Page 75 of Obsession

He shrugs. “That is an easy rule.”

One would think.

“You agree, then?” I press, staring hard until he nods. “Great. Now, along with that, there’s no maiming or torturing or impaling or anything of the sort.”

He gives me a look like I’m the crazy one. “I promise not to do any of those things,” says Aris, then pauses. “But what if the need arises?”

“What do you mean?” I say, alarmed.

“You said that you are unsafe. What if the danger comes here and someone tries to hurt you?”

“That won’t happen.”

“What if?” he says, force in his voice now. “Should I not fight?”

He won’t let up on this; I can already tell. I should be more concerned that the one thing he’s standing his ground on is murder, but this is all hypothetical.

I sigh. “Fine. Killing in self-defense or defense of others is okay. But only then.”

“I accept this condition.” He nods. “What other rules do you have?”

“No lies. And no tricks.”

“All right.” His agreement is easy, but his brows are pinched, head tilting at the hard edge in my voice.

If Aris were himself, this is the rule he’d fight me the most on. How else will we pass the time, Mary? Don’t you want to have fun, Mary?

His phantom mocking pierces the moment like a knife. I look at the new Aris, trying to focus on his open expression and simpleness. The duality of his cruel past versus this genuine form jars me. It’s difficult to remember that they’re different, especially when he looks exactly the same.

I take a moment to think, then say, “And we don’t leave the house without telling the other.”

Aris’ brows move in a way that makes me think he might put up another fight, but he just nods. Then, I say quickly, “Also, you can’t use your powers or abilities.”

I’d been hoping that saying it faster would make him confuse the words. Unfortunately, he is sharp.

“What are my powers and abilities? And why shouldn’t I be able to use them?”

“Because… you might hurt me,” I say. He seemed alarmed when Jaegen mentioned that I was unsafe; for whatever reason, he cares about my wellbeing. I don’t know how long that will last, but it controls him well enough for now.

“I see.” His eyes narrow as he digests this, and he nods. “I accept the term. But will you tell me, then, what I am able to do?”

“Lots of things, but mostly, stuff that destroys.”

“Destroys…”

“Let’s move on,” I say quickly, before he gains interest in testing the concept.

Luckily, Aris follows my direction, and we soon have a list of practical rules. By the time we finish, my head is hurting from Aris’ constant barrage of whys and hows, but I feel too nervous to go to sleep. Who’s to say he’ll stick to the rules?

I hardly knew him before, and I know him even less now. I don’t know what to expect.

“You are not responding as quickly as before,” Aris notes. “Why?”

Busted.

“I’m tired.”

“Exhaustion,” he remarks, brows furrowing. Confused is almost his default expression. “I don’t feel that.”

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