The room smelled of incense and faint sandalwood. The glow of a salt lamp painted everything in hues of red and amber, illuminating shadows in the corners like secrets that refused to stay hidden. Lyssa adjusted the strap of her bikini\u2014a daring assembly of crimson and black patterns that clung to her with an audacity matching her own. The material wasn\u2019t loud, but it had its own voice. Much like Lyssa herself.<\/p>\n
The soft chords of a lo-fi song hummed from the speaker by the window. It was past midnight, and the city outside was an orchestra of muffled honking, bursts of laughter, and the occasional distant siren. But none of that noise reached the cocoon of her bedroom. Tonight was hers, though she hadn\u2019t anticipated company. Not like this.<\/p>\n
A knock rapped on the door, steady but unsure. Lyssa glanced down at herself, smirking. Who knocks nowadays? She padded to the door barefoot, her curls bouncing freely with each step. Before opening it, she hesitated, her fingers brushing the brass doorknob. Cleo always said her hesitation would kill her one day. Cleo, whose tattoo was the one thing Lyssa had swiped for herself\u2014a pair of minimalist wings etched on Lyssa’s thigh, feather-light and permanent.<\/p>\n
When she finally opened the door, her smirk froze. It wasn\u2019t Cleo waiting on the other side, but Kieran. And Kieran didn\u2019t knock unless something was wrong.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d Lyssa\u2019s voice steadied itself, though her pulse sprinted miles ahead.<\/p>\n
Kieran stepped inside without an invitation, tall and wiry, his usual bravado muted by whatever storm he\u2019d brought in with him. He glanced around the room, his eyes dipping to her tattoos before finding safe harbor on the patterns of the bikini. She crossed her arms, though it did little to cover anything.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t answer my message,\u201d he said, his voice edged. Not angry exactly, but close.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you can\u2019t take a hint that I don\u2019t want to get involved.\u201d She walked past him, grabbing a silk robe from the chair by her desk. There was something about Kieran that worked its way under her skin and stayed there, unresolved and buzzing like a second heartbeat.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s Cleo.\u201d The words froze her midway through tying her robe. Lyssa turned to him, her expression leveling out like the ocean before a storm.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about Cleo?\u201d Lyssa whispered. Her lips suddenly felt dry; she licked them without thinking, memories flooding in unbidden. Cleo\u2019s laughter, like a bell in the wind. Cleo\u2019s hands tracing lines down her back in a whirlwind of stolen nights. Cleo\u2019s lies, like poison wrapped in velvet promises.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s back,\u201d Kieran said. Two words, cold steel that sliced through the warmth of the room. His blue eyes, sharp as broken glass, watched her for a reaction. Lyssa didn\u2019t give him one, not right away.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood for her,\u201d she said after a beat, brushing her curls behind her shoulder. \u201cBut that has nothing to do with me. Cleo\u2019s ghosts aren\u2019t mine to mess with anymore. If that\u2019s all you came to say, then\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe asked about you,\u201d he interrupted. \u201cAnd her asking about you usually comes with… consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tattoo on her thigh seemed to burn. Cleo\u2019s voice echoed in her head: \u201cSomeday, I\u2019ll be the wings that pull you out of the fire.\u201d The irony wasn\u2019t lost on Lyssa that Cleo had been the fire all along. That didn\u2019t stop her from wanting to leap in anyway.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy now?\u201d Lyssa asked, her voice barely audible. She clenched her fists at her sides, nails pressing crescents into her palms. \u201cShe walked away. She left, Kieran. She made her choice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s different now,\u201d Kieran said, though his tone betrayed the confidence of his words. \u201cLook, I came to warn you because\u2026\u201d He trailed off, staring at the salt lamp\u2019s glow like it might keep him from saying too much. \u201cShe said things would be different this time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lyssa snorted, a sharp sound laced with bitterness. She stepped so close to Kieran that she could see her reflection in his eyes. \u201cDifferent doesn\u2019t erase the blood, Kieran. Or the lies. Or\u2026\u201d Her voice cracked, but she swallowed hard, refusing to let it show. \u201cYou can leave now. Tell her I said good luck.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kieran didn\u2019t argue. He left as suddenly as he came, closing the door behind him with a strange sort of finality. Lyssa stood there for a long moment before letting her legs give out beneath her. She sank to the floor, her back pressed to the cold surface of the door.<\/p>\n
When the first tear slipped down her cheek, she laughed bitterly, flipping the switch on the salt lamp, plunging the room into darkness. Her phone buzzed beside her. She grabbed it without enthusiasm, scrolling through two missed texts from Kieran.<\/p>\n
But it was the third message\u2014from an unknown number\u2014that unraveled her completely. A photo. A pair of wings tattooed on someone\u2019s back. Smaller than hers. Intimate. Familiar.<\/p>\n
Below the photo, five words. No context. No signature.<\/p>\n
![\"Red-Glow-2](\"https:\/\/inthastyle.com\/sexy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Red-Glow-2.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"