Chapter 23
Apparently, the Order didn’t consider emergency meetings all that urgent.
Nix and Juri arrived at the Club House and were herded into a room on the fourth level. He’d always meant to come here for the first time with the Demons, but they hadn’t actually gotten around to it. It was hard acting like he was familiar with the place, and he tried not to stare at anything for too long and give himself away.
He was already at a disadvantage here as it were, after all.
He wasn’t sure how Juri had managed to get them an emergency meeting in the first place, and the guy had stopped answering any of his questions the second they stepped into the building, so asking wasn’t getting him anywhere. If he had to guess, it had something to do with the photo he’d taken of the two of them, but Nix couldn’t figure out how that would constitute an emergency.
Actually, maybe the members of the Order couldn’t either, and that was the real reason they were taking their sweet time getting here.
According to the clock hanging on the wall across from them, they’d been here exactly one hour and eleven minutes. The room they’d been brought to was empty save for a large oval-shaped table made from dark hematite wood, the color as black as night, with a polished surface that reflected the light orbs that floated around the high ceiling. The walls were done in a deep maroon, and the thin carpet beneath their feet was charcoal.
A faint smell lingered in the air, not quite alcohol, but that was the closest he could come to describing it. It tickled at his nose, irritating his senses.
Almost as much as the man sitting at his left.
“How long are we going to wait here?” Nix broke the silence and asked, only for Juri to give a single shake of his head and say nothing in return. He sighed. This was stupid.
Honestly, he’d been hopeful that West or one of the others would have arrived by now to put a stop to this horror show production gone wrong. Nix had purposefully tipped him off when they’d been leaving, but now he worried West had stepped away from the cameras for a bit and had missed it.
Did they even know Nix was gone?
What if they merely thought he was spending a lot of time with Juri in the dorms?
Shit.
He should have come up with a more solid plan but he’d been working with what he had in the short amount of time he’d had to think.
The doors at the end of the room finally opened, and he tensed when several older men and women poured into the room, each and every one of them settling a terse look his way before taking what he assumed were their usual seats at the massive table.
Demitrious walked in last, his head held high. He was the only one who looked at Nix smugly, even scoffing at him quietly before sitting in to a high-backed wooden chair. He crossed his legs and addressed Juri. “We’ve been told you have important information for us.”
“This better be the truth,” a woman Nix recognized from the Night of the Nightshade stated in a tight voice. Her mask had slipped off her face while she’d been fucked from behind beneath the main stairwell.
The two of them had made eye contact and Nix had been the first to look away.
If she recalled their encounter, she didn’t let on, sitting poised and graceful, as though she’d never done an indecent thing her entire life and had nothing to be embarrassed about.
“We’re very busy people,” another man, this one Nix didn’t know, drawled from nearby. “And not just anyone is allowed to call a meeting.”
“Yes,” another man agreed gruffly. “This best be important.”
“It is,” Juri said before someone else could speak up. “It’s about the line of succession.”
“What about it?”
“We’re here to prove that Lake Zyair is unfit for the throne,” Juri boldly declared.
“Surely you aren’t suggesting we recommend Beck Bardin to the High Council in his stead?” the woman asked. “His father is currently on the run from authorities. Even if he promises to be impartial and catch Hendrix, there’s no telling what the public—”
“Let’s hear them out, Sif,” Demitrious suggested. “They must have come here with a fully formed plan, didn’t you, boys? By the way, I didn’t realize how close the two of you were.” He stared Nix down. “I wonder what Lake will think when he discovers you’re here speaking against him.”
“It is very unbecoming of a mate,” one of the other men huffed.
“Not as unbecoming as forcing a claiming bite on someone who doesn’t want it.” Juri held Nix’s hand and brought it up to the table so that everyone could see as he offered false comfort. “Phoenix Monroe was taken advantage of by Lake, his choice was stolen and he was treated no better than a sex slave to be shared around with Lake’s friends. This is not the type of leader Tulnirians can look up to.”
“It’s unfortunate if true,” Sif replied, “but that doesn’t solve our problem. Right now, Lake is the only candidate for the throne. We’d be foolish to try and remove him from the running for any sort of reason short of murder of an Order member.”
“She’s right,” another member agreed. “There’s no one else—”
“There’s me.” Juri stared as they room went silent, waiting for his words to process. Then he stood and tapped the center of the table, bringing an imbedded holo-screen to life. Medical records appeared and he flicked his wrist, sending digital copies sliding toward every member. “Here are the documents proving my claim.”
“Good Light,” a man gasped. “He’s of Zyair blood!”
“This means he has a legitimate claim the throne,” another said.
“But he’s a bastard,” Sif argued. “Born out of wedlock. He was never even claimed by his father. This is hardly a good candidate. Demitrious, you must agree with me.”
