Page 59 of Wraith

I stopped checking my phone. Stopped looking in mirrors, too, after I caught my reflection whispering something my lips hadn’t moved to say.

I told myself it wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real. The ritual had worked. Right?

Until tonight.

I turned the corner to my dorm room and stopped cold. The door was open.

I never left my door open.

My chest tightened as I stepped inside, pulse hammering. The air felt thick, suffocating. My bed was still made, my desk undisturbed, but something was wrong. Something was watching me.

The door creaked behind me. I turned.

Kael stood there, framed in the doorway, smiling.

I stumbled back, hitting my desk, my breath stuck in my throat.

“You—”

His head tilted, his smile widening. “You don’t have to run, Aeron.”

My heart slammed against my ribs. My instincts screamed at me to bolt, to fight, but my body wouldn’t move.

Kael stepped inside, slow and deliberate, shutting the door behind him. “She’s already here.”

A chill crawled down my spine. “You’re insane.”

His expression softened, like he pitied me. “No. I see clearly now. And soon, so will you.”

I lunged for the door. Kael moved quicker.

I twisted, throwing a desperate punch at his face. He dodged, barely, my fist grazing his cheekbone. His smile never wavered.

“Good,” he murmured. “Fight. It’ll make it sweeter when you understand.”

I barely had time to react before he retaliated. His fist crashed into my ribs, knocking the air from my lungs. Pain bloomed through my side, but I forced myself to move.

I shoved him back, grabbing the nearest object—a lamp from my desk—and swung it at his head. Kael ducked, catching my wrist before I could bring it down again. His grip was iron. He twisted sharply, pain jolting up my arm as the lamp clattered to the floor.

“Let me go, you psycho!” I snarled, struggling against him.

He only sighed. “You don’t get it yet.”

I reeled my head back and slammed it forward, smashing my forehead into his nose. He grunted, staggering back. Blood trickled from his nostril, but his eyes… his eyes shone with something disturbingly close to admiration.

“You’re making this difficult,” he mused, wiping the blood away with the back of his hand. Then he surged forward, slamming me into the wall.

My skull cracked against the plaster, my vision swimming. I gasped, the world tilting.

Kael exhaled, almost… regretful. “You can’t meet her looking like this.”

His fist connected with the side of my head. The world flickered to black.

I woke to the scent of mildew and dust.

Blinking against the dim lighting, I tried to move, but my limbs felt heavy, my body sluggish. My fingers curled against the sensation of crisp fabric beneath them. Not my sheets.

My pulse kicked up, and as I shifted, I felt it—the weight of stiff fabric draped over my shoulders, buttoned tight around my neck.

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