Chapter 25 Vivian
VIVIAN
The chair creaked as I leaned back, looking from the brittle, yellowed pages of the ancient book to the glowing, crisp lines of my tablet.
The intricate runes on the parchment seemed to shimmer.
Magical wards. The mystical version of firewalls, only infinitely more temperamental and stubborn.
But I was starting to crack their logic, seeing the threads of connection between their mana flow and the circuits I’d spent years mapping in tech.
I spun the stylus between my fingers, hovering over the schematics displayed on my tablet.
I was so close to a breakthrough that could be my ticket out of this gilded prison.
If I could successfully merge tech and magic into NexusCore, I could rewrite systems, control enchanted objects, maybe even counteract the damn bond between me and Raffaele.
Like clockwork, my brain went where I didn’t want it to go. Raffaele’s face flashed in my mind, the memory of his touch searing hot and lingering. Heat pooled low in my belly, and I clenched my jaw, forcing the thoughts away.
Focus, Vivian.
But it was no use. I couldn’t stop thinking about his lips against mine, the hunger in his touch, or the maddening pull of the bond as our emotions tangled together. I slammed the stylus onto the desk and squeezed my eyes shut, willing the heat in my chest to dissipate.
He was a monster. A beautiful, devastating monster. And I couldn’t afford to lose myself in him.
I took a deep breath to center myself. Suddenly, the bond pulsed.
No, it wasn’t a pulse. It was an electric jolt that slammed into my chest and left me gasping. A wave of suffocating dread rolled over me. It wasn’t my fear. It was sharp, jagged, and foreign.
“Raffaele,” I whispered, my voice catching.
The tether between us wasn’t just emotional, it was like a live feed, a direct connection that I’d tried to ignore but could never sever. Now, that connection was sparking wildly, signals firing off like a corrupted network.
“Shit,” I muttered, shoving back from the desk so hard the chair toppled behind me. The room tilted, and I had to grip the edge of the desk to steady myself as his emotions overwhelmed me. My heart raced, my pulse pounding in my ears as I fought to catch my breath.
Something was terribly wrong.
The bond pulled me toward him like an invisible leash. I didn’t even think—I was already moving. I sprinted out of the room and down the hallway.
The farther I ran, the stronger the pull became, each step sending a sharper pang through my chest. When I turned the corner, I froze.
He was there, crumpled in a heap outside his bedroom door.
“Raffaele,” I gasped, rushing to his side. My knees hit the floor, and I shook his shoulder with trembling hands. His body was slack, blood dripping from his temple and staining the marble beneath him. His breathing was shallow, but at least he was alive.
“Raffaele,” I said again, louder this time, desperation creeping into my voice. “What happened? Who did this to you?”
He grunted in response, his head lolling to the side. His face was a mess of bruises and blood, and the sight of him so broken shook me to my core.
“Stay with me.” I cradled his head as I looked around wildly. “Guards! Someone, help!”
Within seconds, heavy footsteps approached. Two guards rounded the corner, their eyes widening at the sight before them.
“Get him to his bed,” I ordered. They didn’t question me as they quickly lifted Raffaele between them. I scrambled to my feet. “Be careful with him!”
The guards carried him into the bedroom and gently placed him on the bed. I hovered next to it, wringing my hands as I watched his chest rise and fall, the motion uneven but steady enough to keep me from panicking completely.
“Fetch Eldora,” I told one of the guards. “And bring water and clean cloths.”
The guard rushed out of the room. I sat next to him on the bed and brushed a strand of blood-matted hair from his forehead.
“Raffaele,” I murmured. “Please. Talk to me.”
His eyelids fluttered, but all he managed was a groan, his face twisting in pain. My chest ached in tandem, the bond amplifying every ounce of his suffering.
What the hell had happened to him? Raffaele was untouchable, so seeing him like this felt wrong. It chipped away at the anger and resentment I’d been clinging to, leaving something raw and unfamiliar in its place.
The guard returned with a basin of water and a stack of clean cloths. Eldora followed close behind, her face pale but determined as she crossed the room.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know. I just... felt something through the bond. He was outside the door like this when I found him.”
Eldora nodded grimly as she started cleaning his wounds. I stayed by his side, my hand resting lightly on his arm, as though that might anchor him.
The bond hummed faintly. I didn’t know if he could feel it, but I poured all the calm and strength I could muster into it, hoping it might somehow reach him.
Slashes and bruises covered his body, some edged in an unnatural blackness, as if his very essence had been burned along with his flesh. I forced myself to stay calm, pushing down the panic that threatened to consume me.
“Bring me first aid supplies,” Eldora barked at the guards. “Bandages, antiseptics—anything you can find. Now.”
One of the guards hesitated. “Should we call a healer, ma’am?”
“No healers,” Raffaele rasped. His eyes cracked open, dark and clouded with pain, and he attempted to push himself up. He winced and collapsed back against the mattress.
Eldora worked with a quiet efficiency that contrasted with the chaos in my mind. Her calm demeanor steadied me, and I found myself grateful for her presence.
She directed the guards to place the supplies on the bedside table, then dismissed them. “Raffaele, stop being stubborn and let me work.” She nodded in my direction. “Feel free to work on the opposite side of his body.”
I nodded and leaned over Raffaele, pressing a hand to his shoulder to keep him still. “Don’t move. You’re in no shape to argue with me.”
His lips twitched, but it wasn’t a smile. “You’re bossier than usual.”
“Shut up,” I muttered, the words carrying no bite. “Save your strength.” I exhaled deeply as I unrolled a bandage. “This is going to hurt.”
He let out a weak laugh. “Pain and I are old friends.”
