Chapter 26

"Here." Juri handed Nix the can of coffee he'd just purchased from the vending machine. He'd brought them to a small snack area situated outside between one of the literary and science buildings. There were a couple of picnic tables, along with a row of machines that offered various snacks and beverages. He'd already pulled his shower shoes out of his bag and given them to Nix as well.

"Thanks." He rolled the can between his palms, collecting his thoughts as Grady's friend quietly took the spot next to him on the bench. "Do you major in art?"

"Yeah," Juri said. "Both Dew and I."

Right, the redhead at the library, Dew had mentioned seeing Nix and Yejun together.

"This is going to sound strange but," he blew out a breath and went for it, "do you happen to know of a student named Branwen?"

He considered it, but shook his head. "I don't think so."

"What about Iris?"

"Yeah, her I know. She was expelled last year though." Juri frowned. "What's this about? Did you hear something else about the Demons?"

"You and Grady are the only two people on campus who've warned me against them," he said. Everyone else either whispered about how jealous they were behind his back, or tried to suck up to him in class. "Aside from Grady, I haven't even been able to make any friends."

They'd come around his desk, clearly wanting something from him, sure, but the second he stopped engaging when asked about the Demons, all of the "friendly" students tended to return to their seats and go back to ignoring him. All this time, Nix had just assumed that was because he was the new guy and it being senior year, everyone had already established their clicks.

It'd made finding the right opportunity to ask about Branwen difficult, but since accessing the Enigma app files was the quickest way to discovering who she'd been chatting with anyway, he hadn't been too bent out of shape about it.

"Then, how do you know Iris?" Juri asked.

"I don't." Nix lifted his multi-slate and pulled up his saved photos, finding one of him and Branwen from a couple of years back at a family event. "This is her, right?"

Juri nodded. "Yeah. Iris Cherith."

"She must have changed her name on campus." But why? She'd kept her last name, so it clearly hadn't been to conceal her identity entirely. He was pretty sure she'd never mentioned anything about the name Iris to him or the rest of the family either. "She's my cousin. Her real name is Branwen."

"Oh." Juri seemed like he wasn't sure what to say for a moment. "Sucks she was kicked out. I didn't know her personally, but she seemed nice."

"Do you happen to know any of her friends?" Nix thought she'd majored in history, so he hadn't even considered checking with art students.

"Honestly?" Juri seemed uncomfortable. "The only person I know she was close with was Yejun. She took the beginners class in art as her elective and that's how the two of them met, but that was the only one she signed up for, so I never had any classes with her myself."

"What about West?" Lake was off-planet at the time, so Nix didn't bother asking about him. "Did she hang out with him too?"

"Not that I know of, but I could be wrong. Like I said, I didn't really know her, just that she was someone who hung around Yejun a lot. Then toward the end of last year, rumors went around that she'd done something to piss him off and was expelled."

According to Yejun and the others, that something was working with the hacker after them. That didn't sound anything like the person Nix knew, but apparently, he didn't know her nearly as well as he'd thought. She'd been going by a different name and he'd never heard anything about that.

"When we spoke on the phone, it always sounded like she was hanging out with friends," Nix divulged. "She said she was having a good time here."

"She probably was," Juri tried to reassure. "For what it's worth, when I said she was close to him, I really mean it. They looked like they were legitimate friends. That's why it was surprising to hear she'd done something that warranted being blacklisted from school. It happened pretty quickly, too. There were only three or four days left of the semester, but as soon as word got around about her expulsion, she was already gone."

He'd foolishly convinced himself for over a week that the Demons had nothing to do with his cousin. Last night, his talk with Lake had only bolstered that idea, and yet now it felt like everything was falling apart and he was left standing on quicksand.

"Did you come here because of her?" Juri's voice dropped low, even though they were the only two currently in the area, and the students walking the path were too far away to listen in on them. "Is that why you've gotten close to them?"

"No!" Nix dropped his head in his hand and groaned, speaking at a more level tone himself when he reiterated, "No, it just sort of happened this way. That's why I'm so confused right now."

"I tried to warn you they're bad news," Juri sighed. "You aren't the first person they've fooled, and you won't be the last. It's sort of the price we all have to pay in order to attend this university. Deal with the revolving door of Demons. Keep our heads down. Pray they don't take notice. Or do, if you're into a quick fling."

