Chapter 8

Nix wasn't sure what he'd been expecting.

He wasn't na?ve. It wasn't like he'd imagined riding in on some white horse, solving the mystery like a master detective from those children's stories his dad had read to him as a kid and being revered by his family for his efforts. He'd never tricked himself into thinking it would be easy, and he'd never lied to himself about what this was at its core.

He wasn't here for justice.

He was here for vengeance.

Which was why it was so surreal to be sitting in the cafeteria, seated across from Grady, a tray of the same quality food he could have had at his previous school on the table before him. The chatter he picked up on here and there was all the usual as well, the same college bullshit. This person cheated on so and so. This one started dating blah blah. Did Sarfa fail the pop quiz today? What kind of asshole professor gives a pop quiz on the second day of school?

With each passing sentence, Nix felt the weight on his shoulders grow heavier and heavier.

He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting.

Fancy clothing and shiny pins with the university crest on them, yes.

Check.

A separation of the student body based off the usual classism and vapidness.

Check.

To have to get his hands dirty in his search for the truth. Obviously.

Check.

"Did you see West this morning by the fountain?" a girl whispered as she passed behind Nix with her friends. "He got a new tattoo over the summer!"

"Were you able to read what it said?" another excitedly replied. "I was too slow."

"I was too busy looking at Yejun," one of the guys with them laughed as they seated themselves at a nearby table. "Did his shoulders get broader? Is that even possible?"

"I saw him at his mom's exhibit a month ago," the first girl said. "I waved and he waved back!"

Nix felt that weight shift, settling lower until it was a heavy stone in his gut instead. His hand hovered over his tray, the fork clasped so tightly in his hand that his knuckles were starting to cramp and turn white.

He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting.

But being forced onto his knees in front of the university's most famous students hadn't been on the list.

Neither had blowing one of them.

Or the humiliation of it all.

The disgust, aimed at them and himself.

At the way he hadn't been able to get it out of his head ever since. Over forty-nine hours ago, he'd had West Corleone's cock in his mouth. He'd had Yejun's come on his face.

Lake's gaze on his body…

Had he noticed? The other two had been too distracted with themselves, there was a very good chance they hadn't paid Nix proper attention, but Lake…Lake had stared as if his eyes had the ability to peel through the layers of Nix's skin straight to the marrow of his bones.

What were the odds he hadn't caught sight of Nix's dick, hard and dripping between his thighs?

"Hey," Grady's voice cut through Nix's shame and he blinked, lifting his head to his roommate. "Are you okay? You suddenly turned pale." He glanced down at the barely picked at tray of food. "Is this not to your liking? Should we get something else?"

"No," Nix shook his head, grateful when his voice came out steady and strong, the opposite of how he currently felt. He tried a smile, only partially managing to make it believable. "I'm fine, thanks though."

"You sure? You—" Grady's sentence was cut off by a sudden burst of conversation around them. The din grew in excitement and he and Nix both searched the room for the source.

It didn't take long to figure out what had set them off. Nix saw it just before he heard the group that had been talking at the other table exclaim loudly, "It's the Demons!"

Lake led the way, like some horribly cliché teen movie, pausing just within the open doorframe of the cafeteria. His gaze swept over the masses, enigmatic expression firmly in place. The second his eyes locked on Nix, he started forward, the other two close on his heels.

Nix held his breath, certain this was a mistake or another one of the fucked up nightmares he'd had the past couple of nights. The Demons were the main cast, though there usually wasn't an audience and he typically could tell right away it was a dream.

Just to be sure, he dug his nails into his palm beneath the table, wincing at the sharp burst of pain.

Yejun winked at people as they passed while West played around on his multi-slate, following the other two without needing to watch where he was going. Whenever he came even close to walking into something, the nearest student would simply move it out of the way for him.

Lake had kept his word. Nix had checked his status on the app the moment he'd escaped from their house of terror. His account had a shiny little crown icon over the top, and he had access to the King chatrooms.

The problem?

They were wholly uneventful.

It was almost laughable, and Nix had been torn between dealing with the range of emotions he felt over what he'd been forced to do in the Roost, and how all of his efforts might have been in vain. He was no closer to discovering which King Branwen had been talking with. No closer to even knowing if anyone on campus was friends with her.

