Chapter 13

"Why did you need to come here?" Grady suspiciously stared at Hunters Cross, the main art building on the east side of campus. It was a two-level structure with high ceilings they could see even from out on the pathway. "Are you taking an art elective?"

"No." Nix sighed. Last night, when he'd returned to their dorm, Grady had tried his best not to push about the event at lunch, but he'd only lasted ten or so minutes before making his discomfort known.

The first day was already an indicator of that enough, but he'd reminded Nix about his warning not to get involved with the Demons, and Nix hadn't known how to explain things, so…He'd mostly just mumbled he was figuring it all out and he was sorry Grady had been involved. The thing was, that wasn't even a lie.

Nix was still trying to figure it all out. He'd signed the NDA—or contract, or whatever it'd really been, since he'd never gotten any serious answers—but after the wild sex they'd had in the office, Lake had simply driven them both back to school and dropped Nix off in front of his dorm. They'd barely said two words on the drive over, despite all of the questions swirling in his mind. Mostly, he'd been too high-strung to sort through his thoughts enough to ask any of them.

That, and he'd been scratching at his chest, glowering at the dried come coating his skin and the way his ass still smarted from having the toy shoved into it with no preparation.

Before, rough and vulgar sex hadn't been his forte, but he'd realized that had started to change once he'd met Maestro. That thrill and dash of embarrassment he'd felt whenever the ping of his computer announced it was broadcasting and he was being watched had set something off in him that he hadn't been aware of prior.

This wasn't the time or the place for a sexual awakening, though. He wasn't here for self-discovery. He was here to—

His multi-slate dinged, and he twisted his wrist, wincing when he saw it wasn't a text but a message through the Enigma app.

Incubus: You're late.

Nix had received a message from the same sender in the middle of his last class with Grady, ordering him to Hunters Cross by two pm. The clock at the right corner of his device told him it was now one minute past.

The only person he'd ever interacted with on the app was Lake, but the tiny crown icon above the black circle with the skull in it indicated that whoever Incubus was, they were a King.

Which meant it was either one of the other Demons or one of the other three he'd yet to meet. Nix doubted he'd get so lucky, so…Either Yejun or West it was.

"Don't tell me," Grady said then, as though reading his mind. "You aren't meeting Yejun Sang here, are you? Come on, Nix. How many times do I have to warn you? Those guys are dangerous."

"I know." He really, really did. "But…"

"You don't have a choice." He caught on and swore, then sheepishly glanced at the building, suddenly looking at it as though it would magically morph into a beast and swallow them whole. "Do you…want me to go with you?"

That was really nice, and Nix felt guilty that he'd gotten Grady involved through association. From here on out, he'd try his best to keep his roommate and the Demons as separate as possible. It wasn't fair to Grady to make him uncomfortable, though, admittedly Nix was still a little more than a bit curious why he seemed to dislike and fear them as much as he did.

He'd yet to share that information, and Nix didn't have the right to pry. Maybe he'd never find out.

Sadly, he wasn't here to make friends either so…

"No," he smiled at Grady. "But thank you for offering. I'll be fine."

"I hope so." He lingered another moment before shaking his head and stepping back. "I'll be at the library. Call me if you need anything."

The library was one of the closer buildings, just down the street and to the right. Nix had no idea if he'd intended to head there beforehand, but it was another kindness that he was offering his help.

Why hadn't Branwen met more people like Grady instead of whichever King she'd gotten caught up with? Things would probably have been different for her if she had.

"Thanks," he repeated, waving when his roommate finally turned on his heels and headed away. With a deep inhale, he straightened his spine and wrapped his hand around the strap of his backpack before bounding up the stone steps toward the front door.

Hunters Cross was one of the larger workshop buildings on campus, offering several different art programs and four large studio spaces. There was also a private gallery in the back with a separate entrance leading to the city for when showings were put on. Inside, everything was done in whites and pale grays, a sharp contrast to the décor of the rest of the school, and Nix paused at the foot of a wide stairwell leading up to the second floor.

No sooner had he stopped than his multi-slate dinged again.

Incubus: 27A.

Clearly this King was watching him somehow. Nix glanced around, but none of the other students seemed to be paying him any interest. Were there cameras? He tried to find them on the ceiling but couldn't. Deciding not to waste any more time and potentially piss off whichever Demon was waiting for him, he gave up.

There was a large A with an arrow next to the stairs, so Nix traveled up. At the landing, the second floor branched off in four directions, and it took him another minute to find the right way. He passed over a dozen rooms before he found the right one, his hand hovering over the silver handle of a closed tan wooden door.

Would it be Yejun or West?

