Page 118 of Summoned
I draw a breath. This call might’ve been a mistake. “But… did you everfeelhis presence? I mean, like when he was invisible, and you sensed he was in the room?”
“What kind of nonsense are you spewing, girl?”
I exhale. “I… sometimes, Ifeelhim nearby. Even when I can’t see him. Even when he’s not here. It’s just… scent, pressure, some kind of… feeling?”
“No. I never felt anything similar to that.”
My heart skips a beat. “Nothing? No sense at all when he was close?”
“Just arousal. But for that, you don’t need a sixth sense.”
Her words leave me speechless.
“That’s it?” she adds impatiently.
“Yes… Thank you.”
“Don’t. And don’t you dare try to contact me from the Beyond.”
I frown. “Uh… I wasn’t planning to?” She’s already hung up.
The call only fuels the storm of emotions raging inside me. Sensing Gaetano close doesn’t help. His words echoing in my head make it even worse.The only thing you need to know is that you’re safe.
After everything I’ve learned, why do I still let him mess with my mind?
I grab Daria’s spare key and head out. There’s a place I have to visit.
* **
I stroll beneath the linden trees, their scent a familiar reminder of childhood. At the end of the block is a playground. I pass by it, and there it is—a massive gray building with four entrances and eight floors. Somewhere in the panel of balconies lie memories from my earliest years. This is where we spent that warm Christmas—the last time we ever posed for a photo like a happy family. I close my eyes, drifting back to that moment effortlessly.
“We don’t need to live like royalty to be happy. What matters is having enough,” my mother says, her gaze sweeping over the beautifully arranged, abundant table.
Back then, she smiled more often. Grandma, already too frail, raises her glass in a toast. My uncle and aunt are also present, before they left the country for good. Aunt Faith is pregnant with my cousin Galya. My father simply nods and sips his wine.
Now, the memory plays more vivid than before. And different.
“We don’t need to live like royalty to be happy…” The sentence trails off, as if she’s waiting for someone to confirm it. As if she wants to say, “Right?” Instead, she glances at my father. He doesn’t respond, so she adds, her voice a little less certain, “What matters is having enough.”
I press my lips together. We were never a happy family. Despite the comfort and luxuries we’ve enjoyed over the past years, we’ve never felt truly satisfied.
The only time I ever felt like I had enough was with Gaetano, in the castle. It was the only time in my life I felt beautiful enough, smart enough,satisfied enough with who I am. Theone time I felt I had enough of everything thattruly matters. And the irony? There hadn’t been a single luxurious item in sight.
* * *
I close the door to Daria’s place and step into the dining room. She’s still not back home. The hairs on my nape rise as what I’m about to do sinks in.
“Gaetano…” I whisper.
A subtle charge tickles my skin, causing goosebumps and thickening the silence. The shadows shake.
And then he’s there. His jaw is clenched, and the lines on his face are pulled tight. His dark gaze locks on mine as if he’s looking for a clue.
He takes one step forward. Then stops.
And I realize that I’m not the only one who’s afraid of what comes next.
This time, I look at him without the filter of anger. Since I’ve seen the castle and the harvests, the runes on his body take on a darker, different meaning. And they don’t decrease my attraction to him in the slightest.
