Chapter 15

It took a few more days before Nix was able to shake off his Demon escorts and head to classes on his own. His neck was pretty much healed thanks to the synthetic skin—and later the sun cream that West had applied nightly—and there’d yet to be another attack or weird fake dead animal in his bag.

The text messages had kept coming though, but he’d kept his mouth shut about those, opting to stick with his plan to speak with Grady first. There was no point in dragging the guy into danger until Nix was one hundred percent certain his roommate didn’t have good intentions. He was convinced Grady was merely looking out for him and going about it in all the wrong ways.

When Nix stepped into his dorm room, he wasn’t even sure if he’d find his roommate there, a bit relieved he wouldn’t have to go searching campus for him when he was. He smiled weakly when Grady glanced up from his halo screen and then grimaced when he immediately turned away.

“Hey,” he greeted and closed the door at his back, standing there awkwardly.

“What? Get kicked out of the Roost already?” Grady asked in a clipped tone, typing at his keyboard with more force than necessary so that the incessant click-click of the keys felt like punches to Nix’s gut.

“Sorry, all of that happened so fast, I didn’t get a chance to tell you I was moving out in person.” This was going to be more difficult than Nix had assumed. “Can we talk for a minute? I get you hate the Demons, but—”

“I despise them,” Grady corrected with a sneer, shoving himself away from his desk in a heated move that had Nix bracing.

“Is that why you did that to me?”

Grady swore, a flash of guilt entering his eyes before the anger returned. “Yeah, fine. That’s why I did it. I just wanted to try and scare you away from them before it was too late and you got hurt. Which,” he motioned toward Nix’s neck, “you did.”

“Thanks to the stunt you pulled,” Nix shot back, even though that wasn’t entirely fair.

“What are you talking about?”

“If you hadn’t pushed me—”

“Whoa, hold up.” He frowned, some of the animosity draining away in a blink. “What do you mean? I never pushed you. I would never resort to physical violence, especially when violent people are who I was trying to get you to stay away from.”

“But the stables—”

“The stables at the stadium?” Grady took a step closer, seeming concerned. “Did something happen to you there? Is that,” he waved a finger at his own throat, “where that happened?”

Yes and no.

But that wasn’t important at the moment.

“I saw the shoes,” Nix said. “They were the same ones caught on the security footage.”

“Shoes?” Grady frowned.

“They were under your bed the last time.”

He stood and dropped down onto his knees, spotting what Nix was talking about. Grabbing them, he pulled them out and held them up. “These?”

“Yeah.”

“These were part of a club uniform last year,” Grady explained. “You can still find photos on the school website if you want to double-check. I’m not lying. Everyone in the intramural sports club was given a pair.”

Nix pursed his lips. He hadn’t noticed anyone else on campus wearing them so far, but then again, he also hadn’t started looking until recently.

“This year there’s a new design,” Grady continued. “Most people didn’t bother bringing the old ones, but I’m pretty partial to these, so I wear them whenever I work out. I’m not the only one. A ton of the guys use them for the same reason.”

Nix didn’t really spend any time at all at the gyms…

“How many people are there in the club?” he asked.

Grady grimaced. “Over fifty.”

And even if Nix went down the list, that wouldn’t help with students who’d graduated already. It wouldn’t be an issue if he was certain this was just a prank gone wrong by one of the Demons’ jealous fans, but there was a real chance it was the hacker—even if the guys wanted to rule that out.

“Wait, what were you admitting to if not that?” Nix asked.

“I put the fake rodent in your bag.”

That…made sense. Grady had friends in the art department, so it probably hadn’t been very hard for him to get his hands on. However, that didn’t explain everything else.

“What about these?” Nix pulled the chat log up on his multi-slate from the unknown number and turned so Grady could see the screen as he scrolled through them. There were only five in total, but that was still five too many, in his opinion.

“Those aren’t from me,” he promised. “My one and only offense was putting that thing in your bag. I thought maybe if you felt pressure from one of the Demons’ fans, you’d back off.”

“That was a dumb plan.”

“I know, I was wasted at the time, thank you very much. But that’s also why I haven’t done anything since. I definitely wouldn’t go through all the trouble of creating a fake number just to text you some creepy messages. As soon as I heard you’d been marked, I backed off. I sort of hoped it was consensual at the very least…” He stared at Nix. “It wasn’t, was it.”