Shit.

He was nervous. Was it too much to wish that Lake would be there as well? He'd never been alone with the others before, and frankly, now that the NDA had been signed, he wasn't sure what to expect.

Would West want a repeat of the other night?

Would Yejun?

Had Nix signed over his body completely for them to use at their leisure, was there more to it? Lake had said this was about finding the hacker but…Truthfully, Nix still didn't really understand why he'd need to actually fool around with the three of them in order to accomplish that. Couldn't they fake it?

He'd have to ask.

There was a prick of self-loathing for not having already done so. For not pushing the issue the other day and demanding answers right then and there. For not pushing Lake away or trying harder to resist.

That physical connection between them was familiar though, comforting in a fucked up sort of way. Nix's entire universe seemed to be turned on its axis and he was struggling to understand the depths of what he'd gotten himself into, but when he was being touched by Lake, spoken to in that familiar voice that had talked him through all those Favors, he sickly felt more grounded.

He needed help. Lake was an asshole who was using him, and now that they'd met in person, there weren't any redeeming qualities to him that Nix could find, and yet…

No. He couldn't allow himself to fall into this trap. There needed to be a clear separation in his mind between his actions and his emotions. Somehow, he'd been strongarmed into playing this part for the Demons, but the way he felt about it, the way he ended up feeling about them , was entirely in his control.

His weird thrill toward Lake's sexual advances made sense, but there was no such past or connection to endear West or Yejun to Nix. He'd treat them as a means to an end, keep them at arm's length no matter what.

Mind made up, Nix forced his features to settle and then tugged open the heavy door, slipping into a large, open room painted bright white. It was a rare sunny day out, and sunlight spilled in through the far wall which had one huge window, casting shadows from the easels set about.

Some of them had partially finished works on display, but the room was empty save for one other person.

"Took you long enough, Firebird." Yejun was busy sketching something in charcoal on the other side of the room. There was a small table tucked into the corner with a holo-cube and the device was currently flickering through various photos of the same man posing—someone Nix didn't recognize.

Yejun was sitting on a stool with one leg crossed over the other, a medium-sized sketchpad set over his thigh. He didn't glance up from his work, waiting for Nix to come over on his own.

Not seeing how standing by the door would benefit him, Nix started walking, carefully weaving through the other easels as he did until he was standing a few feet away from the Demon.

"What?" Yejun asked, sketching a few more lines before finally lifting his head. His dark brown eyes found Nix's, his expression calm. The set of his shoulders and body language also gave off the sense he was relaxed, but Nix wasn't sure if he could trust it.

"You wanted to see me?" Nix's voice sounded almost too loud in the room and he shifted on his feet.

Yejun chuckled and then motioned to a nearby stool, positioned a bit ahead of his so that he could keep both the holo-cube and Nix in his line of sight. "Sit down. I'm not going to do anything weird to you."

"It's unclear if our definitions of weird are similar," Nix mumbled, but he took a seat, lowering his backpack to the ground. "Where's the rest of the class?"

"What do you mean?"

Nix waved at the other easels. "Did it end? Why are you the only one here?"

"Oh, those." Yejun returned to his drawing. "Those are all mine."

Huh? His confusion must have shown because Yejun laughed.

"This is my private studio room, Firebird. No one else is allowed in here without my permission." He pointed to the holo- cube. "I had this model in here earlier and took the photos I would need so I could send him away before your arrival."

Nix tensed. "Why?"

"Relax, I said I wasn't going to do anything to you. Damn. Your trust issues seem worse than mine."

"You have trust issues?"

"Got screwed over by a friend recently. Iris. Pretty name for such a poisonous person." Even though he was the one who'd brought it up, Yejun's mood soured instantly. He scowled and ripped the page he'd been working on from his sketch pad, crumpled it up, and tossed it carelessly over his shoulder. A second later, he drew lines on a fresh page, the crease between his brow lingering. "Lying bitch is lucky she's gone."

He felt himself go cold. "Like, she's dead?"

Was it him?

Was Yejun the King—

"What?" He sent him an incredulous look. "No, man. Of course not. She just transferred. Why would you—" Yejun caught himself. "Oh. Right. Sorry. That was tacky of me. You mentioned your cousin recently passed. That's got to suck."

Nix deflated some, confused over the odd mix of emotions in him. On the one hand, if it had been Yejun, he'd have found the culprit. On the other…Having experienced what it was like to be held down by both Lake and West, Nix had concluded that he hoped the King he was after wasn't one of the Demons. Not only because he'd signed that contract already and it was too late to go back and undo it, but also because he had no clue how he'd be able to take one of them down on his own.

