Chapter 11

The building was just your everyday average office building. There was a small lobby with an elevator just beyond it. Nix was quiet the whole ride up, noting that Lake had pressed the second highest floor, but not trusting himself to ask about what was at the very top.

Truthfully, he was nervous. Part of him was convinced this was another trap, that the whole boyfriend angle had been a mere ruse to lure him here so that Lake could…He didn't know what, but nothing good. People like the Demons of Foxglove, the type that grew up wanting for nothing, used to always getting their way, wouldn't understand things like boundaries.

Wouldn't understand Nix even if he told them no.

The other night was proof of that, and if he'd been smarter, as smart as Lake assumed, he would have ended this whole thing there and then and gotten out.

But it was too late to get out now.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Lake grabbed Nix's wrist and pulled him out and down the hall. He wasn't gentle about it, practically hauling him into a room at the end.

"What was that for?" Nix demanded as soon as Lake released him. He rubbed at the tender flesh, scowling at Lake's back as the other man headed straight for a large oak desk to the left.

The office was a decent size, nothing too flashy. Much like the rest of the building he'd seen so far, there wasn't anything unusual or spectacular about it. A large window took up most of the wall across from the door, the panes of glass giving him a view of the bustling city. It'd started to rain since they'd entered, droplets pinging lightly around them.

The desk had a built-in holo-strip for the computer monitor and a stack of paper books organized neatly on the side. A single leather couch tucked against the far corner and a wooden shelving unit were the only other pieces of furniture. There was nothing identifying to be found; the place could have been the workspace of literally anyone.

"Is this more your style?" Nix found himself asking, mostly just to fill the quiet while Lake pulled open a desk drawer and rifled through it. He took in the beige walls and the thin forest-green carpet beneath his feet.

"As opposed to?" Lake said.

"The Roost." Their home on campus was all high beams and glass and nature. It'd felt like it had a life of its own. Had felt…He stopped himself from thinking the word special, but it hovered on the outskirts of his mind anyway.

"Both the Roost and this place came as they were," Lake told him, coming back around the desk with a file and a pen in his hands. "They're passed down. The Demons of Foxglove Grove always live in the Roost for all four years of their life at the university, and this office space used to belong to Yejun's older sister. She gifted it to him when he told her about our app project. We were kids at the time and didn't bother changing the décor."

"And now?"

"Now?" Lake humored him by considering, and it was obvious that's all he was doing. Allowing Nix a reprieve, some time to work himself up to things, the same way he had with every one of their sexual encounters through Enigma. "It just doesn't matter now, I guess. We don't spend much time here."

"Was Yejun's sister a King too?" If there were only Seven Kings total… "What happens when they graduate? Or something happens to them?"

Lake tipped his head. "Something? Something like what?"

Nix shrugged like it was no big deal and forced himself to say casually, "I don't know. Like they get into an accident or die. Anything is possible."

He was silent for a moment. "I'm trying to assess if that was meant as a veiled threat, but I don't believe it was."

"It wasn't."

Lake nodded. "No, Yejun's sister wasn't a King because she'd already graduated by the time we created the Enigma app. My cousin was, but he graduated last year, and while club members are all allowed to use the app, only those currently attending Foxglove are allowed to climb the ranks to King level."

"Why?" No, that wasn't the right question. "So, once they graduate, they're removed or dropped down a tier?"

"If they choose to stay on it," he said. "They'll be placed back in Rook."

Which meant the person Nix was looking for might no longer even be in the King tier. Shit. If that was the case, what then? What the hell was he supposed to do if he'd gone through all of this already only to hit another dead end?

"The app was always meant for university students," Lake continued when Nix didn't immediately add anything else. "Since you're about to sign this NDA, I'll let you in on the truth of the matter."

That caught his attention. "What?"

Lake grunted. "You didn't really think we'd gone through all that trouble just to get laid, did you? You sounded like you knew that already."

"I mean…Yeah, until I realized you were only thirteen when you made it."

"Were you a horny kid, Songbird?"

"Don't be disgusting."

"That's my point exactly. We created the app because there was need for it for the club, not for ourselves. Everyone knew we were going to become Demons eventually."

"And people would willingly throw themselves at you once you were." Nix waved at him. "Yeah, yeah. I get it."

"I wouldn't mind, you know?"

Nix frowned. "Mind what?"

