Page 20 of Clarity

There was silence for a moment, a cool breeze floating through the dark cemetery as I sat with those words, processing them.

“Do you mean…”

“It means exactly what you think it means,” he said, leaning forward. “And I’d do it again without a second thought.”

I blew out a sigh, really considering what he’d just said before I spoke. "That's intense," I told him. "Knowing that, to you, I’m important enough to protect in that way… it feels like a lot of pressure. I have to live up to whatever ideal you've created around yourmissing piece."

"I don't need you tolive up toanything, I just need you to be you," he replied. "You having a smart mouth, hexing me and shit… getting yourself into dangerous situations with your treasure hunting, making me chase you… all of that, it makes the shit fun. None of that shit is a deterrent for me."

“Of course you would find all that entertaining,” I laughed. “But… still… just being transparent… okay, from your end, I'm some soulmate that's supposed to be fulfilling some completion ritual for you. From my end, our bond is supposed to restore power in my ancestral line. It's not romantic, it's —”

“Mutually beneficial," he filled in for me, nodding. "But, you can't say I'm not romantic, you haven't given me a chance to show you romance.”

“You've been inside of me twice," I countered, eyebrow raised.

He smirked. "That was sex, and it was good as fuck, and you know it."

"I never said it wasn't," I replied. "And I guess at least there's that, right? We’re sexually compatible, both easy to look at. I'd say we're doing better than a lot of supposed forever connections, just based on that alone."

Parris chuckled. "Well yeah, but I still feel like you're trying to play me off. Like there's no possibility of a real connection, or real commitment, between us.”

"Of course, there's achanceof it," I said. "But that's not exactly the most reassuring thing in the world. When you think about being together with someone forever, you want to believe in the love part of it too. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm practical. I don'tneedthat. But I need my mother, and this connection with you… it'll give me the power to maintain her presence in my life, and that’s enough. But it’s… bittersweet, almost. I've had little crushes, boyfriends… I've done my share of sleeping around. But I’ve never had that…madly in lovefeeling, you know. And with this, it’s like… accepting that it’ll never happen.”

He nodded. "I mean, you're a witch though," he said. "So you could do something about that at any time."

I laughed. "What, like a love spell? They're all actually lust, or they backfire, or… you're basically holding somebody against their will. It's dishonorable, and I couldn't do something like that in good conscience."

Parris shook his head. "I'm not talking about a tourist’s spell and I'm not talking about doing something without the knowledge or consent of both parties," he explained. “You want usmadly in love…we can make that happen without a problem.”

My eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

He stood, grabbing my hand again. "Let me show you.”

Six

It only took a moment, with him bringing me along for his whirlwind trip.

We were still in New Orleans, but tucked way away from anywhere a tourist might find themselves, away from where most humans would find themselves too.

He pointed up at the name of the shop we were standing in front of:Sanguine Ink. My eyebrows shot up.

"Whoa… Parris? You knowlien de sangis... um,binding?"

He nodded. "It's also romantic as fuck, don't you think?" he asked.

“It’s serious magic.”

“Yeah, it is. What, you too pussy?" he asked, and I laughed.

"No, not at all. Considering what we're already supposed to be doing, I just..."

He shrugged. "You just what? You say you want to be in love, so… what’s up? And I don't want to hear that it's not that simple," he quipped, practically taking the words out of my mouth. "Because it quite literallyisthat simple. And who gives a fuck if it's cheating? I'm sure that's what you think, right?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, a little,” I admitted. “It's not the same thing as putting time in and getting to know someone, genuinely enjoying them and wanting to be with them.”

“So you don’t want to do it?”

"No," I argued. "I'm just not sure about it.”

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