6. Eleanora
Chapter 6
Eleanora
I watch Gianni, his piercing eyes fixed on the crystal ball we hold between us. The flickering candlelight casts dramatic shadows across his chiseled features, accentuating the tension in his jaw as he stares into the crystal ball before him.
His dark eyes reflect the swirling mist within where memories of Genoveva dance within the sphere.
My heart quickens, sensing an opportunity.
"What do you see?" I whisper, my voice barely audible over the crackling fire.
He doesn't respond immediately, lost in the visions only he can perceive. I sense the rapid beating of his heart, the shallow breaths that betray his inner turmoil.
“Tell me,” I try to keep the urgency out of my voice.
Gianni's jaw tightens. "Her smile... her laugh. God, I can almost touch her."
I lean forward, drawn by the raw pain in his words. Gianni's eyes never leave the crystal ball as he speaks. "Her laugh, like silver bells. The way she'd tilt her head when she was thinking. Her hands..." He trails off, swallowing hard.
I feel each memory as if it were my own, the weight of his loss pressing down on my chest. The shadows seem to grow darker, closing in around us.
"She's slipping away," he growls, frustration evident in every line of his body. His hands clench at his sides, knuckles white with strain.
I circle the table, my movements fluid and silent. "Focus, Gianni. Hold onto her."
He nods sharply, jaw clenching as he concentrates. I can almost see Genoveva myself, a ghost of memory shimmering in the air between us.
"Let the memories come," I whisper, my breath stirring the hair at his temple. "Don't fight them."
Gianni shudders, a tremor running through his powerful frame. For a moment, I fear he might shatter, the weight of his emotions too much to bear, but I lend him more power to keep the memories alive.
Perhaps I give too much.
A sharp pain lances through my chest, and I suppress a gasp. Another sign. They've been coming more frequently lately – sudden aches, moments where my vision blurs, times when I feel myself fading like mist in the morning sun.
I’m fading from this earth, and my power weakens if I don’t act now.
"Tell me more," I urge, leaning closer. The scent of him mingles with the incense burning in the corner of my hut.
As Gianni recounts a tender moment with Genoveva, I study his face. The intensity in his eyes, the raw emotion—it reminds me of another man who once sat in that very chair centuries ago—a king desperate to reclaim his lost love.
I need this man. The realization hits me like a bolt of lightning. Two hundred years seemed an eternity when that long-dead king gave me the gift of extended life in exchange for helping him bring back his dead beloved. But time is a fickle mistress, and now I find myself grasping for more.
"Your love for her," I murmur, my fingers brushing against his as we both hold the crystal, "is powerful. It's rare."
Gianni's gaze snaps to mine, a flicker of hope igniting in those dark depths. "Can you... is there a way?"
I feel the weight of ages pressing down on me, the urgency of my fading existence. This man, with his desperate love and haunted eyes, might be my salvation. But I must tread carefully.
"Perhaps," I reply, my voice low and filled with promise. "But such magic always comes at a price. Are you prepared to pay it, Gianni Montagna?"
I watch as Gianni's jaw tightens, his scarred hands clenching around the crystal ball.
"What do you want?" he asks, his gravelly voice barely above a whisper. "What could I possibly give you?"
I lean in, my ageless eyes locked on his. "Tell me again, Gianni. What is it you truly desire?"
His response is immediate, raw with emotion. "Her. I want Genoveva back by my side. Impossible, though it seems."
A smile curves my lips. This is the moment I've been waiting for, the key to my eternal life. "There is a way," I breathe, watching hope flare in his eyes. But the price... it must be something precious, something irreplaceable."
Gianni's intense gaze never wavers. "Name it."
I trace a finger along the edge of the crystal ball, feeling the thrum of ancient magic beneath my skin. "What is the most valuable thing you possess? What would you give to hold your beloved once more?"
The air in my hut grows thick with tension as I await his answer, my very existence hanging in the balance of his next words.
It was no accident that I found him in my forest, seeking his wife or death. I feel the power he has radiating off him. This is fate.
There’s something he can give me to grant me another hundred years on this earth. I feel it in my very bones and wait, expectedly.
I watch as Gianni's expression shifts, a flicker of pain crossing his rugged features. His voice is low and measured when he speaks.
"The most precious thing I had was my wife herself," he says, his dark eyes meeting mine.
For a moment, I fear my chance is slipping away. But then, Gianni's hand moves to his neck, pulling out a gold chain hidden beneath his tailored suit. My breath catches as he reveals a coin dangling from the end.
"This," he says, holding it up. The dim light of my hut catches on to its worn surface. "This is the most valuable thing I own."
I lean forward, curiosity piqued. "Tell me about it," I urge, my voice barely above a whisper.
Gianni's fingers caress the coin as he speaks. "It belonged to my forefathers and has been passed down generations. A poor man with nothing but this to his name. He bartered it, piece by piece, to build a life. And when he finally became wealthy, he bought it back. They say he had two, but one was lost.”
I hold still, now fully aware of this precious treasure in my grasp. There were two. One wasn’t lost. I held it all this time until it vanished, bit by bit, each year, to become nothing. The more power I drew from it, the more it disappeared.
And now, I could hold its sister, the very one laced around this man’s neck.
My heart races as he continues.
"This coin represents everything my family has become. Our struggles, our triumphs." His eyes, nearly black in the low light, bore into mine. "It's worth more than all the riches I possess."
Without hesitation, Gianni removes the chain from his neck and holds it out to me. "If this can bring Genoveva back, it's yours."
My fingers tremble as I take the coin, recognition flooding through me. It's identical to the one given to me two centuries ago by a desperate king—the coin of life, my salvation.
I close my hand around it, careful not to let my excitement show. "Are you sure?" I ask, giving him one last chance to reconsider.
Gianni nods, his resolve unwavering. "For her, I'd give anything."
Little does he know, he's just given me everything. From within, I find the aches disappear, and my vision slowly becomes clearer.
As I cradle the coin in my palm, I feel the pulse of ancient magic thrumming through my veins, giving me life. The forest outside seems to hold its breath, the trees leaning in closer, their leaves whispering secrets only I can hear. I am timeless, a conduit between worlds, and this moment stretches into eternity.
"You've made a choice that echoes through the heavens and below," I murmur, my voice carrying the weight of countless lifetimes. My eyes, which have seen empires rise and fall, lock onto Gianni's. "Are you prepared for what comes next?"
Gianni's jaw tightens, his dark eyes flashing with determination. "Whatever it takes," he growls, his voice low and gravelly.
I raise my hand, the coin glinting in the ethereal light that seems to emanate from within me. "Then let the veil between worlds part," I intone, feeling the familiar rush of power coursing through my body.
The air around us grows thick, shimmering like heat waves rising from sunbaked asphalt.
"I’ve given you what you asked. What will you do now?" Gianni asks, his voice impatient.
I smile, my teeth gleaming like pearls in the moonlight. "The price has been paid. Now, we dance with fate."