“Yeah? Well, I’m about to test that friendship.” I pressed a cloth soaked in antiseptic to one of his wounds.
He groaned and cursed under his breath.
“Sorry,” I murmured, dabbing gently along the edges of the gash.
Eldora glanced at me. “You’re doing fine, Vivian. Keep going.”
I sucked in a breath as I studied another wound. The edges were charred, the skin blackened as though it had been sliced with a blade forged in fire. “What the hell happened to you?”
“Shadow... magic,” he muttered. “It burns... leaves its mark.”
I bit my lip, anger flaring in my chest. Who could have done this to him? Who had the power to bring someone like Raffaele to his knees? My hands moved methodically, cleaning and bandaging each wound. He drifted in and out of consciousness, mumbling incoherently at times.
Eldora pursed her lips, but she didn’t press him for more. Instead, she handed me a fresh bandage, and we worked in silence.
“These will heal in a day or two,” he slurred at one point, his head rolling to the side.
“Sure they will,” I muttered under my breath. He was either delusional or his magic was capable of things I couldn’t even begin to comprehend.
Finally, after what felt like hours, I tied off the last bandage and sat back on my heels, my hands covered in blood. He looked marginally better, though his pallor was still alarming. I stood, intending to clean up and leave him to rest, but he gripped my hand.
Eldora gave me a soft smile as she gathered the soiled cloths, then left the room.
“Don’t go,” Raffaele whispered, his grip on my fingers tightening. The bond thrummed with his need.
I hesitated, torn between the urge to pull away and the ache I felt through the tether. His vulnerability was disarming when I was so used to his cold, calculating side.
Finally, I sat down beside him. “I’ll stay. Just... don’t die on me, okay?”
His lips quirked into a faint smirk. “Not... planning to.”
Minutes passed in silence, his breathing evening out as he fought to stay conscious. His eyelids fluttered open, glassy eyes fixing on me. “It was... my father.”
“Your father did this to you?”
He nodded weakly. “He’s... sadistic. Always has been. I can usually defend myself, but... not today. Something was... off.”
I frowned. The siren’s kiss. Was it weakening him already? I shook the thought away. “Why? Why would he do this to you?”
Raffaele let out a bitter laugh. “Because he can. Because I’m his heir. His weapon. And because I’ve spent my life trying to keep him from destroying everything.”
He shifted slightly, wincing as the movement pulled at his wounds. “He’s bound his soul to an object on this estate. I’ve searched for it, tried to destroy it, but he’s hidden it well.”
I blinked, startled by the revelation. “You’re saying he’s immortal?”
“In a sense. His body can be killed, but as long as the object exists, he’ll return.”
I took advantage of his weakened state to push him for more information that might help me escape. “Why did he bind his soul to the object? What was his goal?”
Raffaele scoffed. “His goal? His goal was to fucking live.”
“But why did he think he was going to die? He must’ve had some indication.”
“Years ago, my mother’s health began to deteriorate. My father brought in healers from all over The Below, but she reached a point of no return, and everyone knew she wouldn’t live much longer. If he hadn’t bound his soul to an object, he would’ve died with her. At the same time.”
What the fuck? “Wait. You’re leaving something out. Why would he die when she did? And don’t tell me it was from a broken heart. Based on what I’ve gathered about your father, no one could affect him in that way.”
“You’re correct. He’s a selfish son of a bitch.” Raffaele took a shaky breath and shifted on the bed. “It’s the bonding ritual.”
The words of the priest who performed the binding ceremony came rushing back to me. One body. One soul. Even death cannot part you.
Did that mean…? No fucking way. “Are you saying that if one of us dies, the other one will also die?”
Raffaele nodded weakly.
I stood and clutched at my chest. What had I done? The siren’s kiss was obviously doing its job. If his magic failed him, his father would kill him. Or perhaps a rival mafia lord would take him out. Either way, he wouldn’t live long. Which meant I wouldn’t live long.
“Don’t be so fucking dramatic, Vivian. I don’t plan on dying anytime soon.”
I nodded, not knowing what to say. Then it hit me.
If his magic waned, so would the bond. That was the whole fucking point of me agreeing to Izo’s sadistic plan.
The bond would fail, and I would be free.
I would no longer be bound to Raffaele’s soul and therefore wouldn’t die if one of his enemies murdered him.
So, why didn’t that plan feel like freedom now?
Taking a deep breath, I sat on the edge of the bed and forced a smile onto my face. The last thing I needed was for Raffaele to become suspicious. “So, back to the object. Why haven’t you been able to find it? Your estate’s only so big. Surely after all these years you would’ve come across it.”
“I’ve used the Mirror of Truths to search, but it’s useless. It shows me... nothing.”
I hesitated, curiosity sparking despite the gravity of the conversation. “Speaking of the mirror... Since it’s useless to you, can I use it? For research purposes on my project?”
He raised an eyebrow. “You’ve got guts, asking me for favors while I’m half-dead.”
I crossed my arms. “I could have left you bleeding out in the hallway.”
“Fair point. Fine. It’s served its purpose for me. I’ll have one of my men bring it to you.”
“Thank you,” I said, surprised he was willing to part with such a valuable artifact.
He nodded as his eyes slid shut. His breathing steadied, the tension in his body easing as sleep claimed him.
I watched him for a moment, my chest tight with conflicting emotions. He was a monster, yes, but right now, he looked painfully human.
Sighing, I tucked a blanket around him. He shifted slightly, his hand brushing against mine. I hesitated, then settled in the chair beside the bed, resting my head against the cool leather.
I’d felt how much he needed me, how desperately he wanted me to stay. It confused me, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave. Not tonight.