Phantasma (Wicked Games, #1)

by Kaylie Smith

To those who’ve had to claw their way out of the dark and still choose to be a light in this world⁠— I’m proud of you.

the idea of something was only pleasurable when it stayed an idea.

Never feel bad for bleeding, Ophelia. Her mother’s voice came back to her now. Bleeding means you’re alive.

“First, entering Phantasma is not free,” he said, his voice slipping into a tone that sounded rehearsed. “The price is your greatest fear.” She let out a relieved breath. Her greatest fears had already come true. She didn’t imagine anything she revealed now would top the past week.

She hated the idea of someone else being able to see the darkest parts of her subconscious.

this place drives people out of their sanity,”

In deepening light, where senses fade, a labyrinth vast, a daunting maze. No sight, no sound, no touch to guide, navigate true or be crushed inside. Beware the beast, within the heart, and find the door, back to start.

Cade gawked at the sight of Blackwell’s tall frame, but his expression quickly soured as he spat, “Incredible, even Demons have whores⁠—” Blackwell grabbed Cade’s wrist and twisted his arm until he screeched in agony. “Incredible,” Blackwell echoed. “The audacity of men worth less than dirt.”

That you’ll be able to leave Phantasma but not have any other place to go?” “That’s a risk I’m willing to take. Life happens. Even in death. No use worrying about things that haven’t occurred yet.”

I never let pain get the better of me, Genevieve’s voice pierced through her panic. I’d much rather let it bring me clarity.

“You’re doing excellent,” Blackwell praised. “Keep going.” His encouragement made her push herself harder. As much as she hated to admit it, she craved confirmation when she did something well. Something her mother hadn’t often bothered with.

I’m proud of you.” Her breath hitched. No one had ever said those words to her before. Not Genevieve. Not her mother. Her mother might have told her she’d done something well, but never that she was proud. Tessie Grimm had never been the kind for flowery sentiments.

“For what it’s worth,” he started, “being normal is incredibly dull.

Finally alone, she threw herself onto her bed, face down, and let herself mourn the version of her life she once knew and would never have again.

most of all she shed tears for herself. And the soft heart she would never have again.

but I knew I had to be patient. So, I made myself leave you, determined to give you space for the rest of the night—and then you found me. Because it seems that’s what we do. We find each other.”

Life is not measured in good or bad thoughts—it’s how you treat the world around you despite them. All the people who only do good deeds because of what that might gain them in the afterlife are no better than those who indulge in a little sin every once in a while.” “Eric

He grasped her face in his hands. “In a different life, in a fair one, I would’ve kept you until my eternal soul withered away to dust,” he vowed to her. Then he was gone.

Had settled into the idea that she was powerful enough to look at the dark and could handle whatever might look back.