Geralt's complicated relationship with Yennefer of Vengerberg is one of the fundamental plot threads in the story that launched The Witcher franchise. Those who read Andrzej Sapkowski's books before immersing themselves in the game world might have been a little confused about Yennefer's absence in the first two games. While she was mentioned on occasion, she didn't appear until The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, when Geralt was forced to decide what their relationship meant to him.
In Sapkowski's books, which inspired CD Projekt Red's gaming franchise and the Netflix series, a short story titled "The Last Wish" detailed Geralt and Yennefer's first meeting. While fishing, Geralt reeled in an ancient amphora which contained a djinn. When his companion Dandelion (known in the Netflix show as Jaskier) realized what it was, he tried to open it and take the wishes despite Geralt's warning of the danger. In a struggle between the two men, the amphora shattered on the ground and a mysterious mist rose from the pieces. As Geralt dove for cover, Dandelion began listing his wishes, but the creature within the mist strangled the bard instead.
Geralt's Last Wish Bound Him to Yennefer's Fate
Geralt had no choice but to seek out a healer for his friend. His search led him to Rinde, where Yennefer was working. When Geralt met her, she agreed to heal Dandelion for a price: Yennefer wanted to capture the djinn and use the wishes to heal her body of the customary barrenness all sorcerers face. Yennefer wanted a child, but while trying to trap and control the djinn for its power, she realized Geralt was its current master.
When Geralt rushed in to stop her, Yennefer told him to make his last wish, which would free the djinn and she could capture it. Geralt understood that doing so would allow the djinn to kill Yennefer before she could trap it. In a moment of chaos, Geralt wished to die beside Yennefer, knowing the djinn couldn't kill its own master. The djinn granted his last wish, binding Geralt and Yennefer's fates until their deaths.
Over the years, the two endured an incredibly rocky relationship. They loved one another, but there were always questions about the source and strength of that love. To make matters more difficult, Yennefer still wanted a child, which -- even if she found a way to cure her barrenness -- Geralt could never give her. Like sorcerers, Witchers were sterile, due to the intensive chemical alterations of their bodies during their trials and training.
Because their fates were bound, Yennefer doubted that Geralt truly loved her. This sense of insecurity led them both to be incredibly cruel to each other at times. The Netflix series took a few liberties with the tension between them, actually having Yennefer betray Geralt by taking Ciri in an effort to reclaim her lost power. Infuriated by her selfishness, which seemed to be an ongoing point of contention between them, he pushed her away and took his time in forgiving her.
Geralt, Ciri & Yennefer Became a Family in The Witcher
When Geralt finally took Ciri, his child surprise, under his wing, he and the other witchers required the help of a sorceress to teach her how to harness and control the chaotic magic inside her. When Triss Merigold's efforts to do so failed, he had no choice but to seek Yennefer's aid. Begrudgingly, Yennefer took on the task, and though she tried not to develop feelings towards the girl, in time, Ciri became like a daughter to her -- the child she could never have.
In his own way, Geralt gave Yennefer the child she wanted, and though it was unconventional, they became a family. In Sapkowski's story, Yennefer and Geralt died together, just as they were always meant to, but CD Projekt Red managed to bring them both back from the dead. Geralt suffered from amnesia, and he couldn't remember Yennefer. However, after spending time with Triss Merigold in the first Witcher game, he did note when King Foltest asked about the nature of his relationship with Triss that a part of him was certain he once loved a sorceress very deeply.
That's not to say he didn't have feelings for Triss in the books, though what did exist between them romantically was brought on by her sorcery. The pair had a minor tryst, a devastating blow to Yennefer when she found out one of her friends would betray her that way, but Geralt broke it off after realizing he wasn't in love with Triss.
In the second game, Assassins of Kings, there are occasional flashbacks of Yennefer, suggesting that whatever events tore them apart left her with amnesia as well. They were finally reunited in Wild Hunt when Ciri was in danger. However so much time had passed that they had both begun new lives. Geralt pursued other romantic interests, and if the player chose to romance Triss, he developed a powerful relationship with the sorceress over the course of the games. He did have the option to resume his romance with Yennefer in-game, but it required the completion of a special side quest.
Even Without Magic, Geralt and Yennefer Still Loved Each Other
In the event Geralt tried to rekindle things with Yennefer, she drew him to the wreckage of a ship to find a djinn in hopes of breaking the spell that bound their lives together. She wanted to find out if they could still love one another without magic binding them. Once the spell was lifted, Yennefer confessed that, even without it, she still had feelings for Geralt, and the player could decide from that point to either pursue or end their romance.
Regardless of player choices, there's no denying the powerful bond Geralt and Yennefer shared. When Cirilla was added to their dynamic, they became a family in the only way that truly mattered. As it turned out, the nature of the wish that bound them had no actual bearings on their feelings for one another. Those feelings existed without Geralt's last wish tying their fates together, and once Yennefer realized that, it was easier for her to accept their relationship. On the other hand, the cruelties they inflicted upon each other over the years created an unstable foundation that leaves one asking if love is enough to heal them. In the end, only players can decide how Geralt and Yennefer's story ends.