Phantasma by Kaylie Smith

Here is a summary with spoilers of Phantasma

Phantasma begins with two sisters, Ophelia and Genevieve Grimm, discovering their mother Tessie’s lifeless body in the foyer of Grimm Manor, their ancestral home in New Orleans. Tessie passed during the night, and it is Ophelia who finds her the next morning. As the eldest Grimm sister, Ophelia must inherit her mother’s legacy. She performs the necessary ritual to claim Tessie’s necromantic magic, granting her the ability to see Apparitions and other spirits. She also takes the family locket from her mother’s neck—when she taps it, it beats in sync with her heart.

The sisters take Tessie’s body to the coroner for a death certificate, but on the way home, Ophelia is plagued by the Shadow Voice, the dark manifestation of her obsessive-compulsive disorder. It hisses threats and urges her toward violence, but she resists. Meanwhile, whispers of Phantasma, a deadly supernatural competition run by Devils and Demons, begin to reach her. The winner is granted a Devil’s Wish, capable of fulfilling any desire.

The following day, men from the city bank arrive with devastating news: Tessie was drowning in debt, and Grimm Manor is set to be seized and demolished. Ophelia reels from the betrayal of realizing Genevieve knew about the financial trouble but never told her. Genevieve, burdened by guilt over how much responsibility their mother placed on Ophelia, wanted to spare her more stress. The sisters argue bitterly before Genevieve storms off.

Wandering the city alone, Ophelia stumbles upon an old cathedral, where a sultry, unseen voice tells her he is trapped in Phantasma and can only be freed with a heart and a key. Before she can investigate further, the Shadow Voice demands she return home. But when she arrives, Genevieve is nowhere to be found. In her sister’s room, Ophelia finds evidence that Genevieve has gone to Phantasma—desperate to fix their financial troubles and searching for someone named Gabriel.

Determined to save her sister, Ophelia follows her into Phantasma, joining the competition. She meets her fellow contestants and is guided to her quarters, where a ghostly cat leads her through eerie corridors. There, she encounters the owner of the voice from the cathedral—Blackwell, a Phantom trapped in Phantasma. However, he has no memory of their previous conversation; his memories are erased at the end of each competition. He offers Ophelia a blood bargain: he will protect her in exchange for her help in finding the heart and key. If she fails, he will take a decade of her life. Ophelia refuses, but after surviving the first trial—Limbo, where a contestant named Cade nearly gets her killed, she reconsiders and accepts Blackwell’s offer.

With Blackwell’s help, Ophelia navigates the Nine Circles of Hell, the foundation of Phantasma’s trials. During the Lust trial, she barely escapes being devoured by vampires. Exploring the manor, she and Blackwell find a secret passageway and evade a deadly acid trap. Their connection deepens, culminating in a moment of shared passion. In the passage, Ophelia finds a chilling message scratched into the stone: “And Gabriel Forever.”

Blackwell investigates the contestant logs, searching for all those named Gabriel. Meanwhile, Ophelia completes the Greed trial and encounters Sinclair, a Devil who taunts her with secrets Blackwell is keeping. Sinclair reveals the existence of Phantasma’s creator—Salemaestrus, the Prince of Devils. When Ophelia confronts Blackwell, he finally confesses: Gabriel White, Ophelia and Genevieve’s father, was the last contestant he made a blood bargain with.Tessie and Gabriel met in Phantasma years ago. Gabriel was not human—he was a Specter, which explains Ophelia’s ability to turn translucent. Devastated, she barely manages to complete the Gluttony trial.

Despite their growing bond, Ophelia and Blackwell try to suppress their feelings, as those who fall in love in Phantasma are cursed. Their tension leads to mistakes—Ophelia falls for one of Sinclair’s illusions and is nearly lost. Blackwell saves her in time for the Wrath trial, where she rescues a contestant from Cade’s violence, though they forfeit anyway. Seeking answers, Ophelia speaks to her mother through the Whispering Gate. Tessie apologizes for the burdens she placed on Ophelia but warns her to stay away from Blackwell.

Despite their efforts to keep their distance, Ophelia and Blackwell are drawn together again. However, when she mistakenly believes Blackwell has been with another Devil, she kisses Sinclair out of spite, only to regret it immediately. She completes the Deceit trial, though her friend Luci is cursed for confessing love to another contestant and is forced to forfeit. Blackwell later confronts Ophelia, revealing he was never unfaithful. They acknowledge their love but agree to keep apart.

During the Violence trial, Ophelia kills Cade but is nearly killed herself when he rips her locket from her neck, causing her heart to nearly stop. The manor then manifests the Shadow Voice as a physical entity that attacks her, forcing her to tear at her own flesh in torment. She breaks free by declaring she is not alone—she has Blackwell. He heals her wounds, and they finally give in to their love, spending the night together. However, they are interrupted by Genevieve, who reveals that she, too, is a Specter. The sisters plan to win Phantasma together, but Ophelia insists Genevieve leave before the next trial.

Ophelia successfully completes the Fraud trial, then summons the door to Salemaestrus. Inside, she discovers the truth—Blackwell is Salemaestrus Erasmus Blackwell, the Prince of Devils. Five hundred years ago, he committed the unforgivable sin of falling in love with a mortal. As punishment, his father, the King of Devils, killed the woman and trapped Blackwell inside Phantasma. Worse, his father placed the mortal woman’s soul inside the Grimm family locket, to be reborn later.

Ophelia realizes that she is the reincarnation of Blackwell’s lost love. To free him, she must confess her love and give him the locket. She does, breaking his tether to Phantasma. As her heart begins to fail, Blackwell offers her a Devil’s reward—a working heart—which she accepts. Now free, Blackwell is being pulled back to the Other Side, but he tells Ophelia that she can be his tether. If she accepts, she will live as long as he does—likely for eternity.

She agrees.

Together, they rebuild Grimm Manor, using Blackwell’s magic to erase their debts. The Shadow Voice weakens, no longer controlling Ophelia’s life. She dedicates herself to helping other supernatural beings, forging her own legacy. Meanwhile, she begins researching the Grimm family locket, searching for deeper truths about its power. Ophelia, Blackwell, and Genevieve plan to set off on a journey around the world, together at last.

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