Page 5 of Obsession

Jeez, why’d he have to show up shirtless?

I try to think of what he just said, but the sound of his voice obstructs any meaning of the words.

Harder, Mary. Try harder.

He said something about consequences, but for what? Leaving the mages? Using magic? Many warned me that using magic without a wand could have dire results, but no one explained what they would be.

I tell myself not to worry… for now. Jaegen is here, and that’s a good thing.

My eyes pop open. “I was looking for you,” I tell him.

His head tilts to the side, raising a brow; he is likely searching my mind to see if it’s a lie. “You were?” he asks.

“Yes, I…” I don’t know where to start, unsure how to ask for help—would he take offense to that?

“I see that we have much to discuss,” Jaegen says, spreading his hands amicably. It’s a gesture I’ve made myself, but he does it so fluidly that I could never imitate it properly. He is so poised, the perfect male specimen—a mimic of one, at least.

With a lot of abs. Like, an impossible amount of abs.

Can’t he put on a shirt?

“First,” he says, “I would like to apologize for earlier.”

I blink, confused.

“I learned that I killed you by accident,”he explains patiently. “That could be considered impolite.”

More than impolite, but… semantics.

“I’m better now,” I tell him.

“I see that.” His eyes flit to the spellbook on the floor. “You’ve been using magic.”

There’s an edge to his tone that feels almost dangerous, and my gut tells me to tread carefully. “What do you mean?” I ask.

Jaegen and Aris both think of humans as small and stupid creatures. Why not play to that?

But Jaegen is not charmed. He appears in front of me before I can move, grabbing my arm with a bruising grip, pulling back my sleeve to showcase the swollen, blotchy tattoo.

“Oh… that.”

Jaegen lets my hand fall and takes a step back. “Magic used without a conduit,” he says sternly. “That’s against the rules. You were warned about that.”

Maybe him being here isn’t exactly a good thing.

“I was warned,” I admit slowly, “but no one told me what would happen.”

“Magic without a conduit makes you indebted. To me.” His voice suddenly is so ancient-sounding that the fine hair at the nape of my neck lifts. Or maybe I’m just starting to understand the gravity of the situation.

Indebted.

The word rings through me. What does it mean to be indebted to something like Jaegen? What could I even offer him?

I shake my head to try to organize my thoughts, but they just get denser and more confused. Aris is a being of chaos who cannot use magic; it’s the one thing he’s vulnerable to. Because magic, in its construct, is Order.

If I’m indebted to Jaegen for using magic, does that mean Jaegen is the creator of magic, its master? Is Jaegen Aris’ foil?

Is that why Aris never spoke of him, why he seemed to dislike Jaegen so much?

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