Hell, he still didn't really have a plan in that regard anyway, no matter who the King ended up being.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Yejun surprised him with the sincerity in his tone. "I've never lost anyone close to me, but I imagine it's got to be a pretty shitty feeling."

"Yeah," Nix replied. "Kind of feels like I woke up one day and everything was different, but I can't quite put my finger on what's changed, and that drives me crazy." Logically, he knew the missing thing was Branwen, but because she wasn't a daily fixture in his life and hadn't been for some time, it was almost like his subconscious struggled to put two and two together.

Like, the grief and confusion were always there, but he couldn't always process that's what he was feeling when he first woke up in the morning. And then, as soon as it did hit him, the rage came quickly after.

"It's nowhere near the same thing," Yejun said, "but that friend who screwed me over? I sort of feel like that. It's better now, but when it first happened last year I was a nightmare to be around."

Was that why Lake had told him Yejun was vicious? Had he been taking out his emotions on others? Was that why he'd ordered those two Bishops to have public sex, knowing they'd get expelled and never rise in tier?

"What happened?" He probably shouldn't ask, but since Yejun had brought it up…Nix risked it.

For a moment, it appeared as though he wasn't going to answer, but then Yejun resituated the sketchpad on his leg and said, "She tricked me into thinking we were friends when, in reality, she was just like everyone else. She only wanted something from me. The second she got it? She had no problem tossing me to the wind."

"Did you meet on the app?" Nix knew he said his friend—not that they sounded like they'd actually been friends at all—hadn't died, but it couldn't hurt to second-check.

"No," he told him. "We met in class. Figure drawing is my main focus and I was retaking one of the basics last year because they had better models than the advanced classes. I'd pop in now and again and she and I got to talking one of those times. Seemed like we had a lot in common, so I hung around sometimes."

"I heard you were a playboy."

Yejun snorted. "Don't get it twisted, Firebird. She and I weren't fucking. I don't fuck my friends. Too messy. Anyway, I didn't call you here to share my feelings."

"Why did you want me to come?"

"Figured Lake, King of Stoicdom, didn't properly explain things to you yesterday," Yejun said, grinning when Nix quirked a brow at the jab. "What? Come on. He's not here and I won't tell. Stoic should really be that guy's middle name."

"You aren't wrong," Nix agreed.

"I'm typically not." Yejun winked at him.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. He was clearly the biggest flirt of the three, but he'd said he wouldn't do anything, and so far he was keeping his word. If he really had called Nix here to fill in the gaps for him, it was best he take advantage while he could.

"Lake had me sign an NDA or contract or whatever. I get that I'm supposed to help you draw out the hacker by pretending to be involved with you, but I'm still not really clear on the why or the how."

"The hacker we're after tried to use someone else to get to us," Yejun explained. "Luckily, we discovered their plans before they could infiltrate the Kings too deeply, but it put us on edge. We know it's the same person who attempted to get into the club's computers, and thanks to that little act, we've got a better understanding of what they're actually after."

"Which is?"

"Lake. They want to stop him from taking the throne. The person they used before worked their way up the tiers organically. We're not sure if they were on the same team from the beginning or if the hacker recruited them after the fact, but they were working together."

"What could they get from being a King that they couldn't elsewhere?" Nix didn't understand. Lake had told him that the app was really a secret recruitment tool for the club, sure, but… "Were they hoping they could make it into Club Essential?"

"I don't think so. They were collecting data on us, and our guess is the plan was to release it to the public all at once. Irrefutable evidence that we're deviants and Lake is unfit to take the throne."

"Okay," Nix pursed his lips, "but it's not like the planet isn't already aware of the stuff that goes on with Enigma."

"It's one thing to hear about college kids fucking around—literally. It's another to see it and have it flooded all over the news. If Lake's reputation is destroyed to that extent, he'll no longer be considered an essential piece on the board. It's the fact that he's in line for the throne that keeps him safe. If the entire planet demands he step down? Both the Council and the Order will vote him out. If he's not essential to the running of the government, there's no need for him to remain in the club."

"The Kings get up to a lot more than just sex with other students, don't they," Nix said. "You guys dare people to do dangerous things and then laugh when it ruins their lives."

Yejun didn't bother trying to deny it. "Sometimes we can be bullies, sure."

"If you know that's the sort of thing that could ruin your reputation, why risk it?"

"Because we can? Because it's fun?" He rolled his eyes. "Things work a certain way here, everyone knows that. Implicating us implicates the entire school, and very few people would be stupid enough to attempt that sort of thing. That's how you're made to disappear."

Nix tensed. "Have you…Killed people before?"

