"And now you're in me?"
Lulu's expression strangely softened. "Not all of me. Just enough to keep you tethered. When they killed you, I felt it. The circle… it was the same."
Realization prickled the back of Wren's neck. "Wait, that hotel room. The one where they did it. It felt… weird from the moment I stepped in."
"Because they were," Lulu said simply. "That room is a focus point. A place of convergence. Old blood, old bones, old betrayals. When your blood touched that floor, it called to me."
"Awesome," Wren muttered, running her hands through her hair. "So I got ghost-adopted by a revenge-seeking, ex-elemental witch with trauma."
Lulu didn't laugh, but something twitched in her expression. "You have my blood in your veins."
"Come again?"
"You're a descendant," Lulu said. "Far down the line, diluted by time and loss… but you are mine. My thread found you because we are tied by blood."
Wren stared. "So you're my great-great-great-grand-something?"
"Great enough that your name, Wren Calderón… wasn't just a coincidence."
Wren Calderón? What the heck? That wasn't her name. Her last name was Calloway, Wren thought with a scoff.
She threw her hands in the air. "It's Calloway. My last name is Calloway, not Calderón, woman. See? You're mistaken."
"Your Father would rather be called Calloway than Calderón, but ask him when you can. He has something to tell you." Lulu provided.
Her father… right. He needed her. She shouldn't be here. She should be with him at the hospital. Her mother must be worried sick by now.
She stumbled up. "I-I need to leave. My Dad's sick, okay? He needs me."
"I'll save your Father, Wren. Trust me. I need you to trust and work with me."
Work with a ghost? In what universe does that even make sense? Wren wondered inwardly.
"Great," She groaned, flopping backward onto the bed. "So I'm the undead heir to a dead witch's murder vendetta. Is this, like, a supernatural rite of passage? Because I was really just hoping to graduate, get a job, maybe get laid more than once every presidential administration."
Lulu raised a brow. "You died a virgin?"
"That's not the point!" Wren hissed, sitting up. "The point is, I was doing fine. Okay? Not amazing. Not perfect. But I had a life. Now I've got glowing veins and a homicidal wardrobe buddy."
"I've kept you alive. Without me, you'd be nothing but a cold corpse rotting in that sacred room." Lulu calmly pointed out.
"That's such a comforting image," Wren muttered.
Lulu stepped forward, kneeling so their faces were level. "You can be more than this. You should be. They took your life, Wren. I'm offering you a new one. With power. With purpose and vengeance."
"That last one sounds a little Bond villain."
"And yet it fits, doesn't it?" Lulu murmured. "Don't you want to make them pay?"
Wren stared at her for a long moment. Her heart beat erratically like it wasn't sure if it should race or stop. Part of her wanted to scream again. The other part… the dark, cold part buried under fear and shock, wanted to burn everything to the ground.
All she did was step into a room and they killed her. Yet, she felt drawn to them. It was like some missing pieces of her were infused somewhere inside of them.
"I…" she whispered. "I don't even know how to start."
"You already have," Lulu said. "Your eyes are changing. Your soul is waking. The thread is pulling you toward them again. You'll feel it. You won't be able to stop."
"You're saying I'm… what? A magical homing pigeon for my murderers?"
"I'm saying they are fated to you" Lulu said grimly. "They can't resist it no matter how hard they try. They'll mark you soon enough and magic never forgets a scar."
Wren stood slowly. Her limbs were shaky, but the floor didn't tilt this time. She looked down at her hands. Sure enough, faint silver veins still pulsed under the skin.
"Do I get a choice?" she asked.
Lulupaused. "You can walk away. But the tether will fade. Your body will follow."
"So I die if I don't help you."
"No. You die again. This time, for good." Lulu shrugged.
The silence that followed was electrifying. She was so fucked up, Wren knew that much. And apparently, the world wasn't what it seemed. It had witches, werewolves, and God knows whatever other mythical creatures walked amongst them like regular people.
This was still a lot to digest, but she must pick a side. That much was clear.
"…Fine," She finally muttered. "But I'm not agreeing to murder anyone. Not yet. I'm agreeing to figure out what the hell is happening."
Lulu inclined her head. "Fair enough."
"And if you try to possess me like in a horror movie, I will find a priest with a Super Soaker full of holy water and we will see who screams first."
"I don't scream," Lulu said serenely.
"We'll see," Wren said, squinting.
There was a pause. Then:
"So… now what?" Wren asked. "Do I get a cape? A wand? An instruction manual titled Witch Ghosts and You?"
"No, Wren. Romance. You get sizzling romance."
Wren blinked. "Wait—romance? What the hell do you mean romance?"
Lulu tilted her head. "You're not just tied to me, Wren. You're tied to them. They are your mates. Fated to you by the goddess of the Moon and fate itself."
"Them as in the psychos who killed me?"
"The four heirs," Lulu confirmed. "Each born from one of the old bloodlines. Each raised to protect their families' secrets. And each… drawn to you."
Wren snorted. "Drawn to me? I've literally been murdered by at least one of them. Forgive me if I don't find the idea of a murder-romance arc sexy."
"It's not about sex," Lulu said. "It's about seduction, power, and leverage. You have the thread, and they are bound to feel it too. The bond won't let them ignore you for long."
Wren squinted, disbelief clouding her expression. "You want me to seduce them? Like, actual spy-level honeypot seduction? Is that what this is?"
Lulu's voice was calm, but it carried intensity. "Their bond with you will confuse them. Entangle them. That's your advantage. Get close. Make them turn on each other. And through them, we get to the ones who deserve to burn—their parents. The architects of this nightmare."
Wren's mouth opened, then closed. She stared for a moment. "So… let me get this straight. I'm supposed to infiltrate a murderous paranormal rich kid show, seduce the cast, emotionally manipulate them into mutually assured destruction, and survive long enough to take down a generation of super-powered sociopaths?"
Lulu offered a small smile. "That's the short version, yes."
"Jesus Christ," Wren muttered. "That sounds like the world's worst dating sim."
"I would've handled it myself," Lulu added, more somber now. "But I'm… not stable here. My thread frays. Sometimes I'm in, sometimes I vanish. I cannot anchor myself long enough to pull the strings. That's your role now."
Holyshit.
Wren paced a few steps, then threw her arms up. "My role? Lady, I was eating cup noodles and crying over my Father's condition yesterday. I barely pay my phone bill on time. You think I'm capable of emotionally manipulating magic murder heirs? Seducing them?"
If anyone was to get seduced, it might be her, she could bet her last card on it. Not with those infuriatingly attractive monsters with angelic beauty and sexy bodies.