“And you would be docile strung up by your ankles," Tobias said smoothly. "One stroke. Now try again.”

“The ancient Greeks told of a philosopher eating bread and lentils for dinner. He was approached by another man, who lived sumptuously by flattering the king. Said the flatterer, "If you would learn to be subservient to the king, you would not have to live on lentils." The philosopher replied, "If you would learn to live on lentils, you would not have to give up your independence in order to be docile and acquiescent to the king.”

“Tris," said tobias. "I love you”

“You would die before your stroke fell!”

“When I was younger, I'd wanted someone to promise me that things would work out and nothing bad would ever happen again. But I understood now that that was a child's wish. No one could promise that. No one. The grown-ups could try, but they couldn't promise, not and mean it.”

“I love you." He frowns."Say it again.""Tobias," I say. "I love you.”