Page 74 of Villain
Just a little longer. All they had to do was make it to Demon Passing, which happened to fall around the same time that the mourning period would end. Once it did and he beat this final challenge, there’d be no reason for anyone to speak against his ascension.
Lake would take the throne, and the three of them would be free to be the monsters they were always meant to be.
His multi-slate went off and when he saw the caller ID he almost ignored it, too high-strung at the moment to deal with speaking to West’s father. Knowing it would only cause problems for him later, however, he ended up caving and pulled out the earbud attachment, slipping it in before he hit accept, making sure to make the caller wait for as long as possible between.
“Lake,” Demitrious’s sharp voice came through, causing Lake to wince, “has practice just ended?”
He was standing in the middle of the stables, the last to leave. Next to him, his waif snickered and circled its pen before lying down. The creature was three times his size with four legs and a powerful back. It was strong enough to carry a rider even Lake’s size, with smooth scales the color of burnished bronze.
It’d been the last gift his mother had given him before the accident, and the only reason he’d agreed to continue playing the game had been the stipulation that he could only bring the waif with him to campus if he was on the team. Even the Order had refused to speak with the dean to waive the rule for him, mostly because Demitrious had always enjoyed watching Lake play.
Bastard.
As kids, West had been the better rider and better at the sport, but had his father noticed?
No.
“Yes,” Lake replied, checking to be sure the pen was locked before he started down the long, wide path toward the end of the building where the changing rooms were located. “Is there something I can help you with?”
“I just called to see if there’s a progress report,” he told him. “If there’s anything I can help you with, you know all you have to do is ask.”
It was against the rules for any of the club members to help out the Demons with their final task, but Lake didn’t bother mentioning that. Demitrious didn’t care for rules, not even ones set by Essential that he’d given a blood oath to uphold.
“We’ve got it under control,” he replied. “West is close to tracing the hacker.”
Demitrious hummed noncommittally. “How is your backup plan coming along? I know you two are close, but don’t rely solely on my son’s abilities to get you through this.”
Lake didn’t want to discuss Nix with him, but if it meant taking the attention away from West, he would. West was top of his class and had already been scouted by several of the galaxy's top tech companies, and yet if you asked Demitrious, he’d shrug and say his son was just all right with computers.
If Lake hadn’t owed the past ten years of his life to the man, he would have told him off several times already. Hell, if the guy weren’t seated on the Order, he and Yejun would have plotted a dozen and half different ways they could take him out without getting caught.
Alas.
“We’re still waiting to see if the hacker will take the bait,” Lake said. “But word is spreading throughout campus, so it’s only a matter of time.”
Hopefully. Though, to be honest, he wasn’t entirely sure this plan would actually pan out. He just wouldn’t say as much out loud to anyone, especially not the Order. They were making a risky move bringing in someone like Nix, someone unknown to them. Someone with a secret…There was always the chance for betrayal.
He’d long since learned the only people he could rely on were West and Yejun—maybe the Retinue when he was on Vitality. But this wasn’t Vitality, and Lake needed to gather as many reinforcements as he could.
Perhaps it was a good thing he’d returned home sooner than expected. If he’d stayed any longer, what other ideas would have been put into his head? West and Yejun were more than enough for him, and yet…
If they could make it through this, and if what Nix was hiding wasn’t all that bad, then maybe Lake could allow himself to consider something more concrete in the future. If the others didn’t want Nix in a more permanent fashion, that would be fine. They only needed to share the same sacrifice up until Demon's Passing occurred. Then it was fair game and Lake could claim the Songbird for his own.
If.
There were too many unknown factors involved here. Too many questions. He didn’t like that. Liked to be in control and five steps ahead. The confusion had started right from the beginning, though.
Lake had signed into the Enigma app to check things out. Yejun was still too pissed about his situation with the member who’d been working with the hacker, and that left Lake and West to search for a sacrifice they liked. He’d stumbled into the forums and had actually selected someone at random, only mildly paying attention while he filed re-enrollment paperwork for the university.
Then Nix’s masked face had popped up on his screen, and it’d been so obvious how uncomfortable he’d been. He’d nibbled on his bottom lip and then turned, presenting himself to Lake’s view and something about the whole thing had gotten to him.
He’d seen a million and one naked bodies before. Had slept with more men than he cared to keep track of. Sex was an itch that needed scratching, but once the deed was done, his bedpartner was sent on their merry way. Lake had been shocked to find himself glued to the screen, his hand wandering down to cup himself through his pants as he watched Nix awkwardly stroke himself.
Since only students of Foxglove could sign up for the app, Lake had known he’d be able to track him down as soon as the semester started. With each meeting, he’d told himself he’d get it out of his system and wouldn’t bother once they were in person. That seeing Nix through the screen would be enough to satiate this hunger.
He’d of course been wrong.
He needed to uncover Nix’s secret before he grew even more attached. If it came to that…There was nothing Lake couldn’t have if he wanted it, and that included people. Right now, they were being collectively considerate toward Nix and this sudden change, mostly because the three of them had learned the best way to catch someone was with honey and not vinegar. Hiding their monstrous sides was easy enough, but eventually, it would all come to a head one way or another.