That group of students had been so eager to discuss what the Demons had been up to over the summer. Why wasn't anyone mentioning the girl who'd killed herself? Had he simply not heard any of the comments yet, or was it as he was starting to fear?

Did no one here…care?

Nix hadn't been as in touch with her as he should have been. The past few years, he'd been so busy with his studies and he'd just assumed it was the same for her. They touched base during major holidays and through the occasional text message, but he wasn't as involved in her life as he'd been when they'd been highschoolers. He was positive that she'd had friends, because she'd mentioned them in passing once or twice, he was absolutely certain of it. But…He couldn't recall if she'd ever given him their names.

Couldn't recall if she'd ever openly dated anyone on campus. Hell, she'd been using this app same as everyone else, and she'd made it to the top. How many of the student body had she been sexually involved with in order to achieve that goal? Yes, the app was anonymous, but only to an extent. Case in point, Nix's final Favor had been in person, sans masks, hadn't it?

Those same unmasked men who were coming up on him now.

Those three Kings.

The only three he'd identified so far.

Could one of them be the person he was after? All three?

Had Nix inadvertently blown the man responsible for his cousin's death?

Lake reached him and passed, dropping down into the seat on his right before Nix could feel any sort of relief or misunderstand his motive. He was no longer looking at him, instead kept his gaze straight ahead while his friends settled in around them.

West made himself comfortable next to Grady, while Yejun took the spot on Nix's left.

"What's up, Firebird?" Yejun plucked a goji berry off of his tray and popped it into his mouth.

"Better question," West propped his elbows on the table and leaned forward, ignoring the way Grady tilted his body to avoid any sort of contact, "what the hell is that?" He pointed to the slab of meat that was still untouched on the tray.

"You want it?" Nix asked boldly, refusing to cower in front of them. He'd already done enough of that in his head. Had given them that power of him for free. He shoved the tray forward with a single finger. "It's fry loaf. Try it."

Instead of rising to the bait, West picked up the fork and stabbed into the meat, bringing a large chunk to his mouth. The second the morsal hit his tongue he coughed and wheezed, leaning to spit it out.

Into Grady's drink cup.

"Sorry," he said to Grady, not sounding apologetic in the least, "sorry. I'll get you a new one." He made no moves to do so. Instead clearing his throat loudly before sending Nix an incredulous look, "How could you eat that?"

"He didn't," Yejun laughed, draping an arm over the back of Nix's chair. "He tricked you into doing it."

West quirked a brow, silently asking Nix if that were true.

"Consider it as the two of you now being even," Lake suggested before Nix could decide which way to play things. He tilted his head wordlessly at Nix when he sent him a stare.

"What are you doing here?" Nix asked once it became apparent none of them were going to willingly offer up that information.

"Eating lunch," Yejun said.

"This is the small cafeteria."

"Ah," West grinned at him, "did your homework on us, did you? Why's that, Nixie? Were you hoping to avoid us?" He clicked his tongue. "Sorry to burst your bubble, boyfriend, but no can do. You're stuck with us for the foreseeable future."

Gasps rose up around them, but Nix was more distracted by the sound of his heart coming to a complete standstill in his chest. "What?"

Had just called him…? No, right? And if so, it was in jest. He was teasing him.

"Are you done?" Nix firmed up his voice and straightened in his seat.

"With?" Lake asked.

"Making fun of me."

"Who's making fun of you?" Yejun moved his arm so it was around Nix's neck instead and pulled him in, bringing his mouth right up to the curve of his ear. "Point them out to me. I'll kill them for you."

"Stop." He shoved him away with a scowl and swiveled toward Lake, dropping his voice to a low hush in the hopes no one else would be able to hear him. "Seriously, why are you doing this? Are you trying to humiliate me in front of the entire school now too, is that it?"

"You say that as though I've ever intended to humiliate you," Lake drawled, and for a moment it actually appeared as though he believed that, then it seemed to occur to him. "Oh. If you're referring to the other night, Songbird, then there's been a misunderstanding."

"There has not been."

"There has. That wasn't meant to humiliate you, Nix."

"No? Then what was it?" He wasn't buying it.

"An initiation."

