Chapter 9

"I think you broke him," Yejun teased less than ten minutes later when the four of them stepped out of the cafeteria and into the cool midafternoon air. The sky was unusually bright, with not many clouds dotting the light blue canvas and no signs of rain.

Which felt odd, considering Nix's mood called for it.

His fingers brushed against his lips, slightly bruised from the rough kiss Lake had just imposed on him. He could still hear the gasps and chatter from the other students when it had happened, and a quick glance over his shoulder showed many of them had followed to the glass doors and the windows and were not so subtly staring out at them.

"He's not a fan of public displays of affection," Lake said matter-of-factly, not so much as a whisp of remorse in his tone.

Nix's eyes narrowed and he dropped his hand, fisting it at his side. "You know that, and yet—"

"It's all part of the game, Nixie." West flicked him under the chin and then stepped backward down the stone stairs. "I've got to run."

"Me too." Yejun practically hopped down after him, spinning once he'd made it to the stone path so he was facing Lake and Nix. "You've got this?"

Lake merely waved a hand off to the side, dismissing them. Yejun laughed, but West's jaw tightened and he shook his head before the two of them left. If the reaction affected him at all, Lake didn't show it. Casually, he slipped his hands into the pockets of his black slacks and then tipped his head in the opposite direction, indicating Nix should follow.

"I'm not a dog," Nix stated. "And if you expect me to do something, you're going to have to use your damn words first."

He didn't so much as blink. "You're so obedient when you're Nightingale."

"None of that was real."

Lake's mood darkened. Nix wasn't sure how he picked up on that considering the man's expression never wavered, but he knew the instant the change happened.

And he instantly regretted being the cause.

"Why did you do it?" Nix asked, desperately catching onto the first thing he could think of to change the subject and possibly return Lake to the robot version of himself. It was creepy, sure, but safer. The last time Lake had gotten annoyed with him…

He'd let West choke Nix on his cock.

Nix didn't want or need a repeat.

"We can't talk about it out here," Lake said. He didn't wait for Nix or explain where they were going. He didn't even listen and ask him to follow, trusting instead that he would out of what had to be sheer arrogance.

Arrogance that wasn't misplaced since Nix fell into step behind him like the good little puppy he'd just claimed not to be.

This was all for Branwen though. He could do anything for her, even lower himself like this. Even make out with the head of the Demons in the middle of a crowded cafeteria. Hell, worse, if it came down to it.

Though, he was pretty sure he'd draw the line at what Yejun had suggested. Nix was never going to be comfortable with public sex. Kissing though?

"Is that going to be a regular occurrence if I go through with this?" Nix wanted to be mentally prepared for things like that. "And what was that about dating all three of you? Were you guys serious?"

"You made it sound like you were smart enough to realize there was more to it," Lake drawled, leading them to the nearest parking lot. "West may have hacked into your private file, but that only gives us facts. Where you were born, where you attended school prior to transferring to Foxglove, things like that. He might think differently, but I believe it's impossible to fully know someone just through the use of a computer."

Nix opted not to point out that they'd broken several privacy laws if what he was saying was true. Not only because it would be hypocritical of him—he'd started it by infiltrating the Enigma app, after all—but also because it'd become abundantly clear already that people like the Demons weren't held to the same legal standards as the rest of them.

On the other side of Tulniri where he'd grown up, Nix was so far removed from the political happenings that he hadn't realized things were this extreme. His only life goals had been to graduate top of his class and gain employment. He'd wanted to apply to Trav Developments, the number one gaming company in the Dual galaxy, and that had been his main focus. He'd still like to achieve that goal, but that dream had taken a backseat in lieu of getting answers for Branwen.

"It's easy to lie in person," Lake continued, "but much easier to do through the safety of a computer screen, don't you agree?"

"Sure." That was most likely what had happened to his cousin. Whoever she'd been speaking with through the app had lied and tricked her into trusting them. Then, once she'd been on the hook, they'd done something to shatter that trust.

But what?

And why?

Lake moved faster than Nix could have anticipated even if he hadn't been caught up in his own musing, but one second they were walking, and the next, he had Nix backed up against the side of a silver hovercar. His arm was up by his shoulder, blocking him in, and his green eyes darkened as he stared Nix down as though in anger.

Though…anger for what?

He hadn't done anything…

"This isn't a game," Lake said and Nix bristled.

"West is the one who called it that," he pointed out. "So if you're pissed because of phrasing, take it up with him."

"Have you always been this bold?" He searched his face. "You weren't like this on the app. You were timid there. Sensual almost. Obedient. Is this the real you, Phoenix?"

Nix shoved his arm away, pretending not to know that Lake allowed him to do so. "Regular people aren't computers. They're multifaceted. I can be like this with you now and still have been the same person who was with you in those chatrooms."

"Regular people?" His eyes narrowed. "You're insulting me."

