Page 13 of Obsession

“Is it?” I say with a hesitant grin.

We fall into a brief but amicable silence, the darkness briefly lifted. It is a moment of peace, and yet…

“The reason that you were looking for me…” I say without thinking. I’ve no idea how to ask without completely offending him, but it’s almost unimaginable for someone to care enough about me to search for me.

I want to ask: Is Aris involved? Has he influenced you in some way? Did he tell you to keep tabs on me?

But Simon is already so beaten down. Asking might send him over the edge. It’s an insult to our friendship. Imagine if he came because he was concerned— what then? I’ll have ruined everything.

“What?” he says.

I take a drink. “Nothing.”

But it eats at me.

Is this real?

Simon walks me back to the hotel, and we come to a stop by two doormen. I don’t have it in me to explain that I’m unsure whether I have a room here anymore—he has enough to worry about.

“When will I see you again?” I ask.

“There are funeral arrangements… a few things to take care of,” he says.

I wait; he didn’t answer the question.

“Soon,” Simon tells me. This was what Jaegen told me, as well.

We hug, and I watch him walk away. It’s only as his form is swallowed by the crowd that I realize I never asked where he was going. The Institute doesn’t exist anymore. Is he seeking out Henry, who was attempting to rally the mages?

The thought makes me feel betrayed, but it’s my own fault. I didn’t tell Simon about what Henry did to me; the words wouldn’t come. I was scared, not knowing whose side he would take.

Once Simon is gone, I walk inside and am shaken by the line of staff who greet me. There are about nine of them in tight, trim uniforms with proper stances and a distant look in their eyes; they are in front of me, but not looking at me.

“Mary,” the closest one says. Her tag indicates that her name is Meredith and that she is the manager. “We have been waiting for you.”

Her glazed eyes are fixed over my head like there’s something behind me. I glance back, but it’s just me and the line of employees in the room, as if every guest suddenly got a memo to steer clear of the lobby.

I shift, uncomfortable.

“Jaegen requests that you return to your room,” Meredith continues, then smiles with too much teeth.

“Jaegen,” I say slowly. He must have set this up in case I did decide to leave. Is he controlling their minds? “All right…”

“Let us escort you to your room,” continues the manager.

Before I agree, the line breaks: two workers surround me from behind, the others boxing me in on the side, while Meredith remains in front. The synchronization fills me with an immediate sense of claustrophobia, and I feel like a traveling president as they usher me toward the elevators.

They remain with me until I’m in my room and, fortunately, don’t come inside.

The encounter is so uncanny that it takes a few minutes to recover. I wonder how long the workers were standing there, waiting for me. Are they aware of what happened, or will it be a blackout in their memory?

It feels wrong, and my unease exhausts me. I collapse on my bed, content to fall into a deep sleep. My body relaxes, succumbing, but I cannot escape my mind.

I am in a dentist’s chair with my hands and legs bound by wire. I struggle, even with the dream knowledge that it is futile, and the wire tightens. Starting to really panic, I look around for something to help myself, but I can hardly see; it’s pitch black wherever I am, save a single bulb hanging above me. It is brighter than one bulb should be, and it stings to look at.

Blinking away the rings in my vision, I try to fight my restraints again, but the wires constrict until I cry out in pain. Then, they halt, as if pleased by the noise.

My eyes shut. I try to reason, but I can’t form proper thoughts. I need to calm down, but the binds are biting into me and the pain is unreal.

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