Page 41 of Wraith

Then, the planchette moved.

YES.

I felt my blood turn to ice. My fingers trembled slightly, but I didn’t pull away.

“Are you behind this?” he asked, voice barely above a whisper.

The planchette slid across the board.

YES.

My stomach twisted.

I exhaled slowly. "Why?"

The planchette paused. Then, with deliberate slowness, it began to move again.

BALANCE THE SCALES.

Silence. Thick. Suffocating.

I clenched my jaw, frustration bubbling under my skin. "I won't let you win." My voice came out harsher than I intended, but I didn't care. "We regret it. We regretted it the second it happened. But there's nothing we can do to bring you back. Nothing we can do to change the past." I swallowed, hands shaking. "Move the fuck on and leave us alone."

I stood abruptly, shoving the board away from me. "This is fucked. We’re wasting our time. You wanted answers? Fine, you got them. She wants us dead, Kael."

Kael sat motionless, staring at the board like he could pull different answers from it if he just looked hard enough.

I ran a hand down my face, exhaling sharply. "You hear me? This is done. Don’t fucking sit here all night obsessing over it."

He finally exhaled, rubbing his jaw. "Go."

I lingered at the door for half a second longer, debating whether I should say something else—anything—but what was the point? He wasn’t listening.

I shook my head and left, slamming the door behind me. Let him stew in it. If he wanted to drown himself in guilt, that was his problem. But I wasn’t going to let her win.

The door clicked shut behind Aeron, leaving me alone in the dim candlelight. The air felt heavier without him there, like something was waiting. Watching.

I numbly fixed the board back in front of me. My fingers hovered over the planchette, breath uneven.

"You’re still here, aren’t you?" My voice barely broke the quiet.

The planchette twitched.

YES.

I swallowed hard, my throat tight. My fingers gripped the edge of the board, knuckles white.

"I don’t want to die."

The air in the room thickened, the candlelight flickering against the walls like shadows were stretching closer. The planchette shifted again, deliberate, slow.

PROVE IT.

My breath was shallow, hands trembling as I reached for the planchette once more.

My voice came out hoarse, barely above a whisper. "Lilith… are you still here?"

The planchette jerked under his fingers.

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