It was crazy to even consider, to think about them going around straight up murdering others and getting away with it. But it wasn't out of the realm of possibility, and it certainly wouldn't be the first case where Imperials and Royals and those in power committed those types of serious crimes with no repercussions.

"You really didn't come prepared, did you?" Yejun looked at him more closely. "Murder? Murder is easy for an Essential. I doubt the majority of the public would even bat an eye over something as small as that."

What could they be hiding that was worse than killing?!

"We're losing the plot," Yejun stated then. "Let's get back on course, yeah? My point was, right now, the only part of the club's darker proclivities that can be proven involve sex. The bottom level of the Clubhouse is literally a sex club, after all, and so long as you're invited by a member, just about anyone can enter there. So long as everyone just thinks this is about sex, it's no big deal."

"But you just said—"

"Okay," he sighed, "so maybe if there was a legitimate body count, people might be angry. Especially if that count included one or several well-known members of society. Then again, maybe no one would care. This hacker is trying to find dirt on us, any kind of dirt. If they gather enough of it, spin it the right way, release it at the right time, they might be able to make an impact. We aren't willing to risk that possibility."

"So," Nix drawled, "what you're saying is you've done worse than force someone to give you a blowjob, and you know that's wrong and want to cover it up?"

Yejun snorted. "Still bothered over that?"

"Over being force-fed dick? Yeah." He gave him a pointed stare. "You try and see how quickly you can get over it."

"You offering, Firebird?"

Nix faltered as Yejun leaned closer.

"Picture my lips wrapped around your dick already?" His eyes trailed down the length of him suggestively. "I'm not opposed. Maybe once I'm done with this sketch, I could eat."

"Um," Nix cleared his throat. "No, thanks. That's not…No."

Yejun chortled. "Well, damn, Firebird, aren't you adorable. I can see why Lake chose you for this. You've got that whole na?ve, innocent thing going for you. It's a good act."

"Who says it's an act?"

"Don't get mad, it wasn't an insult, but we both know it's got to be an act. A na?ve person doesn't have hacking skills like yours, and they sure as shit wouldn't be bold enough to take on the Demons of Foxglove Grove all in the name of—What did you call it again? Fun, right?"

That was what he'd said. It'd been an excuse, but it seemed like the rest of them had believed it at least.

"Whoever your cousin was to you, she must have had some influence to get you to step this far out of your comfort zone," Yejun added.

"To be fair," Nix said, "this was further than I intended to go."

"That's true," he agreed.

"You all didn't really give me a choice. Especially not Lake."

"You were going to sign the contract no matter what," Yejun nodded. "At least you got something out of it."

Had…Had Lake told them about what they'd done?

"The app boasts anonymity for everyone except us. The whole campus knows we're the Kings. Pretty soon, they'll know you're one too. Under our protection, you can have anything you want. All you have to do is play the part convincingly until Demons Passing."

That was news to him. "Just until then?"

Yejun hummed. "That's our deadline for tracking down the hacker. West should have discreetly slipped your name to some of his boxing buddies by now. The chatty ones who can't keep a secret to save their lives. The whole school should know about you by the time we're done here. You want a job at Star Eye Holding, right?"

"Yeah…Don't tell me that was in my file?"

"West found your university admittance essay," Yejun confessed. "The guy is thorough."

"More like invasive," he grumbled.

"You'll be thanking him by the end of the year. It's not just the students who treat us differently here, it's the staff as well. You want into Star Eye Holding? Being associated with the three of us will guarantee your spot. You're getting to experience something no one else has ever gotten to before," he continued. "It's been a really long time since we've all fucked the same person, and it's never been a public spectacle before."

"What?" He shot off the stool before he could help it, but somehow managed not to make a break for the door. That wouldn't do him any good anyway.

Yejun frowned at him, until he realized why Nix was reacting so strongly. He held up both hands, his left smeared in black charcoal. "Whoa that's not at all what I meant. I'm not saying it won't happen, but typically the three of us aren't big on sharing with anyone outside of our circle. Wow, you really are against exhibitionism, aren't you?"

"We don't need to take it that far anyway." Nix remembered what he'd been planning on bringing up. "Isn't this all an act? The hacker only has to think that I'm involved with the three of you so he'll approach me."

"He doesn't have access to the app any longer since we got rid of his mole," Yejun said, "but that doesn't mean he doesn't have eyes elsewhere. Lake really should have done a better job explaining things to you." He brushed a loose strand of his hair out of the way, smearing charcoal across the rise of his cheek in the process. "It's not just the hacker we're trying to fool here. The club ordered us to find this person, which means we have to show them we're actively doing so."

