Page 89 of Broken Obsession

“They aren’t ghosts, according to Zar,” he stated without skipping a beat. “And I was going to say, I never would have guessed you were a cold-blooded killer.” The corner of Eden’s mouth twitched. “Lucifer, let’s both be real for a second, shall we? I chose to get into bed with you even after you broke into my house and murdered a man. Do you really think I got into this thinking you were a sane person? Sane people don’t filet others with the kind of sick precision you executed that night with Zonnie.”

The man sitting across from him was a sharp juxtaposition to the one who’d vomited all over the place that night. Eden had adapted rather quickly and wholeheartedly.

“You’re not exactly normal either, Professor Baldur,” Ares couldn’t help but state.

“Yeah, well,” he shrugged. “I got weird after my family was brutally murdered. I’ve made peace with that.”

“With?”

“The fact that I’m not a good or morally just person.”

Ares hummed. “Sounds boring.”

“A Black Hart would think that.”

“You’re right. None of us has any morals.” He smirked when Eden’s gaze trailed over his shoulder toward Nyoka. “Careful. I may not have been given the sociopath greenlight, but that one definitely has.”

Eden blinked. “He’s a sociopath?”

Ares sipped his drink. “Ryker has anger management issues. Ellery is a psychopath. Illya—”

“Wait, who is Illya?”

“You haven’t met him yet. He’s currently on the planet Vitality with his boyfriend. They’ll be back soon.” They weredeviating from the topic at hand. “Would you like me to continue?”

Eden checked the time and frowned. “Later.” He stood, but paused at the side of the table, his fingers tapping the corner. “My last class ends in three hours. Be home waiting.”

Ares grinned. “Are you trying to play the part of the dominant? Cute. Unfortunately, I’m unwilling to give up the role.”

“Oh, Lucifer.” He slapped a palm onto his shoulder and squeezed, bending down so his words wouldn’t carry when he said. “You really haven’t noticed? I’ve been topping from the bottom this whole time.” With one last pat, he walked off, exiting the café without a second glance.

Leaving Ares to wonder what sort of reality he’d just stepped into.

And why he was enjoying it so much.

Chapter 20:

Eden’s first day had gone smoothly enough, but he’d admittedly been distracted all throughout his final class. Getting to know the students and learn names had helped some, but whenever a pocket of time presented itself where he didn’t have anything that demanded his full attention, he felt his mind wandering back to his conversation with Ares.

Which then made him curious if that’s what the Black Hart experienced on the regular. Was it a mere focusing issue? He doubted that possibility hadn’t already been considered. From the sounds of things, both from his conversations with Ares and the brief ones with Zar, they understood exactly what was wrong.

Even if Eden was struggling to comprehend it.

He’d stopped believing in the supernatural or things he couldn’t see and touch when he entered his teens. The day his family was killed, he’d pulled back from Light and quit attending church, so religion was also a thing of his past. Now, he found himself presented with things like past lives, reading the future, and breaks in the universe.

He supposed there was science in these things as well, which did aid in their believability, but still. How had his life ended up so tangled so quickly? Meeting Ares had sucked him into this cyclone, where everything was a whirlwind, and half the time he couldn’t tell up from down.

Right from wrong.

Real from fake.

Eden recalled feeling that way in the days after the murders. All through the funeral and talks with police, he’d kept thinking how unreal it felt. How it had to be a joke.

How they couldn’t be gone, and this couldn’t be his life.

But he’d clearly been in the denial stage of grief. What about Ares? Was this merely a way to cope with whatever trauma he was carrying? By believing he’d developed some sort of superpower?

The worst part wasn’t even the fact that Eden wasn’t sure what to put his faith in, it was that the larger part of him didn’t care one way or the other. Maybe Ares was crazy, maybe he wasn’t.