darkness in me, I laugh.
We keep dancing until our breaths become short.
Later, we lie side by side on the bed in the middle of the room.
Nicole’s breath quickens as shadows gather like a canopy above us.
Tension radiates from her fragile body, and I long to soothe her.
Having her so close, with so little time left, and not touching her is a test of every one of my senses.
But tonight, I’ll keep my distance. I need her to focus on the shadows, to understand them as I do. To see the stolen lives within, and be completely aware that these are real people dying.
Her soft voice rises, causing the harvests to stir. “What’s the meaning of the ingredients in the ritual that summons you?”
I stare at the shadows above. “Words are energy, the most important ingredient. Blood is the seal. The sweet stuff… it works like a catalyst for the magic.”
A pause. “And the doll?”
“There’s no doll.”
“What do you mean? I still remember that one-eyed doll I placed in the middle of the circle…”
“That must’ve been your own interpretation. You probably cast a stronger kind of magic. No wonder I can’t stop thinking about you.”
“You think?!” Her tone sharpens.
A chuckle escapes me. “I’m just kidding, my baroness. The legend must’ve gotten twisted over the years. The original story didn’t mention a doll. And if I’d known you were summoning me with that thing, I’d have brought backup.”
“God, now I’m ashamed.”
We both laugh, the sound fading into the quiet of the room.
She murmurs, “You said the harvests have to happen within three days. Does that mean only our contract was for three weeks?”
“The magic of the ritual sets every contract for that period. However, I can take a soul in three minutes if I want to. Over time, I started dragging it out to stay outside of the castle longer. Technically, I’m allowed to take the soul once they make their first mistake.”
Silence. Then, after a while: “And if the harvests don’t complete the trials within three weeks…is it really true both sides are condemned to Hell?”
“The only way they wouldn’t complete the trials is if I never give them in the first place. That clause exists to force me to play the game. If I refuse, I’m condemned, and I’ll drag the harvest down with me.”
A pause. “What happens in Hell? Is that worse than spending your life as a prisoner in this castle?”
“Hell is torture. Relentless and layered. Physical, psychological, spiritual. But being a prisoner here, never able to leave?” I exhale, imagining myself wandering these endless corridors, clawing at the walls with no way out, no harvests to anchor me to the world.
“That would drive me insane, too, just slower. Crueler.”
She reaches for my hand, and I let her curl her fingers around mine, even though I’ve restrained from touching until now. “Hypothetically…” she says, “how would you get eleven people to summon you?”
I pause for a moment, considering. “In the past, people believed in magic. It was common to seek answers through rituals, incantations, and summonings. It wasn’t easy to manipulate a group into summoning me, but it was possible.
People today…I have no idea how I’d convince them to perform a group ritual. ”