"Branwen wouldn't have been," Nix stated. "She wasn't like that."

Juri hummed. "I don't think she and Yejun were in that kind of relationship either. It was actually a little weird to see them together. Usually, he sticks to himself while he works, but she was constantly around him and he never seemed bothered by her presence."

"She told me she was close to someone here, I just never imagined…"

"This group is particularly bad. The story I told you in the library? That's just one account of the things they've done since taking the mantel."

The Demons of Foxglove Grove was a title, but that didn't make every single person who bore the name the same.

"This is the first year in many that there are three of them, and they're all already such prestigious members of the club," Juri added. "They've been bred to control the planet through fear and aggression. Really, it's no wonder they rule campus that way."

"People still seem to like that," Nix replied, only like was a strong word and even he thought it wasn't entirely accurate in this situation. "Well. They want to fuck them, anyway."

"They want to use them to get ahead," Juri agreed. "To be frank, when we first met, I thought that's what you were doing as well, but now…You came here because of your cousin, right? Is she refusing to tell you why she was expelled or something?"

As far as his family was concerned, Branwen never had been. She'd returned the day she was supposed to at the start of the summer break and said nothing about being kicked out. Though, it wasn't too long after her arrival that she'd ended it, so there hadn't been much of a chance for anyone to notice something was up or for her to confess.

"No," Nix hadn't spoken about this with anyone, but he was so drained at this point, he didn't stop himself from saying, "She killed herself."

"What?!"

His reaction proved to Nix that no one had heard anything about her death. Even thinking her name was Iris wouldn't change that fact for Juri, but he truly had no notion she was gone.

People weren't openly discussing her expulsion, but a part of Nix had assumed that was because they didn't want to think about how she'd died. He should have known better than to assume anyone here held respect for the deceased.

"I'm so sorry," Juri told him. "I had no idea. That's…awful."

"She didn't give a reason why," Nix said. "But she was clear someone here hurt her badly enough it drove her to it."

"Someone?" Juri rubbed at his face. "Shit."

"Now you're saying that the only person she hung out with was Yejun, and there's this whole thing about her using a fake name…" Nix swore and popped open the can, chugging half the contents in one gulp. "I don't know what's going on and it's driving me nuts."

"She could have had other friends," Juri corrected. "I just never saw her with anyone. Would you like me to ask around for you? I know a couple of people in the history department. Maybe they'll know something more."

Nix nodded. "Yes, thank you."

"You aren't going to like hearing this," Juri said then, "but I have to say it. Yejun is the one who got her expelled. I don't know why, but if the gossip is true, he was the one who went straight to the dean and demanded she be removed."

And the dean would have to listen to someone like Yejun.

"They aren't good people, Nix. Right now, they might seem like it to you because they want you to think that. You've caught their attention, and they're manipulators raised in the art of business and politics. They know the right way to approach someone, the right things to say to them to get them to let their guard down."

"This sounds like it's coming from experience," Nix pointed out.

"If I tell you a secret, will you promise to keep it to yourself?" Juri nervously glanced toward the pathway.

Nix nodded. "I just told you about my cousin."

"I'm technically a Legacy," he said. "My older brother was a Demon when he came here five years ago. He hated the whole experience and ended up leaving the club instead of moving up in rank after graduation. My parents and I haven't heard from him since he graduated early last year, aside from a text he sent me on my birthday."

"What made it so bad for him?" Nix asked. "Aren't the Demons in charge?"

"Legacies are considered Demons and allowed to live at the Roost," Juri confirmed, "but there's still a hierarchy. In the beginning, it was just my brother, Joel, and Breck Bardin—he's Lake's cousin. The second year was when Lake and the others enrolled as freshmen, though, and that's when things went downhill. He wouldn't ever give me details, but those guys are straight-up monsters. I'm a junior and at first he tried to convince my parents to send me somewhere else. I eventually got him to drop it by agreeing to wave my Legacy rights."

"You can do that?"

"It's practically unheard of, but yeah. I'm probably the only one in all of history who ever has, but I did. And I don't regret it. Seeing the way he was forced to act on campus whenever those guys were around…Watching the toll it was taking on him…Joel was always a kind person, but you can't just bring kindness to the table against bullies like Yejun and West."