"If you brought some of this haughtiness to the bedroom." Lake took a single step closer. " Some , Songbird."

He cleared his throat, trying to ignore how that small mention had his body heating in anticipation. "We were talking about the app."

Lake chuckled at him but didn't push him further. "The app was set up much like the club, with layers. Many of which are smokescreens, meant to hide the true nature or purpose of Enigma as a whole."

"I'm not interested in your club," Nix stated.

"No," he surprisingly agreed. "If you were, we wouldn't be standing here now. Threats to the club are wiped out immediately, no exceptions. But the club and the app aren't one in the same, more like…the app is a stepping stone of sorts."

"Is it a screen or a stone? Pick one."

"You're getting impatient."

"And you're getting redundant." It wasn't impatience that Nix was feeling, but it was much better for Lake to think that than to know the truth.

Hopelessness was starting to settle in, along with a heavy mixture of doubt. He'd foolishly thought this would be simple—join the app, become a King, find out who'd messed with Branwen. Only, now he was learning how wrong he'd been and how complicated all of this was.

He'd come here to find a King, true, but the plan had never been for him to become entangled with one, and since Lake was here spewing all these secrets willingly, it was obvious that's exactly what the Imperial Prince intended for them to become.

Entangled.

But to what end?

And to whose benefit?

" This ," Nix said then, calming himself some since losing it wouldn't get him anywhere, "is a smokescreen. What are you trying to get at, Lake?"

"Most of the students who download the app remain on the first two tiers their entire time using it." Lake opened the file he'd brought over as he spoke, flipping through the pages that were attached to it. "For them, it's a hookup app. A way to blow off some steam and mess around between classes. The Favors are in place to weed people like that out. You don't know since you didn't experience it yourself, but Favors can be anywhere from tame to diabolical."

"Give me an example," Nix hated that his curiosity was piqued, but it was.

"West once ordered a Knight to seduce the headmaster's son and publicly dump him afterward."

Nix made a face. "What? That's so childish."

"Yejun ordered two Bishops who both wanted to rise to Rook to fuck in the middle of the field during our waif home game last year."

"…Did they?"

"Yes. If you know where to look, you can still find the footage online."

"And they just….were allowed to do that?"

"Oh, of course not. The school has a reputation to uphold outside of Enigma. They were both expelled."

Nix stared at him for a moment and then accused, "Yejun knew that's what would happen, didn't he."

"No one held blasters to their heads, Songbird. They made their choice."

"They were pressured into it."

He shrugged. "That's not my problem."

"So," he caught on, "what you're saying is you'll have no problem pressuring me into things too."

"I thought my actions thus far had already proven that to you, but if I was mistaken, allow me to clarify." Lake held up the pen and only then did Nix notice the tip of it wasn't normal. "Yejun may not have forced those Bishops, but I won't hesitate to use force against you if I must."

Nix stared at the end of the pen—which wasn't a pen really, since the tip was a tiny curved blade of sorts. The object itself was opaque, made of blown glass at first glance. It'd be pretty if it didn't look so deadly.

He almost laughed at that thought, because the same could be said about the man holding it.

"Should I prick your finger," Lake asked when Nix made no moves to take the pen from him. "Or will you behave and do it yourself?"

"You want me to cut myself for you?"

"Songbird, I want you to do a lot more than just bleed for me. And you will. But first," he waved the pen, "we get the paperwork out of the way."

"You want me to sign something before you've even fully explained the terms to me?" He shook his head. "Not a chance in hell."

"I can easily make this hell for you, Phoenix. Don't push me."

"My name is Nix," he corrected tersely, still eyeing the pen. "And I'm not signing it to something without reading the fine print first."

Lake sighed as if he were dealing with a small child and not a totally appropriate response to a ridiculous ask. "Students who manage to make it into the top two tiers of the app are considered for membership in Club Essential. Not many make it, mostly because not many bother."

"Since they're asked to do things that can result in their expulsion," Nix stated, "that makes sense."

"Exactly," he agreed crisply. "That's the whole point. The club is already extensive, we don't need new members. The reason for recruitment is simple. It's not out of necessity for numbers, it's necessary to maintain power."

Nix wasn't following, though he hated to admit that.

He didn't have to. Lake saw right through him.

