Phantasma

Ophelia feels guilty about Eric, but Blackwell guides her to escape the level. Luci sees her covered in blood and is glad Ophelia survived instead of Eric. Luci has a wound that bleeds opalescent blood, which makes Ophelia realize she is also a paranormal being. Ophelia and Blackwell go back to her room, and Ophelia asks him to distract her. He tries to reject her, but Ophelia touches herself in front of him. He touches her intimately, then they have sexual intercourse. Ophelia almost tells Blackwell that she’s falling for him but panics and tells him instead that they need space.

Night Six of Phantasma

Ophelia has a nightmare about her mother. When she wakes, she goes to the library and runs into Sinclair. He offers her any fantasy she wants, and she asks him to create a ball for her. He obliges, then tells her that Phantasma is run by the Prince of Devils named Salemaestrus, and Sinclair is trapped inside because he helped Salemaestrus hide his lover from the King of Devils. Sinclair offers Ophelia his own deal, citing the intensity of his power, but Ophelia denies him. He leaves her in the illusion of the ball, and Blackwell rescues her.

Leaving the illusion hurts Ophelia. Blackwell chastises her for falling for Sinclair’s ploys and tells her that the Wrath level is starting soon. He magically transports her to the portal. Raeya, a beautiful Devil, flirts with Blackwell when they arrive and refuses to give Ophelia the clue due to her tardiness. Ophelia enters and finds a row of buttons, each bearing a contestant’s name. Not knowing the meaning of the buttons, she presses the one marked “Cade.” The wall crumbles, and she sees the rest of the contestants. Everyone pressed the button for Cade based on the clue Ophelia didn’t see. There are only seven pedestals, meaning only seven contestants can make it out. Cade starts to attack Edna to prevent her from getting on a pedestal. He starts strangling Edna, even as the others scream at him to stop. Ophelia goes invisible to create a distraction, then kicks Cade down. Edna is still alive but badly hurt, so she calls for Raeya to make a deal and leave the competition.

The rest of the group stands on the pedestals, then leaves the challenge. The entire group is upset with Cade, as Edna was competing to bring her deceased brother Michael back to life. Cade taunts Ophelia, who then runs into Sinclair. Sinclair sows jealousy in Ophelia by telling her that Blackwell is still busy with Raeya. Ophelia returns to her room and cries in the bath. Blackwell arrives, and Ophelia confesses her jealousy by asking about Raeya. Blackwell says he had a relationship with Raeya in the past, but it’s long over. He also says he saw Ophelia save Edna in the challenge level. He admires her kindness and bravery, even more so after Ophelia reveals that the Shadow Voice tries to encourage her to harm others, thoughts that she does not give in to. He asks her if she still wants space, and she says no. They collide.

Ophelia and Blackwell kiss, then they are intimate and have sexual intercourse. They are interrupted by Jasper, who shares that he found out the truth about Ophelia’s parents’ time in Phantasma. Ophelia reveals that Sinclair told her about Salemaestrus. Ophelia’s parents were cursed because they fell in love during Phantasma; the curse is a punishment related to Salemaestrus’s fate. Ophelia was conceived during the competition. Because of the curse, Gabriel became dangerously obsessed with Tessie while Tessie grew increasingly apathetic toward him. After Genevieve was born, Tessie met a Devil in New Orleans and made a deal to make Gabriel forget about them. However, the magic of Phantasma slowly made Gabriel remember, and he returned to Phantasma for a second time to win his family back. Ophelia is distraught, especially since she fears that she and Blackwell are repeating history. She accidentally summons the Whispering Gate and falls in.

Ophelia finds her mother Tessie’s spirit in the Whispering Gate. Tessie apologizes for not telling Ophelia about her time in Phantasma, but she never wanted her daughters to suffer like she did. She also tells Ophelia that she must make her own way with her magic and make her own legacy, apologizing for being overly hard on Ophelia while she was growing up. She also tells her to stay away from the Phantom, because she does not want Ophelia becoming cursed. Ophelia asks Tessie about the locket, and Tessie tells Ophelia to never take it off.