Had they done that to Branwen? Worn her down until she was a shell of the person she'd been?

"If they deemed someone unworthy, they'd turn the entire school against that person," Juri said. "If my brother tried refusing to participate, they'd scold him publicly. One time, West even made my brother cry. They have this way of uncovering weakness and exploiting it."

If Yejun's list of events was to be believed, it was Branwen who'd approached him though. She'd been the one who lied about her intentions, spying on him and delivering messages to whoever the hell this hacker accomplice was.

Why would she do that? She was many things, but vigilante wasn't one of them.

What did he really know about her? The deeper he got, the more he realized the answer was… nothing.

"Your brother," he said. "He's no longer around, but do you happen to know where he is?" Was there a chance that the hacker was Joel? Branwen was in the same grade as Yejun and the others, which meant she would have witnessed all of this. Could she have formed a friendship with Joel and cooked up this scheme with him?

It all sounded ridiculous. Like some bad detective tv show.

"He's not on planet," Juri replied. "He got a job on Drax and left almost immediately after graduation. He hasn't been back since. Why? If you're thinking he was friends with your cousin, I doubt the two knew each other."

"What was his major?" Nix shrugged when that earned him another frown. "Humor me."

"Sports therapy. He spent most of his time with the swim team and in the medical sciences buildings."

That explained why Juri had been so upset when talking about Rase. The student Yejun stabbed in the eye must have been friends with his brother.

"What about computers? Programing? He any good?"

"No," Juri shook his head, confusion growing. "I mean, he had an Enigma account, like practically everyone else on campus. But he didn't really do anything with computers. That's never been an interest of his."

So, most likely not the hacker.

If Juri was telling the truth.

And there was no way for Nix to know that with absolute certainty.

"Last question, and I swear I won't be mad if you come clean," Nix held his gaze. "Did you put something in my backpack yesterday?"

"What? No. Like what?"

"Like a dead luk," he left out how it was a fake.

"Good Light! Someone put a dead animal in your bag?!" Juri seemed honestly upset. "Who would do something like that?"

"That's what I want to know."

"And you thought it could be me?"

"It came with a note telling me to stay away from the Demons," he explained.

Juri exhaled. "Okay, I can sort of see how you might suspect me. But I swear I didn't send it. That's gross."

"Can you think of anyone else who might want me to stay away from them that badly?" Nix asked. "Either because they hate them or want them or something?" Had to cover his bases.

"There are a lot of students on campus currently hating on you for seemingly taking all of the Demons' attention," Juri replied. "But I can't think of anyone off the top of my head who'd go to these types of extremes. Most of us are well aware of what Yejun and the others would do to us if we were caught messing with their boyfriend."

Nix winced at the title. Boyfriend. Yeah, right.

"Have you considered…" It was clear that he didn't want to continue, only doing so when Nix motioned for him to, "What if it was actually them?"

"Huh?"

"I told you, using fear tactics to control people isn't out of the norm for them. What if that's what this is? What if one of them put that thing in your bag so they could convince you to stay with them?"

West had been with him when it'd happened but…Nix really didn't like this theory.

"You just came from the Roost, right?" Juri said. "You're wearing a waif sweatshirt and Lake's number is on the back."

Nix hadn't even noticed. Last night he'd been so quick to get dressed, not wanting to be naked in front of Lake for longer than necessary. Not because he was afraid of what the Demon might do to him if given the chance.

Because Nix had been afraid he'd enjoy it too much.

"Did they ask you to stay with them, or was that your suggestion?" Juri questioned.

Nix ran a hand through his hair. It made sense, but at the same time, that wasn't something they'd bother with. Right? To what end? They already had him coming when they called, and they hadn't tried asking him to stay the night normally. Why would they jump to such an extreme?

Just to scare him?

To tighten their control further?

It hadn't worked. All finding that luk had done was give Nix more of a drive. He'd been reminded why he'd truly come here and what his purpose was.

Nix rose to his feet. "I have to go."

"Where?" Juri stood as well but didn't try to stop him.

"Any chance you know where Lake is right now?" He needed to talk to him. Needed to look him in the eye when he asked if Lake had been aware this whole time that Iris and Branwen were the same person.

Needed to know if that moment of understanding between them last night had all been a lie he'd stupidly eaten up like a sucker.