"Club Essential is whispered about in the streets, in broad daylight and the dead of night. In offices and school rooms and even the grocery store. Our identities are hidden, but we're known to all. Our power, our wealth, our," he reached out and flicked a finger at the button of Nix's pants, "proclivities. We do nothing to hide those. Because we want the planet to know who owns them."

"Careful," Nix said, pushing Lake's hand away and retreating a step, "you're starting to sound a little too much like a storybook villain for my liking."

"This isn't a fairytale," Lake reminded, smirking. "This planet belongs to whoever sits on the seat of the emperor and the members of Essential. It's impossible to become emperor outside of the Imperial family. But Essential? People might not know how, but they do know there's a way to become a member of the club. Aspiration and desire. That's what truly keeps the world running. Knowing there's hope to achieve the unobtainable keeps people in line."

"They're less likely to fight against it because there's a one percent chance they could become a part of it?" Nix made a sound of contempt. "As you've already pointed out, I have no interest in the club, so I don't know what purpose there could be in telling me any of this."

"That's simple." Lake tucked the file beneath his arm, and then before Nix could ask what he was doing, his hands shot out. He captured his wrist a second time and stabbed the sharp tip of the pen down into his pointer finger.

Nix cursed and tried to pull away as blood dripped from the wound, but Lake held firm, waiting for the end of the pen to turn completely crimson before allowing him to distance himself. "What the actual hell?!"

He shoved his finger into his mouth and sucked, glaring at Lake. "You're insane if you think I'll sign anything after that!"

"And therein lies the purpose of my rant," Lake informed him coolly. He pulled the file out and turned it so it was facing Nix, then held out the pen. "You now know a secret of the club outsiders aren't allowed to know. So, your options have been simplified. Either you sign this agreement, or," he held his gaze and delivered the threat like he was offering to buy him a cup of coffee, "I stab you in the neck next."

Nix's breath caught in his throat and he froze.

"What's it going to be, Songbird?" Lake motioned to the file. "Your blood on paper or seeping into the carpet?"

He was serious. Even though his expression didn't waver, it was clear that Lake meant every word. It was also blatantly obvious Lake knew what Nix would choose. He'd set a trap after all, only it wasn't to get him to sign any documents.

"You're an asshole," the words slipped past his lips, filling the space between them. "I already agreed to go along with whatever you wanted in the cafeteria, and I willingly followed you all the way here. You aren't doing this because of the contract. You're making a point."

"It's a friendly warning," Lake corrected. "I'll discover the secret you're keeping from us in due time, but until then…I need you. But I don't trust you. Prior to this moment, you were still clinging to this image you'd formed in your head of who Maestro was. I'm Lake, Nix. I'm an Imperial in line for the throne, and I'll do anything, harm anyone, I have to in order to achieve my goals. Fall in line, Songbird, be who I need you to be, and—"

"I won't get hurt?" he sneered, only for Lake to laugh.

"No, no, you'll most certainly get hurt—in the bedroom and outside of the bedroom. Don't let Yejun's charms fool you; he's the most vicious of us."

"Pot calling the kettle black."

"I advise you not to get on his bad side," Lake added as though he hadn't spoken. "Take my advice or don't. For now," he held up the file again, "sign."

Nix hesitated. "Why me? If you could just as easily kill me right now, that means I'm nothing special. Why not ask someone else? More than half the student body would trade their right arm for a chance to be with you."

"You're the one I want."

"You can't mean that." It made even less sense to Nix than everything else about this fucked up situation did.

"Sign, Songbird."

They both knew he was going to. There was no other choice since he wasn't about to die here. With a growl, he snatched the pen out of Lake's hand and messily scrawled his name in thin red ink at the bottom of the page presented to him.

"There," he practically snarled once he was done, "happy?"

Calmly, Lake shut the file. "Place this on the desk."

"You're joking?"

He stared at him unblinkingly.

Nix inhaled slowly and then did as he was told. "All right. I did it. Now tell me exactly what it is I actually committed myself to." He stopped in front of the desk and tossed the file down onto it. "Because—"

He hadn't even heard Lake approaching, but in the next instant, Nix found himself bent over the desk, his cheek sticking to the file he'd just placed there. Lake's chest sealed over his back, his dark voice coming against the curve of his ear.

"You committed yourself to me, Songbird," Lake said, and the hint of excitement in his tone was impossible to miss. "Shall we begin?"

When he felt Lake bump his erection up against his ass, Nix's mind momentarily went blank.