Addict (SetoSolace)

Twelve: "Tainted"

"Seto!" He bites his lip harder. What a terrible habit. "Okay, so- Look, I know you don't like to talk about them, but I know you had people you loved before you got Addicted. Your old friends." I stiffen. "Well, I'm willing to bet they all still live in the City, and if the Dark Mages win this war, the City is done for. Are you going to let them die?"

I furrow my eyebrows. "If they had the option, they wouldn't think twice," I say, and Brice smiles hopefully. "They'd double lock the door and hope I'd be the first to die." His smiles falls abruptly. "They don't care about me."

Brice is quiet for a moment. Then: "What about me?"

"What?"

"I care about you. I would never let you die."

I roll my eyes. "You turned me in to the Light Mages."

"I was worried about you, Seto." He sighs. "And I'm so sorry, and I'm even sorrier about what I said at that Mage base, but, please... Don't I mean anything to you?"

"You're just some annoying kid who barged into my life and decided to make it a Nether of a lot more complicated."

His sudden intake of breath immediately makes me want to take back my words.

"Oh," he says quietly.

A few awkward, silent moments pass.

"I guess I should go help, then," Brice says, sounding small. Oh, Jeb. "I'm definitely not helping anyone in here."

He gives me a weak smile through the bars, and then he turns and walks away.

"W-Wait."

Brice hesitantly peeks back through the window of my cell, and I sigh and cast a powerful Dark spell that breaks through the enchant and sends the cell door creaking open. "I guess it's pretty annoying, hearing the Light Mages constantly complain about their position in the war," I say quietly, refusing to look at Brice's face. "So... I'll help you. But that's the only reason! Just to make things easier on myself."

Brice smiles softly, knowingly, as he nods his head. "Of course. What other reason would there be?" he asks shyly, and I curse myself for suddenly being a terrible actor.

"Just- Shut up, Brice. I'm the Dark Sorcerer."

"Thanks, I had somehow forgotten."

"Stop sounding smart, loser. That's my job, to use pretentious and British-sounding words."

"You aren't British?"

"No."

"Oh my Jeb."

"Did you seriously think I was?"

"Yes! Your accent is so cute."

I raise an eyebrow and make an effort to speak in an American accent. "Oh? I got into the British thing when I was really young, and I just kept it up as I grew older."

Brice laughs. "That's amazing, you're like a whole new person!"

"Thank you?" I ask, raising my eyebrows again and dropping the forced American accent. Ha, whoever heard of an American without an American accent?

Brice squeals, and I shush him since we're still making our way out of the prison area. He clamps his mouth shut but then giggles. "Oh my Jeb, so, when you say, like, 'Summone, or whatever, biscuits,' do you get biscuits or cookies?"

"I don't usually make a habit of randomly summoning cookies."

"Try it!"

I roll my eyes. "Summone biscuits," I chant quietly, and cookies fall from the sky.