"Um," Juri checked the time, "probably at the stadium. Usually, this is when the waif team practices."

"Thanks"

The stadium was across campus, and he'd seen Lake take his hovercar occasionally while Nix went to and from classes. Since he hadn't brought a car with him, and there was no time to waste, Nix mindlessly raced toward the large domed building in the distance, slipping between students as he went with only one goal in mind.

He had to get to Lake and demand answers. The longer he sat with this, the worse his thoughts became.

What if Lake had known all along and this had merely been some game?

What if they all knew?

Juri seemed like a decent person, not the type to lie, and considering everyone else's reactions whenever the demons were around, it was obvious they were more than capable of doing horrible things. Hell, they'd already done some of those horrible things to Nix. But wouldn't a fake dead animal in his bag be a bit extreme?

It wasn't like they even needed to put in that much effort. All they had to do was order him to come and he did. He'd yet to go against their wishes, no matter how badly he wished he could.

He was playing the part they wanted him to play perfectly.

But was the part also a lie? Was this all a hoax? Maybe there wasn't even a hacker to find. What if Lake had known from the beginning that Nix had hacked the system and the three of them had come up with this scheme as a form of retaliation? Yejun was so upset over Branwen's betrayal Nix could more than see him willingly going along with a plan to screw over her cousin—both literally and figuratively.

Were they just out to humiliate him?

No. Wait. That wouldn't make sense either. If the hacker wasn't real, then Branwen wouldn't have betrayed Yejun for him. So the hacker had to be legitimate, unless there was another reason Yejun was upset with Branwen and the hacker was another fake story…

He hated this. Hated the uncertainty, and what's more, hated how something tightened in his chest at the thought of all of it being a farce.

Nix didn't know these people. A week in their company, in their beds, and what? Suddenly he had attachments to them? Bullshit. This strange sensation was simply because he wasn't sure if he was closer to finding out what happened to Branwen or further. That was all. This was about his cousin.

This could only ever be about that, whether it turned out they were playing him or not.

Still, Nix needed to know. Right now.

His thighs burned and he was slicked in a sheen of sweat by the time he made it to the stadium, bursting through the stable doors since he came to that part of the structure first. There were a few snickers from the waifs currently in their pens, large creatures with scales and reptilian faces, but Nix tried not to look at them, passing down the wide dirt hall, eyes glued to the opposite side.

The stable was set up with closed entrance doors, but opened up to the field. Nix could see the grassy ground and the curve of white wall, bleachers set up in rows behind it. He'd never been big on sports and was even less comfortable around creatures as large as waifs, but he set all of that aside as he made his way through.

He had no idea what his plans were once he made it to the field, but he figured he'd find Lake amongst the other players and call him over. Hopefully it wouldn't make too big of a scene and Lake wouldn't be too pissed off to talk with him openly.

Nix was so caught up in his head that he almost didn't catch the sound of footsteps jogging up behind him. He turned, brow furrowing, and already started stepping off to the side, figuring he must be in the way of one of the players late to the field or something. Only, he managed to catch a flash of a black robe, and before he could fully process what he was seeing, the person wearing it shoved him.

He let out a startled yelp and fell backward, hitting one of the stall doors and tumbling straight inside. His ass hit the straw-covered ground hard enough that he cried out a second time, the shooting pain vibrating up his spine, costing him precious seconds.

The cloaked figure took advantage of this, grabbing the door and slamming it shut. There was the distinct sound of a lock sliding into place and then the person's footsteps as they ran off.

For a moment, Nix sat there with his mouth hanging open, sure that he'd imagined the whole thing. It'd happened so fast and was so absolutely ridiculous he didn't think there was a way it could be real, and yet…His palms got pricked by the ends of straw as he lifted himself back onto his feet and made for the door. The handle didn't budge, and the thick wood shook when he tried to pound his shoulder against it but didn't give.

Sucking in a breath, he spun on his heels, taking in the large stall, grateful at least that it was empty. If there'd been a waif in here, he probably would have been trampled after startling the creature.

"Hello?!" Nix pounded on the door. "Is anyone out there?! Hey! Can anyone hear me?!"

He reached for his multi-slate, cursing when he saw the screen had cracked when he'd fallen. No matter how many times he tapped at it, the device refused to turn on.