"You think I'm the one who's acting different?" He jabbed a finger at the center of Lake's chest. "Take a look in the mirror. You weren't exactly kind there, but you were nicer than this. More understanding."

"Understanding? Me?"

"Yes, you!" Nix faltered. "Unless…it was someone else using your username?"

"No one else is allowed to access any username but their own. Especially not at the King level. I'd hand you my multi-slate and let you try to open my account to prove it, but we're already behind schedule."

"And whose fault is that?"

"Yours for confusing me."

He pulled back. "How have I confused you?" Why did it suddenly feel like Lake kept stealing his lines?

"Get in the car, Songbird."

The door behind him beeped, and he spun around, watching as Lake rounded the car and yanked open the driver's side door. When he made no move to do the same, the Demon gave him a harsh look.

"Get in the car," he repeated.

Nix weighed his options. They were far enough away from the cafeteria that there was little threat of Lake using an audience against him now, but what would happen if he did refuse and walk away? What then?

He'd been on campus for half a week, had been working on building an account on Enigma for a month, and what did he have to show for it?

Nothing.

Nothing but a fake crown atop a black and white image of him in a mask.

"How many Kings are there?" the question was out before he could second guess himself.

If Lake found it odd, however, he didn't show it. "Seven, including you."

"That's all?"

"The screening process was intense," he cocked his head, "not that you would know."

"I had my reasons."

"Right," Lake said. "You wanted to change your life. That's what I'm offering. Get in the car."

"It's not an offer if you force someone to do what you want."

"It's still an offer," he corrected. "You're the one who gets to decide what happens next, Nix. Do you come willingly, or do you force my hand?"

What happens next...Hadn't he just been thinking that same thing?

Seven Kings, including himself?

That accounted the three Demons and left three unknown on the board.

"Who are the other Kings?"

"That's confidential," Lake replied, "and you haven't signed the NDA yet."

Is that where they were going?

"You'll explain it all, right?" Nix set his hand on the handle but didn't open the car door. "This isn't just some trap to get me alone again?"

"I don't need to trick you to get you alone, Songbird," Lake said confidently. "All I have to do is ask you to come and you will."

He snorted. "That so?"

"Yeah," Lake nodded. "That's exactly how it is. Deny it all you want. We both know you can't keep up the lie forever."

"The lie?"

"That you don't want me." He set his arms over the roof of the car and let loose some of that hidden chaos Nix had only caught glimpses of in the sound of his voice through the speakers of his computer. "You want me just as much as you did when I was a faceless stranger on the other side of your monitor. Maybe even more."

"Cocky?" Nix's voice came out too breathless for either of them to believe he wasn't affected, but he stood his ground anyway.

"I'm attractive. That's a fact."

Nix kept his mouth shut, because what was there to say to that?

"It's also a fact that you're going to be mine, Songbird."

"That so?"

"Yes."

"Why would I—"

"Because," Lake cut him off. "I'm going to give you what you want in return."

Nix felt his chest seize and barely kept his composure. "And what is it that you think I want?"

"You were thriving at your old university," he said. "You didn't come all the way here for our curriculum. You came here for a King."

Was that all he knew? Nix tried to search his eyes to see if there were any hidden meanings behind those green orbs, but he couldn't find anything. In the short time they'd known one another, he'd already learned that Lake only ever showed the face that he wanted you to see, nothing more and nothing less.

Could Nix trust a person like that?

Had Branwen?

"Okay," he admitted, bending the truth since being honest and admitting he'd actually come to hunt one down was out of the question. "So what if I did come for one?"

"I'll do you better," Lake replied. "I'll give you three."

This again. "And all I have to do is pretend to be your boyfriend, that it? Fake date you and your two best friends?"

"What makes you think it'll be fake?"

Nix gave him a bland look. "Come on. I know I'm not ugly, but I'm hardly anything special either. First day of school and the three hottest guys on campus are magically interested in little old me? I don't buy that. This isn't a fairytale."

"It's good that you're aware," Lake said. "Because I'm no prince."

"That's not something I'm in the market for."

"No," he agreed. "You don't seem like the type who often needs saving, no matter how timid you are in the bedroom."

Nix rolled his eyes, but Lake wasn't finished.

"Get in the car," he ordered. "Or I'll come over there and put you in it myself."

"It means that much to you?" Nix couldn't figure him out, and not for a lack of trying. Despite what he'd said about this not being a fairytale, the whole thing felt too surreal to be reality. "You need me to fill this role, whatever it is, that badly?"

"Yeah," Lake confirmed. "And if you're as smart as I think you are, it'll mean that much to you too, once you learn the stakes."

He'd stalled enough. This was only ever going to end one way and they both knew it from the start. The fact that Lake had allowed him to play it out for this long was already telling in and of itself, and Nix tucked that information aside to be picked apart later.

For now…

With one tug, he yanked open the car door.

And got inside.