Page 17 of Wraith

The lamp beside her flickered, just once, but it was enough to make her pause.

“What was that?” she asked, glancing toward the light.

“Bad wiring,” Lucian said, brushing it off as he stood. “Want another drink?”

“Always,” she said with a grin, handing him her glass. As soon as he turned his back, she snatched her phone again, typing something too quick for me to catch.

I backed away, my fists clenched as a new kind of heat coursed through me—hot and sharp, burning away the edges of my despair. This wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right.

I drifted closer to the lamp, focusing on the bulb. The bond pulsed faintly, feeding me just enough energy to push. The light flickered again, brighter this time, making her flinch.

“What’s wrong with that thing?” she asked, setting her phone down.

Lucian returned, handing her the glass without even glancing at the lamp. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

But I wasn’t done.

I pressed harder, the lamp flickering wildly now, casting jagged shadows across the room. She shifted nervously, her smile faltering.

“Lucian,” she said, her voice tinged with unease. “Are you sure it’s not going to, like, blow up or something?”

He frowned, glancing at the light as it steadied again. “It’s fine,” he said firmly, though his tone was less certain.

I stepped back, my form flickering as the effort drained me. But the anger stayed, stronger than the exhaustion, louder than the despair. My thoughts running in circles.

This was what I died for. What I’d bled out in a filthy, forgotten theater for.

For a liar with pretty eyes and a phone full of secrets?

I stood in the corner of the room, watching him lounge on the couch, oblivious to everything around him. His girlfriend sat beside him, her fingers idly swiping through her phone while Lucian scrolled aimlessly on his own. Her expression was serene, her lips tugging into a soft smile as her thumb hovered over her screen.

But I knew better now.

If I leaned in close, I could see the texts she hadn’t deleted. The smile that wasn’t for Lucian. The lies she crafted so effortlessly, her fingers dancing across the screen with practiced ease to an entirely different conversation than the one she had just minutes before.

I can’t stop thinking about last night *winking emoji*

My chest tightened, the flames of my anger licking higher.

“Last night,” I echoed, bitterness creeping into my tone.

The room flickered faintly, the lights dimming just for a moment. Lucian glanced up from his phone, his brow furrowing as he looked at the lamp.

“Bulb’s going out,” he muttered, mostly to himself.

His girlfriend didn’t even look up. She hummed noncommittally, still engrossed in her private little affair.

It wasn’t fair.

I couldn’t see my mom. Or Elise. Or Jenna. The people who actually mattered, who might have cared that I was gone. Theymust be so upset now that my body has been found. But instead of trying whatever ghostly bullshit I could do now to try to comfort them, I was tethered here tothem.

And they didn’t deserve it.

I clenched my fists, my form flickering faintly as my anger surged. The glass on the coffee table trembled, the liquid rippling inside. Lucian’s head snapped toward it, his frown deepening.

“What the hell?”

The girlfriend finally glanced up, her gaze darting between him and the glass. “What’s wrong?”

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