Page 13 of Villain

He came down slowly, his ears picking up on the sounds of the shower still going, and the soft snick of a zipper going back up. It was the latter that finally had him forcing himself to refocus, pushing off the wall only to wobble on his feet for a moment.

“Careful, Songbird,” Maestro drawled, and when Nix lifted his head he sucked in a breath when he saw he’d somehow managed to shoot come all over his computer screen. “Wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself before we have our chance.”

“Chance?” he repeated dumbly.

“Bring the mask with you to Foxglove,” he gave one last order and then signed off.

Leaving Nix shaking in the chilling shower spray with a mess to clean up and a cloud of uncertainty hanging over his head.

Chapter 4:

Foxglove Grove University was a grand school tucked on the outskirts of the capital city, directly beneath the massive rise of Munin Mountain. Technically, this wasn’t Nix’s first time visiting the campus, though he’d opted not to enroll the summer he’d attended the tour with his cousin.

He walked the familiar path that led through the heart of the main area now, his feet clicking lightly on polished black and gray cobblestone, eyes tracking his surroundings as he tried to place it all in his memory. Things hadn’t changed, but since he’d already known the school wasn’t for him, his mind had wandered early on in the tour.

Branwen hadn’t felt the same. The entire flight back home, she’d gone on and on about how fantastic the school was. How it was like a tiny town all on its own. A world separated from the rest.

She hadn’t been wrong.

On either side of him, buildings with large glass windows and iron embellishments towered, many allowing a view into classrooms and study areas. Students milled within, the golden lighting from the lamps illuminating them as they went about their business. The sky above was dark and gray, a light rain pattering down, bringing with it a chill cold enough to have Nix caving his shoulders inward.

The man at his side chatted on happily, seemingly unaffected by the weather as he led Nix through the main areas.

“This is the medicines library,” Grady, Nix’s new roommate and self-proclaimed tour guide, tossed out an arm to the left, practically whacking into Nix in the process. “What did you say your major was again?”

“Computer science.” Most of Nix’s credits had fortunately transferred over. There were a couple of general education classes that hadn’t made the cut, but so long as his core classes counted, he wouldn’t lose time, at least.

“Right,” Grady snapped his fingers and carried them on their way. “You won’t be needing that library then. Best just to avoid it altogether. Some of the med students are dicks. High stress majors will do that to people. Speaking of, computer science is rather competitive at the moment. Why would you choose to transfer universities in your final year? Seems like social suicide.”

Nix flinched but his new roomie didn’t notice.

“Have you thought about joining any clubs?” Grady asked next.

Nix slipped his hands into the front pockets of his jacket and debated whether or not to show the app on his multi-slate. It may be too soon. At the end of the day, Enigma was a hookup app to the majority of the students, and while sex was a fairly open topic on their planet, the university also boasted a mixed student body. There were many who came from other planets, and even galaxies, to attend Foxglove Grove. Some of them would no doubt arrive from cultures and societies where talk of pleasure and sexual acts were taboo. He couldn’t announce to Grady he was into that sort of thing within an hour of their very first meeting.

He’d have to wait, find the right time or look for some sort of in. From the research he’d done, Nix had discovered that at least a third of the student population had an account on Enigma, but that didn’t mean they were all active or that Grady was one of them.

If Grady found the whole hookup culture dumb or distasteful, Nix would be shooting himself in the foot right out the gate. Ideally, he’d like to do this without involving anyone else, but logically, he understood there was no guarantee. If he needed Grady’s help for some reason in the future, it was best not to burn that bridge beforehand.

Besides, it wasn’t like Nix was an expert on sex apps. Before now, he’d never even used a dating app, let alone one meant specifically for purely sexual encounters.

His mind wandered to last week. He hadn’t heard from Maestro since. It was a bit of a bummer since he’d been hopeful he could make it to the final tier before his arrival to school. Even after that odd conversation with the other man, Nix had still thought there was a chance it was all part of the game.

He’d been wrong though, hadn’t he? His gaze wandered around the area, taking in all of the students milling about even though it was the first day.

Who was Maestro?

Was he one of them? Was he watching even now?

Nix almost laughed at himself. It wasn’t like the guy knew what he looked like. It’d been all talk. There was no reason to worry about actually running into him. The only thing he should be afraid of was not being able to get that final Favor.

If he didn’t hear from Maestro soon, he was going to have to try entering the forums again. Maybe he’d get lucky a second time and attract another king. It would be awkward all over again, having to be sexual in front of yet another stranger, but he could do it.

He’d have to.

Nix shook his head, not wanting to go there.

“—avoid the Demons if you’re smart,” Grady said, the tail-end of whatever advice he’d been giving shooting through Nix’s distracted state.

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