“No.” He shut his device off and sighed, uncomfortable with this turn in the conversation.

“What are you going to do now?”

“About?”

“All of it?” Grady went to his bed and dropped down onto the springy mattress. “Man, look, I’m sorry about the prank, okay? We just got on really well, and I was hoping we could stay friends for the rest of the year. I didn’t want to see you get mixed up with the wrong crowd.”

“Thanks, grandpa,” he said, voice rife with sarcasm that had Grady snorting and laughing, some of the tension between them easing.

“You believe me, right?”

“Yeah.” They didn’t know each other that well, but Nix had found it strange that someone like Grady would take things that far to begin with. “Only, that means there’s someone else out there messing with me, and I have no clue who that could be.”

Was it the hacker? They’d ruled him out because it didn’t really make sense, but there were no guarantees with any of this. Nix could be making all the wrong calls and trusting all the wrong people, and he wouldn’t know until the end. Since that was how it was going to be no matter what, however, he was just going to keep moving forward and trust his gut. It was pretty much the only thing he could do.

“Have you been listening to the gossip?” Grady asked. “It’s gotten worse ever since people saw you’ve got a claiming mark. Everyone is trying to guess whose it is, though Lake is pretty high on the list.”

“I have ears, unfortunately.” The talk hadn’t died down over the course of the week either. It hadn’t necessarily gotten worse, but still. “I can’t wait for the next big thing to happen so the attention will leave me.”

“Good luck,” he snorted. “The Demons have been surrounding you like birds of prey. People are wondering if it’s out of protectiveness or possessiveness. One asshole is even running a bet.”

“On what?”

“Whether or not you’re going to try to make a break for it.”

“Where’d you put your money?”

Grady shook his head. “I don’t bet on the misfortunes of others. Tacky. Whether you like it or not, Nix, you’ve sold your soul to the devil, and there are tons of people who’d kill for what you have right now.”

“What’s that?”

“The Demons. All three of them. My guess, whoever is messing with you is a follower of theirs. Someone who thinks they’re above everyone else and hates you for proving them wrong.”

Nix quirked a brow. “You make it sound like I’m something special.”

“You are,” he said. “Look, I may hate them, but that doesn’t mean I can’t acknowledge the Demons aren’t the most influential people on the entire planet. So long as you don’t piss them off, your future is now set for life. The price is steep, and I wouldn’t be willing to pay it, but plenty of people would say otherwise. You included, apparently.”

“Why do you hate them so much?”

“I told you,” Grady replied. “They’ve hurt someone I care about.”

Nix had already asked Grady if he’d ever heard of Branwen before and his roommate had said no at the time but… “Iris Cherith. Were you friends with her?”

“The girl who always hung around Yejun?” He shook his head. “No, why?”

It didn’t look like he was lying…Nix ran a hand through his hair in frustration. All this guesswork was going to drive him mad before the hacker—or whoever the fuck was out to get him—got the chance to.

“Do you think it could be her?” Grady snapped his fingers. “She’s no longer a student here, but I wouldn’t put it past her. She was obsessed with them last year. There’s no way she’d be happy about you taking the limelight.”

Them?

“I thought she was only close with Yejun?” Lake hadn’t even been on planet. “Did she and West know each other as well?”

“Oh, no I don’t mean like that. She was friends with Yejun. She just followed West around sometimes. Looked like she was stalking him. That girl had something off about her, but it still seemed sudden when she was expelled.”

Branwen had been stalking West?

Did West know?

Wait, but West thought she was named Iris, and no one had mentioned anything about stalking to him. All Nix knew was she’d tried to knock Yejun out with sleeping pills, and had potentially done so in the past. That, and she’d hidden some sort of device on a couple of Yejun’s paintings to sneak them into the Club House.

“You said there was something off about her,” Nix said. “Like what?”

“She was a loner until Yejun and her became close,” Grady began, glancing up at the ceiling as he thought. “No, wait, that’s not true. She wasn’t always. The first two years, she was actually pretty sociable. She attended all of the freshmen events, for example. I think she had a small group of friends she hung around with. But those two students ended up transferring at the end of sophomore year.”

Nix vaguely recalled Branwen mentioning something about how the university wasn’t going to be the same that summer. She’d told him that a couple of her closer friends had decided to go elsewhere, but had given the impression that there were still plenty of other people she still had.

“After that she was pretty quiet,” Grady continued. “She was always on her phone whenever I saw her. Figured she was still talking to those same friends, just over the multi-slate now.”

