Page 48 of Villain

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.

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