"You could have chosen any Fav—" Nix was cut off when Yejun slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Everyone in here might already know that we're the Kings," Yejun whispered to him tightly, "but that doesn't mean you're allowed to verbally confirm it. Especially not like this, while throwing a tantrum like a toddler. You wanted it, didn't you? We granted your wish." He let Nix go with a snort. "Is that anyway to thank us?"

Nix glanced around, catching the interested stares. Not a single person in the room wasn't watching with abated breath, hoping to catch some sliver of juicy gossip they could spread around the rest of the campus and possibly the entire damn city.

It wasn't a stretch to assume the Demons were all in the King tier, considering their positions. Could that be the reason some students even bothered trying to achieve that tier in the first place? For the chance to be noticed by one of them? The chance to get closer to a Demon?

Was that why Branwen had done it?

No. No way. Even though they'd grown distance, Nix still knew his cousin. These guys? They weren't her type. Never had been. Never would be—

He sobered instantly.

Because no.

Now they really wouldn't ever be.

No one would.

The dead couldn't have a type.

Lake captured Nix's chin between two fingers, searching his eyes even when Nix glared. "What happened just now?"

"Nothing." He brushed him off.

"That wasn't nothing."

"Oh? You mean in the same way you supposedly weren't trying to humiliate me?"

"Do I really need to explain myself again?" Lake sighed, but at least he dropped the other thing.

Nix so wasn't going to speak to any of them about his cousin, not when they could very well be involved. He needed to believe it was a different King he was after though. Needed to for more than once reason, least of which being he wasn't confident enough in his abilities to think he could go up against people like them.

His family stayed out of politics. The rumor was it had something to do with his great great great grandmother, who was once a member of Club Essential. She disagreed with a decision made once, went up against the wrong person, and their bloodline was almost wiped out.

Or so the story went. There was no way of knowing if that was true or not, but Nix had no interest in getting involved with the club or any form of government anyway. He was no essential member of society, so it wasn't like the club would take him anyway. One had to have something offer, something to contribute to the planet and those running it in order to earn that right.

"Fine, then tell me truthfully, why are you here?" he finally asked, anxious now that his mind had recalled why being around Lake and the others was such a bad idea.

"It's not obvious?" West took one of the berries off the tray and ate it, happier with his choice this time around.

"Enlighten me."

"Sassy," Yejun chuckled. "I like it."

"And we like you." West pointed at Nix, stabbing his finger in the air almost like he was delivering a threat.

In a way, he sort of was.

Nix blinked at him. "Huh?"

He was a decent lover, but he'd never been praised for his blowjob skills, and certainly not to the extent he'd have any grandiose misgivings that he could magically make a man fall for him just by giving one.

"Nix, we should get going." Grady stood with his tray, eyes downcast like they'd been the other day when he'd hit Lake with his umbrella. Despite how much he clearly hated the Demons, it was obvious he was also just as afraid of them as everyone else. "You wanted me to show you around the stadium and I have class in under an hour."

"We'll give him the tour," West said.

Nix opened his mouth to disagree, but Lake's hand dropped over his thigh and squeezed warningly. His protest died on his tongue.

Grady waited a moment anyway, but then sighed and nodded his head once before turning on his heels and walking away.

"I have to get to class," Nix lied as soon as they were alone at the table.

"No you don't," Lake called him on it in a cool tone. "You only have two classes on Tuesday, and you're done with them. Your next one isn't until…" He trailed off and motioned to West who was busy finishing off the fruit.

West typed on his multi-slate and then said, "Three tomorrow afternoon."

"Did you…hack my schedule?" Nix frowned at the three of them. "Why?"

"Ever heard of parrots?" West asked. "They're not native to our planet, but supposedly they're these annoying birds that like to repeat every sentence they hear." His gaze hardened. "I don't like it."

Yejun tapped his fingers against the table between them, chuckling. "Relax, man. One scary Demon is already more than enough, and Lake is already filling that role, right, Firebird?"

Well…He wasn't wrong…

He must have taken his silence as confirmation because he held out both arms as though to say told you so, laughing again when West huffed at him.

"Why were you curious about the stadium?" Lake asked him then, and Nix shook his head.

"I wasn't," he said. "And I don't need a tour."

"You sure?" Yejun pointed to Lake. "Not even if the captain of the waif team is offering you one?"