What if she hadn’t been though? What if she’d been chatting with this King, aka, the hacker?

Nix was convinced they were one and the same.

“She became kind of rude after that. She’d walk into people and would leave without apologizing, wouldn’t do her half of the work for group projects…Or, at least that’s what I heard. You know how much the student body here likes to gossip. Last year, Iris was the person they whispered about. This year, you’re the lucky winner. Although, she never got far enough with either Yejun or West to be called their lover.”

“It wasn’t like that between her and Yejun.”

“Maybe she wanted it to be?” Grady shrugged. “Anyway, she makes a good suspect. I’d start there.”

“I’d just be wasting my time.”

“What do you mean?”

He held his roommate’s gaze steadily. “She’s dead.”

“What the fuck? How? When?”

Nix wasn’t here to talk about his cousin, so he waved the questions off and asked, “Can you think of anyone else who it might be?”

“I’ll ask around for you,” Grady offered.

“Discreetly.”

“Duh, I don’t want to get on the Demons’ radar.”

“So…” Nix shifted on his feet. “We’re still friends, right?”

Grady grunted. “I hate that you’re dating the Demons, but yeah. I’m not the type to abandon someone, especially not when they’ve gotten themselves mixed up with trouble.” He sobered some. “Now that you’ve got a claim mark…”

“I know.” Nix was coming to terms with that on his own time, and it wasn’t something he was ready to discuss with someone outside of him and the Demons. They were going to have to figure out how this thing between them all was going to work long term, that was a given. The choice had been made for him, and he could either waste time bemoaning that fact or accept it and make the most of his situation. “Let me know if you find anything.”

His multi-slate dinged.

“That another message from the unknown number?” Grady asked, but Nix shook his head.

“It’s Juri. He’s outside.”

“Why?”

“Says he wants to talk to me.” Nix played it off like it was no big deal, though inside his stomach was tightening into knots. Even though Juri had been the one to volunteer to become the sacrifice, that didn’t make Nix feel less guilty. A selfish part of him even hoped the guy had ulterior motives just so he didn’t have to take all the blame.

“He’s been acting strange all week. You know anything about that?”

Nix wasn’t sure how much to say, so he ended up shrugging instead. “I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah, but not when you’re with one of them.”

One day he was going to have to find out more from Grady about this person they’d hurt and how. Since it wasn’t Branwen, it didn’t feel right to pry when it was obvious his roommate wasn’t in the mood to share.

Nix made his way out of the building, finding Juri already there, standing beneath one of the tall wecfred tree. Bright red leaves with sparkling gold edges twirled down, caught by the breeze, and the scene might have been pretty if not for the deep frow marring Juri’s brow.

“Nix.” He moved toward him as soon as he spotted him, pulling him under the shade of the tree as though that might some how give them cover from wandering eyes.

It wouldn’t, but it was a valiant effort.

“How are you?” Juri gave him a look so filled with pity that Nix had to glance away. “I’m sorry if I made things worse for you. I thought I could convince them. I just wanted to help. I never imagined they’d make you—”

“I enjoyed it,” Nix reminded. “You were there. You know I did.”

Juri let go of his arm, frown in place.

“Why’d you do that anyway?” Grady wasn’t the only one who had to be keeping a secret.

“I couldn’t forgive myself if I just stood by and watched them ruin another good person.”

“Your brother?”

“No.” He ran a hand through his hair. “A friend. An old friend. Cyprian used to be one of us,” his voice turned dark. “Until he wasn’t. That’s the type of people they are, Nix. They’re loyal, but only to each other. It doesn’t matter who you are outside of their bubble—the Club, the Order, hell, even the Emperor, they don’t care.”

“Is this the same person that Grady knew?” Was this why he hated the Demons so much as well?

“Grady didn’t grow up in Essential, but he and I became close in high school. Cyprian and I both really liked hanging out with him, and the two of them grew close. He took it hard when he disappeared.”

“Disappeared?” Nix sucked in a sharp breath, but Juri immediately reassured him.

“No, no, he’s not dead or anything. He just…left. He’s no longer on planet and no one can find him.” He held his gaze. “They’ll turn on you too, eventually.”

“Maybe.”

“How can you sound so calm?”

“I haven’t been calm in months,” he corrected. “But panicking isn’t going to get me anywhere. The only chance I have of surviving is finding ways to keep my head above water. That’s it.”

