Page 28 of Wraith

The shower didn’t help either. The scalding water hit my skin, but the chill wouldn’t leave. No matter how much I scrubbed, I couldn’t shake the feeling of her stare burning into me.

By the time I made it to the kitchen, I was a mess of raw nerves, my muscles aching from the tension I couldn’t release. My phone buzzed on the counter just as I poured my first cup of coffee. The subject line glared up at me from the screen:Memorial for Ciaran and Lily.

I hesitated, staring at it like opening the email would make everything worse. Finally, I swiped it open.

To honor the life and legacy of Ciaran… and to acknowledge Lily’s tragic passing.

My stomach churned. Legacy. The word lodged in my throat, bitter and wrong. Of course, they focused on Ciaran. He was the golden boy, the one who mattered. Lily? She was just an afterthought, a casualty no one wanted to dwell on.

I set the coffee mug down harder than I intended, the clang echoing in the quiet kitchen. The bitterness that had been simmering all morning bubbled over.They’ll forget her. Just like you let her fade.

I gritted my teeth, trying to swallow the thought, but it twisted in my chest, relentless. She deserved better. She deserved more. And I had done nothing.

The dining hall wasn’t any better. Kael and Aeron were already at the table, their body language stiff, their silence sharp enough to cut through the dull hum of conversation around us. The air between them crackled with unspoken tension, and I knew it was only a matter of time before it exploded.

“You gonna glare at your eggs all morning?” Kael muttered, stabbing at his plate with his fork.

Aeron didn’t look up, his tone clipped. “Better than whatever you’re doing. Is that supposed to be eating?”

“At least I’m not sulking like a martyr,” Kael shot back, his voice laced with venom.

Aeron’s head snapped up, his jaw tight. “Say that again.”

I slammed my coffee mug down, the sound cutting through their argument like a whip. “Enough,” I snapped, my voice harsher than I meant. Both of them turned toward me, Kael with his trademark smirk, Aeron with his glare.

“This isn’t helping,” I added, rubbing at the ache spreading behind my eyes.

Kael leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. “Right. Because ignoring everything is really working for us.”

“I said enough,” I barked, my patience hanging by a thread. “You can kill each other later. For now, just shut up.”

Kael muttered something under his breath, but he didn’t push further. Aeron dropped his gaze back to his plate, his shoulders tense. The silence that followed wasn’t any better. It was brittle, oppressive, and only made the weight in my chest grow heavier.

I stayed behind after they both left, staring down at my half-empty coffee cup. The dining hall felt quieter without them, but it didn’t feel calmer. My thoughts spiraled, circling back tothe email, the dream, the nagging feeling that I was missing something important.

You failed them both.

The words sank their teeth into me again, sharp and unforgiving.You didn’t help her. You didn’t save him. You let them die.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, willing the thoughts to stop, but they only grew louder. No matter how many times I told myself I’d made the right choices, the doubts didn’t go away.

The scrape of my chair against the floor pulled me from my thoughts. As I stood, I caught sight of my arm, the skin marked with jagged, red scratches. I froze, staring at them. They weren’t faint, weren’t shallow. They were deliberate.

When the hell did this happen?

I ran a finger over the marks, the sting sharp and raw. My pulse quickened as I tried to piece it together. Nothing. No memory, no explanation. Just the scratches, a physical reminder of the chaos swirling inside me.

I flexed my fingers, the ache in my arm dull but present as I left the dining hall. The scratches lingered at the edge of my thoughts, sharp and accusing, as if they were trying to tell me something. I just didn’t know what.

And that was the part that scared me the most.

Nineteen

The coin spunbetween my fingers, the polished edge glinting in the soft light of the dorm. It landed with a sharpclinkin my palm before I flipped it again. Heads. Tails. Heads. The rhythm wasn’t grounding me the way it usually did. My thoughts were too loud, each one spiraling into the next.

I glanced at the suit laid out on my bed—a tailored black jacket, crisp white shirt, silk tie. Perfectly pressed. Impeccably appropriate. It felt ridiculous. Like I was playing dress-up for an event I wanted no part of.

Why are you even going?The question gnawed at me as I slipped the jacket on, tying the tie with practiced ease. Not for Lily, apparently. Not for someone who barely warranted a mention in the official statement.An unfortunate accident,they’d called it.She fell, struck her head, and didn’t survive.

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