Nix, admittedly, hadn't known that. "You're the captain of the waif team?"

"He could go pro if he wants to," West replied before Lake had the chance. "That would have been the backup plan."

"Backup plan," Nix played into his hand, even knowing that was what he was doing, "for what?"

"We have a proposition for you, Songbird," Lake told him quietly. "Would you like to hear it?"

He considered his options and asked, "And if I say no, not interested?"

"We pester you until you are," West said.

"Pester me how?" Nix knew he didn't want the answer, but the question came out anyway, his eyes locked with West's gray gaze. It was frightening and a little intense, though nothing near as dire as the one Lake could settle on people. There was a warmth there, a heat that he'd noticed the other night when he'd been sucking—

Nope.

Not going there.

Of course, West caught it though, obviously knowing where his mind had wandered, and the corner of his mouth tipped up. "I think you already have that figured out, Nixie."

"Are you really threatening me with sexual assault? Here? With all of these people present?" Nix demanded.

"Come on," Yejun reached up and started rolling the curve of Nix's ear between two fingers, "You were smart enough to ask that quietly just now, which means you're smart enough to know that even if we were to pick you up, place you on this table, and fuck you right here in front of this whole audience, no one would stop us."

He shuddered.

"What? No witty comeback this time?" Yejun tugged lightly on his ear lobe. "Don't disappoint me already, Firebird."

"Nix," he replied, speaking around the lump now forming in his throat. "My name is Nix."

"Your name is whatever we want it to be," West corrected. "You're whatever we want you to be."

There was no way out of this. They wouldn't let him get up and leave, which meant the least he had to do was hear them out. Maybe then they'd be satisfied enough to let him go. He'd figure out a way to turn down whatever it was they wanted to offer him after. Retreat first in order to fight another day, so to speak.

"Fine. What's the proposition?" He hated the way his voice shook slightly at the end…and the way his balls tightened.

So what if they were sexy? Who fucking cared when they were literal monsters who took advantage of people?

"It's fairly simple," Yejun began.

"Yeah?" Nix didn't believe that for a second. "What is it then?"

"I already told you." West motioned to him and said slowly, as though speaking to a child, "Boy. Friend."

His brow furrowed. "What?"

"You're going to be ours, Songbird," Lake stated, losing his patience finally. "No, actually," he corrected, "you already are."

"Bullshit," Nix breathed out the word even though in his mind he screamed it.

"That's not the one," West said. "Not bull. Shit. It's boy. Friend. Say it with me."

"Hell no." He tried to stand but that hand on his thigh held him down. "Let go."

"Not until you agree," Lake replied.

"I'm not going to date you," he snapped. "Especially not all three of you."

"Whoa, did I hear that right?" the girl from earlier asked her friend, not even remembering to be quiet this time, and Nix inwardly swore.

Lake saw his reaction and gave a partial smirk, the type that would go unnoticed if not for the fact Nix was sitting so close to him. He leaned in until Nix could feel his breath against his jaw and whispered, "This is taking longer than I wanted, and now we have an even more attentive audience. You can agree and we can leave to discuss terms like gentlemen, or I make good on my promise."

It was hard to concentrate with him so near, but Nix somehow managed to catch onto that last part. "Promise?"

"I said I'd bend you over my knee and make you sob," Lake said silkily. "Remember, Songbird?"

He sucked in a breath.

"You do." Lake leaned back. "That's good. This should go fairly quickly from here on, shouldn't it?"

"I…" He was trapped. "You suck."

"That's not the answer I'm looking for. Care to try again, or should I—" Lake wrapped his hand around Nix's elbow and made as though to pull him toward him.

"No," Nix threw up his arms and shook his head, "no. That won't be necessary."

"Change of tune, Nixie?" West asked, popping the last piece of fruit into his mouth, which he chewed excruciatingly slowly on purpose.

Give in and retreat now.

Fight another day.

"Okay," he said tightly. "I'll do it."

"Do what?"

"Whatever it is you actually want me to do." He turned to Lake, wanting to be clear that he in no way believed, even for a second, that this was about wanting to date him. "Whatever that really is, I'll do it."

"Good choice, Songbird," Lake praised.

And then he kissed him.