Page 61 of Wraith

Thorne didn’t knowhe was already dead. Not yet.

He sat at a corner table in a half-lit café, talking to people who didn’t matter, laughing at things that weren’t funny. He had done a remarkable job pretending he had moved on.

But I knew better. I saw the cracks, the way his smile never quite reached his eyes. The way his hand twitched when his phone buzzed. The way his shoulders stiffened when he passed by the theater.

He was running. Running from his past, from what we did, from her.

And I was going to make sure he stopped.

I watched him from the street, the glass between us a thin, fragile barrier. He must have felt it—that pull, that presence—but he ignored it. Just like he ignored the shadows stretching toward him, the ones that bent the wrong way when the café lights flickered.

I sent off the text without looking at my phone.I made sure to use a google voice number so it wouldn't be traced back to me.

You belong with her too.

I smiled.

Inside, Thorne checked his phone and his face went pale.

Perfect.

I let him feel it first. Let him think he had a choice.

He left the café faster than he intended, I could tell. He was walking too quickly, hands clenched, head turning sharply like he expected someone to be there.

He wasn’t wrong.

He just wasn't expectingme.

I let him walk for a while, trailing just out of sight. The wind carried whispers he pretended not to hear. Streetlights flickered as he passed. His own reflection in store windows didn’t quite match his stride.

By the time he reached his dorm, he was already shaking.

I was waiting for him.

Thorne shoved open his door and slammed it behind him, pressing his back against it like that would keep me out.

“You should have answered me,” I said.

His breath hitched, and his hands fumbled for something—I don’t know what. A weapon? His phone? It didn’t matter.

“Kael—”

I stepped forward. He tried to move, but his back hit the desk. Cornered.

“You should have answeredher.”

“I—”

“You should have stayed.”

His fists clenched. “I’m not playing this game with you.”

“This isn’t a game.” I tilted my head. “Do you think Aeron thought it was a game?”

His face blanched. He knew. Of course, he knew.

“What did you do?” he whispered.

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