Page 112 of Summoned
A few minutes later, Sava heads to the bathroom. Branimir edges closer to me, his cologne giving me a brief wave of nausea. His eyes stay on my face before drifting down to the dress. “You didn’t pick up my calls all week. I thought the thing with the car scared you off.”
Images of how I spent last week flood my mind. It’s not the memory of the car accident that burns across my skin, buteverything that happened with Gaetano afterward. I shove it down angrily. “You think a car would scare me? I just had stuff going on at home.”
He gives me a once-over again, then nods. “Yeah… I figured.”
“What do you mean?” I ask with a smile, though a pang of wariness rises in me. Could rumors be spreading about me running away?
Branimir raises his hands in front of his chest, still holding the bottle in one of them. “I’m no expert, but a close friend of mine says that when a woman gives up her heels and makeup, something’s definitely gone wrong in her life.” He takes a gulp of his beer. “The Baron’s piling on the pressure?”
I shrug. “Maybe I just decided I wanted to be comfortable?”
He laughs. “You? I’m pretty sure the Little Baroness would rather die than trade style for comfort.”
My fingers tighten around the glass. “Well, as you can see, I’m dressed comfortably and still breathing.” I gesture to my dress.
He lifts his hands in mock surrender. “Didn’t mean it as a bad thing.”
“So, you liked the Baroness better, huh?” I ask with a thin smile.
A spark flickers behind his expression. “Don’t get me wrong, sweetie. It’s just… the Little Baroness is sexy. Like the women in magazines. Gorgeous, untouchable. I wasn’t lying when I said that night I first saw you”—he nods toward the VIP section—“I couldn’t take my eyes off you.”
He couldn’t take his eyes off me. And tonight, he didn’t even recognize me.
He leans in closer, gaze lingering on my mouth. “What do you say we go somewhere? Just the two of us?”
My pulse drums in my ears. Of course. Branimir liked the Baroness, the mask I wore to hide my fears. Not me. No wonder he hung on my every word. He wasn’t really listening. He was just fantasizing about finally getting to bang the Little Baroness.
Every muscle in my body pulls taut, but I force another fake smile. “Just need to use the bathroom.”
Placing my cocktail on the bar, I navigate the crowded dance floor to reach Daria. As soon as she sees my face, she stops dancing.
“Can we go?” I ask, pressing my lips together as the sting rises again. A few minutes later, we grab our bags and head out.
Riding back in the taxi, I keep seeing Branimir’s gazesweeping over me as if I were just a shadow. A dark feeling tears through my chest, adding to the pain already inside me.
I can’t believe I’ve existed for years without realizing there are only two types of people around me. Those who hate me and those who lovethe ideaof me. Come to think of it, they’re probably one and the same.
38
Gaetano
Day 19
Once again, I conjure an illusion of her. She kneels before me, ready to fulfill my filthiest fantasies. I thread my fingers through silk-like hair the color of dark flame. I just need to think of a command, and she’ll act it out.
I can’t force myself to continue. Memories of Nicole’s vulnerability, when she shed her public persona and showed me her true self, keep resurfacing.
I’ve always known I was never meant to love anything beyond magic. Still if I were capable of loving anyone, it would be someone like her. A woman who defies my expectations with every move. Who survives not out of luck, but with bared teeth and a raw heart. Who paints with a fervor so fierce that even my father would acknowledge the genius in her.
The thought creeps into my mind like a slow caress.If my soul were ever capable of belonging to anything beyond magic… it might have belonged to Nicole.And once it’s there, it roots itself. Quiet and stubborn.
I struggle to ignore it, pacing the corridors, a prisoner of my own mind. I visit the graves, as if the dead could give me answers. I speak no words, but they echo anyway:If my soul were ever capable of belonging to anything beyond magic, it would have belonged to Nicole.
The second time I think about it, my steps falter.
The third time, I remain immobile for what feels like forever. My breath becomes shallow. Magic curls inside me.Silence wraps around me, offering no advice.
Could it be…?
