A Want So Wicked (A Need So Beautiful #2)(65)

“That’s not going to happen,” Harlin says.

“Fine.” Abe throws his hands up. “Lucy?” he calls. “Come out here.” My chest seizes and I hear the jingle of the front door of Santo’s.

My sister walks out, the hoops gone from her lip and her eyebrow. Her hair is brushed back, and she’s wearing the long black dress I’d seen her in earlier.

She watches me as she struts toward Abe. “Good to see you, Elise.”

Tears sting my eyes, making me blink. Even though I wasn’t always here, as Elise, I still feel like Lucy is my real sister; I still have those memories as if I lived them. It kills me that she chose to become a Shadow. I’m not sure she realizes what she’s done yet.

“Hello, Lucy,” Harlin says. I look sideways at him, surprised to hear him call to her. He sounds compassionate. Caring. He sounds like a Seer.

“Always nice to see you, Harlin,” my sister says, a wry smile on her lips.

“Thanks,” he replies. “But you should have gone with the light. You should have fulfilled your destiny. Now you’re stuck here forever.”

“Forever’s not that long,” she says. “Not when you consider the alternative is never having existed.”

Harlin concedes, but tilts his head. “What did the Shadow promise you?”

“This,” Lucy says, motioning to herself. “A body. Life.”

“You’re not alive.”

I push Harlin’s shoulder, both in defense of my sister and because I’m wondering what he’s trying to do. I’m not sure he should be ticking her off right now.

“Maybe not,” she snaps. “But I can do all sorts of neat things now. Like this—”

Lucy flicks her hand, a movement I’ve seen Onika use before when she’d make the pain of the Need disappear. But when my sister does it, Harlin blinks quickly, staggering back a step.

“You okay?” I ask, reaching for his arm. But his face has gone sickly pale, and he falls to his knees next to me. “Harlin,” I say. And then to my absolute horror, he raises his eyes to the empty space in front of him.

“Dad?” he asks.

CHAPTER 28

My gaze flicks back to my sister, burning with anger. “Don’t you dare!” I growl. “Make it go away, now, Lucy!”

But my sister isn’t paying attention to me. She’s watching Harlin, her lips moving soundlessly with whatever she’s telling him. Just like when I was Charlotte, Onika showed me Mercy and Sarah on the Rose City Bridge to trick me into leaving with her, Lucy is showing Harlin his deceased father. And I might just kill her for it.

“Stop it!” I scream fiercely, the gold under my skin glowing stronger, burning my flesh.

My sister finally looks to me, but she’s changing as she does. Lines begin to crack her skin, peeling away to the gray underneath. “Maybe it’s what he wants. He’s always wished he could see his father again. Maybe if Harlin dies, he will. It’s poetic, really.” She turns back to my boyfriend. “Harlin,” she whispers. “It’s okay to let go. It’s okay to—”

“No!” I drop down next to Harlin, putting my hands on his face, turning it roughly toward me. “It’s not real,” I whisper, trying to get him to see me past his tear-filled eyes. “He’s not here, Harlin. He’s just an image cast by a Shadow. You know that.”

Harlin’s mouth is open, gasping in horrified breaths. “He’s bleeding,” he murmurs. “Elise, he’s bleeding to death.” Harlin looks back at the space where I assume he can see the image of his father dying—something he’s never dealt with. Grief he’s never let himself feel.

I blink, tears falling down my cheeks when I do. The light grows within me, and I take my arms from around Harlin and stand, facing Lucy. Facing Abe.

“Make her stop,” I tell Abe, choking back the sorrow in my voice. “Make her stop before she kills him.”

“Why would I do that, querida?” Abe asks, shaking his head. “It’s inspired, actually. Who knew your boyfriend was so tenderhearted?”

“Abe,” I plead. “Please.”

Abe stares back at me, appearing almost hurt that I’d want to save Harlin. But soon the moment passes, and he reaches to pull at his bottom lip as if lost in a thought. “Leave him be,” he says to Lucy, not looking at her.

My sister sighs, and directs her gaze on Harlin. Her hand flicks out and then Harlin moans, leaning forward to rest his forehead on the pavement, his body still shaking.

“You’re a terrible Seer, Harlin,” Lucy calls. “You know that, right?”

“I’m aware,” he says weakly, not lifting his head. “And if I ever question it, I’ll think back on the great times we’ve shared.”

“See, Elise,” Abe calls. “I’m not all bad. I’ll treat you well, especially when you’re glowing so beautifully bright. I just want to hold you in my arms. Kiss you.”

“I will kick your ass if you ever touch her again,” Harlin says evenly, finally climbing to his knees as he tries to stand. “I will seriously beat you senseless.”

“You’re almost adorable,” Abe says to him. “Not the smartest guy I’ve ever met, but your dogged devotion is an attractive quality—even to me. Of course, I’m going to kill you. But I won’t make you suffer.”