Ophelia falls through the floor into Blackwell’s arms in the dining room. He tells her that she’s able to summon the Whispering Gate because as a Necromancer and Specter, she toes the line between life and death. When Ophelia tells Blackwell that her mother told them to stay away from each other, Blackwell agrees, which hurts Ophelia. Blackwell wants to focus on freeing himself, and Ophelia argues with him and calls him selfish. She returns to her room and goes to bed. She has a nightmare that she has often: She’s in a room of suitors, none of whom want her. The Shadow Voice tries to make her hurt the suitors, and she’s powerless to resist. At the end, the Shadow Voice makes her hurt her mother and Genevieve. She wakes in a panic, alone.

Night Seven of Phantasma

Ophelia wakes up feeling hopeless. As she wanders the halls, she runs into Sinclair. He taunts her about falling in love with Blackwell. She argues with Sinclair, who then begins to flirt with her. He offers to touch her, and Ophelia agrees. They kiss, and Sinclair touches her intimately, but she feels no spark. Raeya interrupts and says she’s going to tell Blackwell, which only makes Ophelia feel worse.

Ophelia prepares for the Deceit level. The group gathers near the portal into the challenge, each of them looking exhausted and drained. The Devil Phoebe appears and gives them their hint: “A trial of secrets, where blood reveals the price, true or false, make sure your choice is wise. A crushing truth, sealed by uncertain fates, false tales won’t help, for your blood knows the stakes” (318). The remaining contestants enter the level: Ophelia, Luci, Cade, Beau, Leon, Charlotte, and Baker. In front of each of them is a set of buttons. Ophelia, Leon, Baker, and Cade have two buttons labeled true and false. Luci and Charlotte have three buttons labeled true, false, and skip. Beau has three buttons labeled true, false, and random. They each have a spike upon which to prick their fingers. When the stone columns hovering over each player lower, it is that player’s turn.

Ophelia’s column lowers first. She pricks her finger, and after the blood drips, words appear saying that Ophelia kissed a Devil. Cade thinks it’s true, and so does Beau, though he can only press his random button. Ophelia tells them it’s true. Baker’s up next, and his words say that he’s colorblind. He says he’s not, but when he’s asked about the colors of the girls’ dresses, he gets them wrong. They press true and move on. Charlotte’s turn asks if she’s a twin. Charlotte doesn’t think she’s a twin, but she’s unsure. Ophelia touches her locket as she hovers over her false button; it’s cold, so she presses true. At Cade’s turn, the question is whether he killed his sister’s husband. Luci says that he did not, as Cade was in the car when it crashed, but he wasn’t driving. Baker does not believe Cade because of Cade’s cruelty. Baker presses the false button and is suddenly crushed to death by his stone pillar.

Everyone is horrified by Baker’s death, but the challenge continues. At Luci’s turn, the question is about her love for Leon. Leon tries to deny it, but Ophelia says it’s true to prevent anyone else dying. At Leon’s turn, the question is whether he’s in love with Luci. He isn’t, so everyone presses the false button. Luci begins to convulse, impacted by the curse of Phantasma for falling in love with Leon. Ophelia is angry at Leon for contributing to Luci falling for him, as they were in a relationship but agreed to end it before their feelings became deeper. In agony, both physical from the curse and emotional from Leon’s rejection, Luci surrenders to Phantasma, and Phoebe removes her. Leon looks devastated.

Ophelia wanders the manor aimlessly. She runs into Blackwell, who is upset that she let Sinclair kiss and touch her. Ophelia and Blackwell confess their intense feelings for each other, but after what happened with Luci and Leon, they agree to avoid intimacy for fear of the curse.

Night Eight of Phantasma

Ophelia stays in bed until the dinner chime.