Page 149 of Summoned
She freezes, lips tightening into a sharp line. I can’t tell if I’ve thrown her off… or she’s enjoying this. If this were any other witch, I’d think she appeared unsettled. But Madeline?
She throws her head back and laughs—a high, vicious cackle that slices through the graveyard, scattering theshadows like startled bats. The harvests retreat to the very edges of the field.
My own skin bristles from the weight of her power vibrating in the air.
When she looks at me again, her eyes are glassy and clouded. I recognize that expression. It only appears when a witch channels all her energy into her hands.
Her voice drops, venomous and loud enough to carry across the dead. “I thoughtyouwere the manipulator… but it turns out,il mio giullare, you’ve been the fool. While you played pretend, thinking you could slip away, you tightened the noose around your own neck. Now I’ll beat you at your own game, and you’ll remain trapped in this castle forever. And your lover? She’ll be my slave for as long as she breathes. Believe me, you’ll wish you had let her suffer the consequences of a broken contract.”
In that moment, the fog in my mind clears, and everything snaps into place. I finally understand what Madeline aims for.
If Nicole and I failed to complete the trial, we would have been punished—in Hell or elsewhere—but at least we would have been beyond Madeline’s reach. Now, if she defeats me in the duel, she’ll be the first harvest to beat me. I’ll remain trapped in this castle forever, my consciousness imprisoned in a cage of guilt.
And Nicole will no longer be a harvest. She’ll be Madeline’s plaything.
My blood boils with rage. I summon my magic, prepared to unleash it—
A beam of pure energy fires at me. I lift my hands in front of my chest to block the impact. The blast cuts into my palms, burning my skin. The air fills with the stench of charred flesh.
Madeline’s magic is wild and brutal, crushing against my arms with such force that my bones crack. If I let it pass, it’ll tear straight into my heart, scorch the few drops of power left in me, and leave me a powerless mortal.
I hold it back. For now. If I last long enough, she’ll burn out. No witch can sustain a surge like this forever.Neither can you, whispers the voice of defeat inside my head. I glance at the clock. Five minutes to midnight.
“You know why you’ve never been able to beat me, Gaetano?!” Madeline steps closer. My skull tightens around my brain until it aches. “You have magic, but no heart to fuel it. You’ve always been weak. Afraid.”
She presses forward, and the energy scorches new welts into my skin. It’s becoming harder to hold firm, especially when part of my power remains focused on protecting Nicole.
Madeline comes closer. My knees give out, forcing me to the ground. She takes another step, then another, until she’s almost towering over me. “You’re nothing but a desperate boy, craving power too vast for his fingers.”
The veil shielding Nicole collapses against my will. I’ve got no more magic to maintain it. All I manage to do is gather the last scraps of energy in my hands in a vain attempt to hold Madeline in place.
“Gaetano!” Nicole’s voice pierces through the chaos.
“Don’t come any closer!” I yell, struggling to keep her safe.
Fear grips my heart, shaking my magic loose, enough for Madeline to advance another inch. She’s going to win. Panic rises in my chest. She’s going to win, just like I’ve always feared.
Madeline’s lips curl in a vicious smile. “I’ll destroy you in front of your lover. Let her watch. Let her see what kindof worthless man she chose. Then, I’ll burn her at the stake every single day. Peel the skin from her face. Tear out her fingernails one by one. Carve curses into her flesh with a knife. And at night, she’ll belong to my apprentices. They’ll do whatever they want to her.”
Every word sinks into my mind like a nail. My chest constricts in agony. One by one, my fingers start to bend under the pressure. Bones crack, the pain distant, overshadowed by my despair.
“I’ll survive it all, Madeline!” Nicole screams. “And I won’t regret a single moment. Whatever you do to me, it’s all worth it. Just for the days I had with him.”
Her words slide into my heart, heavy with love and helplessness.
I can’t save her. The fear spreads through me, deeper than adrenaline.
Madeline twists her face in pure contempt. “You believe that now, don’t you, you stupid girl? Pain will erase your sweet memories! The kisses and the lies he whispered in your ear? They’ll soon fade. I’ll make sure of it.”
I grit my teeth, unable to speak. My wrists twist inward, still holding back her magic with the last of my strength.
“No, they won’t, Madeline!” Nicole’s voice cuts through the air again. “That happened toyou, because to him, you were just a lover. I’m his soulmate.”
Fuck.
The ground trembles beneath my knees. That’s the one thing Madeline should never have discovered. Under any circumstances. If she was determined to destroy us before, now, it will become the sole purpose of her existence.
To my surprise, Madeline flinches. For the first time since the duel started, the beam of her magic weakens a little.
