Chapter 19 Chase #2
Winded from that conversation, I returned to Sagitta’s quarters and found him fast asleep. I crawled beneath the covers, careful not to wake him. He still didn’t budge. I wondered if Hartford’s medicine had knocked him out. In any case, I was just glad that he was getting the rest he needed.
I tried dozing off next to him, but I was too wired from talking to Cygnet. Instead I cuddled closer to Sagitta and soaked up his warmth and softness. I could’ve melted into that bed with him forever, but I didn’t know what the future held for us.
Wasn’t this just a job for him? Would he lose interest in me once Faust was gone?
I bit my lip. I’d promised Sagitta that our relationship didn’t need a label and it could be whatever he was comfortable with, but now I wasn’t so sure.
I wanted more.
I wanted him to be mine.
Faust chuckled darkly in my mind.
“What?” I hissed softly.
I winced when I noticed I’d spoken out loud. But Sagitta didn’t budge. His steady breathing told me he was fully knocked out. I doubted my whispers would reach him.
“It took you this long to realize that?” Faust teased.
My face flushed. “Why do you care?”
“Excuse me for having a vested interest in my host’s happiness.”
“Again. Why do you care?” I whispered.
Faust groaned. “It’s like talking to brick walls with you people. So defensive! Relax a little, my human friend.”
I almost snarked back that we weren’t friends, but that wasn’t entirely true. We weren’t not friends.
“Aww, that warms my corroded little heart,” Faust cooed.
I rolled my eyes hard enough that I hoped he felt it rattle my skull.
But then I remembered what Faust said to Sagitta when he’d taken control of my body.
He’d shoved my consciousness aside, so I’d watched from the sidelines.
It was strange, watching from my own eyes and hearing from my own ears, and yet feeling like an audience member in my body.
The memory was fuzzy but coherent, like a dream I’d just woken up from. Faust said he liked me and Sagitta—and I felt like he was telling the truth.
“Getting warmer,” Faust said.
My eyes widened.
In a whisper that was barely voiced, I asked, “Are you trying to get us... together?”
Faust squealed with unbridled joy. “Ah, finally!”
My mouth hung open.
I extricated myself from Sagitta, hauled myself out of the bed, and stepped into the open air.
“Your goal,” I said, each word deliberate and impossible to misconstrue, “is to get me and Sagitta together.”
“That is correct.”
“As in, dating.”
“Uh huh.”
“As in, romantically involved.”
“Yes.”
“Why?” I blurted. “Why do you care? You’re an all-powerful demon! What does it matter to you if two dudes fall in love?”
Faust was quiet for a moment before he replied without an ounce of irony. “Because I like it.”
I blinked, stupefied.
That was that. He liked it, so he willed it to happen. Apparently, it was that simple.
I called bullshit.
“You seriously expect me to believe that?” I asked, throwing my hands in the air as I paced the polished halls. “You have no ulterior motive at all? You weren’t forced by some higher-up to do this? It’s not some kind of weird blackmail, or bribe, or something?”
“If it was, would it change anything?”
I stopped pacing. The way he said it was odd, like he was holding something back.
Then his actual question sunk in. The pieces clicked together in slow motion, and as I realized Faust’s grand plan, my chest tightened.
“You’re going to keep possessing me until I fall in love with Sagitta, aren’t you?” I whispered.
His reply was aggravatingly playful. “Maybe.”
“But we had sex!” I hissed through my teeth.
“Sex isn’t love, dear. I can assure you of that.”
I grunted, exasperated beyond belief. Why did I have to be the guy possessed by a weird demon? What did I ever do to deserve this?
Frustration gnawed at me. I couldn’t even remember what my life was like before I had a voice in my head. Once this was over, I’d never take private thoughts for granted again.
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic. You’re halfway there already. You just need a little... push.”
“Be quiet—wait, what did you say?”
“Hmph. He tells me to shut up, then asks me to speak.”
I took a deep breath before I lost my cool. Faust said I was ‘halfway there’. I shouldn’t have been surprised. That asshole had full access to all my thoughts and emotions. He already knew about my crush.
Faust went quiet, but I knew he was still there, clinging like a burr and orchestrating some weird plot. He wasn’t telling me the full truth. But it didn’t matter. He wouldn’t go away until I fell in love with Sagitta.
What if Sagitta didn’t love me back? Was I doomed to harbor a demon forever?
“Ooh, good question, Chase. Maybe we’ll find out together.”
God, I missed having my brain all to myself.
I scrunched my brow and buried my face into Sagitta’s back. His scent filled my nose, making me shiver.
How did I feel about him? Did I love him?
The question made my face heat up. It seemed illicit to think about that, but at the same time, I felt like the answer was right on the tip of my tongue...
I closed my eyes and dozed off.