“I could help you run—”

“No, thanks.”

Juri gave him a perplexed look.

“I don’t need you to understand,” Nix said. “I appreciate that you’re trying to help though. That means a lot. We’ve only spoken a handful of times in the past.”

“You seemed scared last week,” he shrugged. “Most people are when they encounter one of the Demons, let alone all three. I didn’t want to be cowardly. Talking about them behind their backs with my friends is fine and all, but if I’m unwilling to do something when I see it happen? How does that make me any better than they are?”

Juri hadn’t wanted to be a Demon after his older brother’s terrible experience, but Nix hadn’t known about the rest of it.

“How were they able to strip you of your Club membership?” he asked. “Aren’t they technically not ranked high enough yet to have that sort of control?” Wasn’t that what this whole ceremony was meant to be for? And why they were jumping through hoops trying to beat this test by finding the threat to Essential?

“Technically, they didn’t,” Juri stated. “I left on my own.”

“You can do that?” He thought of West’s explanation of the sacrifice and what being a member of the club would have meant for Nix personally. How the claiming bite had changed things for him, potentially for the worse.

If Nix would have had the choice to leave Essential, to turn away from it after being let in, then West was right in more ways than one.

He could have left.

Now he wasn’t going anywhere.

At least, not anywhere Lake didn’t take him.

“Fuck, this so messed up.” He rubbed at his temples.

“What?” Juri frowned.

“My life.”

“Are you…” He couldn’t seem to decide whether or not to continue, shifting awkwardly on his feet before finally blurting, “Are you confused?”

Nix rested back against the thick trunk of the tree.

“It’s just, you’re right, I was there and I can’t deny you clearly…enjoyed it,” Juri continued when he didn’t reply. “But sex is one thing. Liking them enough to want to be with them is another.”

“You’re forgetting this.” He tugged on his collar, exposing the bite mark that was already mostly scar tissue and mild irritation.

“I grew up in this world,” Juri took a step closer, growing serious. “I know a few—”

“Remember how I asked you if you put anything weird in my bag?” Nix interrupted.

“Yeah…?”

“It was Grady. Grady wanted to help me the only way he could think of, so he tried to rattle me enough I’d make a break for it. You know what happened after that?”

Juri silently shook his head, but it was clear he knew where Nix was going with this.

“Lake forced me to move to the Roost.”

“Nix…”

He straightened. “I appreciate your help,” he repeated. “And if you meant it, and you really don’t mind, I would kind of like having a friend in the club I can rely on. But I understand if you don’t want to put yourself out there like that, especially once I tell you this next part.”

“What’s the next part?”

“Don’t bring up running to me ever again. If they find out you have, you’ll just get me in more trouble than I’m already in. They’ll tighten the restraints and I’m already struggling here as it is.”

Juri definitely wanted to argue, but he must have seen the conviction on Nix’s face because he ended up nodding and giving in. “All right. I promise.”

“Thanks.” Nix glanced toward the dorm building. “Are you going to see Grady?”

“Yeah, he’s got some notes I need. But—”

“Just think about it some more,” Nix suggested. “In the same way you don’t want to be a coward by turning the other cheek, I don’t want to foist my problems off onto someone else. Especially when we both know it won’t do much good in the end. I’ll become a member of the club one way or the other because that’s what Lake wants.”

“Of course it’ll help,” Juri corrected. “You said so yourself. It’ll be comforting to know you’ve got someone outside of them you can talk to.” He rested a hand on his shoulder. “I know this sounds ridiculous since we aren’t that close, but you can trust me, Nix.”

He wanted to, mostly because it would be a relief to have some kind of connection to help him figure out his twisting feelings. “I’ll try.”

“Okay.” Juri dropped his hand and gave him a soft smile. “Friends then?”

Nix nodded.

Juri’s multi-slate dinged and he glanced at it. “That’s Grady. He’s always been impatient.”

“Go ahead,” he motioned to the dorm, “I’ll catch you later.”

“Yeah, later!” Juri ran off, and Nix watched him for a moment feeling a little bit lighter than he had this morning. Talking to the two of them, Juri and Grady, and getting some clarity had been a big help.

After the other guy disappeared inside the building, Nix turned, intent on heading back to the Roost since he didn’t have any other classes.

His breath caught in his throat the second his eyes met Yejun’s from less than twenty feet away.