"How exactly does the three of you dating the same person help sell that?" If anything, he was only more befuddled.

"Because Lake told the Order that you're an ace hacker who we've recruited to help us in the hunt," Yejun explained, "and we're paying you in sex."

"Excuse me?" His mouth dropped open. "Who in their right mind—"

"Club Essential would," Yejun guessed where he was going with that and replied. "The club recognizes more than just coin as currency. Sex? That's premium. You'd be surprised how much gets done on this planet through quickies in the boardroom."

Nix couldn't see how that was possible. Why?

"Think about this logically," Yejun suggested. "Strip away everything you associate with sex and think of it solely as a commodity. One that offers entertainment and a different sort of relief. When you're as wealthy as most of the members of the club, money doesn't hold the same appeal. Coin goes straight into our bank accounts. It's all digital. You can't see it, taste it, hear it moan or scream your name…It's lifeless. Members of the club, especially those at the top, need something to rekindle that spark.

"Sex is usually it. Plus, there's power in sex. Power exchange in knowing you can lord over the fact you pinned someone down, that you've spread their thighs. That you've been inside of them…" Yejun seemed to get distracted by his own thoughts then, staring off into the distance for a moment before he snapped himself out of it and laughed. "The point is, the Order one hundred percent believes you're helping us for the chance to ride our cocks. It all comes back to Star Eye Holding, see? You're fucking us for a chance at a better future. That's how they'll take it."

"And if they find out that's not true?"

He tilted his head, hand pausing with the charcoal over the page. "What part of it isn't?"

"I'm not doing this because I want to have sex with you three."

"Then," he batted his long dark lashes at him and set his chin on a closed fist, "whatever are you doing this for?"

Too late, Nix realized what he'd done. If he'd truly manipulated his way into the app for fun, there wouldn't be any other reason for him to agree to this other than because he wanted to sleep with them. But…It was too obvious that wasn't the case.

Shit.

"Caught you," Yejun grinned, and there was a flash of something in his eyes, there and gone, that had Nix's skin prickling.

"It's not…" What could he say to get out of this? "Maestro."

Well.

Double shit if that was the best he could come up with.

Yejun seemed to consider it though and then, "You fall for him or something? Through a computer? Damn, Firebird."

"I didn't fall for him," Nix backtracked, wringing his hands. "But I did…I don't know. I was really freaked out that first time and he was…Gentle? Kind?"

Yejun made a choking sound that only partially sounded forced. "Gentle and kind? I have never heard those words spoken in association with Lake a day in my life, and I've known the guy since we were in diapers. Are you sure you got the right King?"

"I asked him that myself yesterday." This could work. It was awkward as hell, especially since there wasn't a chance it wouldn't make its way to Lake's ears, but at least Yejun didn't appear to be suspicious of him.

As if to further prove that, Yejun went back to drawing. "No chance. The app is built in such a way that no one else can access your account. Take yours for example. Now that you're a King, if you handed me your multi-slate and I tried, I wouldn't be able to log in. There's a hidden thumbprint and retina scanner."

"There's what?" Nix twisted his wrist and blinked down at his device, though the app wasn't open at the moment and his screen was black.

"Yeah," Yejun continued. "West is a genius, didn't you realize? It's programmed to secretly scan that information and copy and send it to his main server, all without the user knowing. That's why if you try opening the app now without looking at it, it won't work."

"His server?" That caught his attention.

"His shit is all in his room at the Roost," Yejun made a face. "I don't know. Don't ask me any questions about it, I'm not good with tech. That's all his department. And," he motioned to him with the charcoal stick, "yours now, too, I guess."

If West had all the information of every user stored on a computer in his bedroom…

Nix had to find a way to get to it. If he could, he'd be able to search through the accounts and find the King he was looking for.

This was good. Signing this contract. Getting involved with the three of them. This morning, he hadn't been so sure, but now…

Lake had been off planet last year, so it couldn't have been him.

Yejun still wasn't entirely in the clear, but it sounded like he'd been pretty busy with this friend of his. A friend who was still alive, unlike Branwen. He seemed like the open type, so there was a good chance Nix could discover more about him as they went and eventually check him off as a suspect completely.

That left West as the only other King that Nix knew of.

If he could hack into West's computer and discover the identities of the other Kings, he could investigate them and eventually make his way to those who'd graduated last year if need be. That would also solve the problem Lake had presented the other day. If Branwen's King had graduated and was no longer on the active list, West should still have a copy of all the past members.

This was it.

This was the break he'd been looking for.

And all he had to do was sell himself to three Demons.

Yejun was too busy working on his drawing to notice when Nix shivered at that thought.