Demitrious was the only one who hadn’t bothered to so much as glance at the document. Instead, he continued to stare Nix down, making him want to squirm under that intense, mocking scrutiny.
Nix knew what he was going to say before he opened his disloyal mouth.
“Actually,” he pretended to consider it, even though it was obvious to anyone with eyes he’d already made up his mind on the matter, “if it comes down between a bastard and a rapist, I believe the choice is obvious.”
Nix bit down on his tongue to prevent himself from speaking up and correcting him. If he did that, Juri would count that as breaking their agreement and Briant would be in danger.
He’d spent the past hour trying to figure out a way to save his cousin that didn’t involve smearing Lake’s name in the process, but nothing seemed like it would work. Even if he turned on Juri and the other guy left, Nix would have to keep up in order to follow him to wherever Briant was being held. All Juri had to do was shake him once and get ahead, lose him and drive off. Nix didn’t have a vehicle he could use. It was too risky.
“I just came from a meeting with Lake, ironically enough,” Demitrious divulged then, and Nix hated it, but he perked up at that before he could stop himself. The old man chuckled. “He had a lot to say after I showed him this photo, Phoenix.”
He tapped his multi-slate and the image stored on it was sent to the table screen. It took up the entire center so that everyone could get a good look at Nix and Juri kissing.
“Yejun and my son weren’t pleased either,” Demitrious continued. “I actually had to talk them down from doing anything rash. They seemed incredibly betrayed. Interesting, since now you’re here, claiming that they forced you into a relationship with them that you never wanted.”
“Nix wants to be with me,” Juri interrupted, speaking for him to salvage the situation. “It was Lake who made the decision to make that impossible. A decision he made on his own.”
“Ah,” Demitrious hummed, “that’s the story, is it?”
“That’s the truth,” Juri insisted heatedly.
Nix was only partially listening, too busy drowning in Demitrious’s words. If the Demons had seen that photo, were they angry? Did they believe it? He’d thought the plan was to send it directly to the Order members and no one else, hadn’t it? He distinctly recalled Juri assuring him that by the time Lake and the others saw the photo, it would be too late for them to do anything about it because the deal with the Order would have been completed.
What if West had watched Nix’s tip-off at the dorms but had ignored it?
What if Yejun was raging right now, planning on catching Nix and—
He sucked in a sharp breath before he could help it, the room momentarily spinning as panic took hold.
Someone called his name, probably Juri, but Nix needed to break himself out of this cycle. No one else could do it for him. Certainly no one currently present in this room.
Images of Yejun pinning him down flashed through his mind, but Nix fought against them and the way they made his stomach clamp painfully. His neck stung with phantom pain as he remembered the vicious way Lake had torn through his flesh with little warning. Then he felt his throat close up and it was like being choked on West’s thick cock all over again.
Only…none of that was right.
All of it had happened, sure, but none of it was fresh. The Demons hadn’t mistreated him recently, not since they’d come to an understanding. Not since real emotions had developed and bonds had been formed.
The soft way Lake held him at night as they listened to the pitter-patter of rain against the glass sunroof…and how West set the table each morning for breakfast, serving Nix first without fail…and Yejun’s careful, almost exploratory touches as he waited for Nix to be comfortable near him again…those things were real.
Trust.
Nix had been burned a hundred times before, a thousand, and if he was an idiot for it, so be it, but damn it, he trusted the Demons. They’d made combined and individual promises to him to keep him safe. To have his back. To always be in his corner.
Who was Juri Ferd to them?
Who was Demitrious Corleone?
Who were the fucking Order for that matter?
“Nothing,” the word slipped past trembling lips, his surroundings coming back into sharp clarity seemingly all at once. Nix blinked and lifted his head, noting that he’d drawn the attention of everyone in the room all over again, only this time they were staring at him as though concerned.
“What was that, Nix?” Juri asked tenderly, either to further sell the act the two of them were close or out of actual worry, who even knew anymore.
Nix was done guessing either way.
Because all of this meant absolutely…
“Nothing,” he repeated, a bit more firmly. “It was nothing.”
“That didn’t look like nothing,” Sif said.
“Are you okay?” one of the men asked.
Nix nodded and cleared his throat. “Yes, I’m fine.”
“Nix?” Juri held his gaze, and Nix shook his head and gave a shaky, fake reassuring smile.
One that was definitely meant to sell the story they were close, if only in a bid to stall for time.
Because Nix had realized an important fact that no one else here seemed to have picked up on yet.
To the Demons of Foxglove Grove, they were all nothing. They didn’t matter.
But Nix did.
“Will you confirm the allegations?” Sif asked him suddenly. “Is what Juri Ferd said about your relationship with Lake, West, and Yejun true?”
Nix dropped his gaze to the table, feigning discomfort.
“Don’t be afraid,” one of the men reassured him. “You’re safe here. If Lake has been abusing his power, we need to know to ensure he doesn’t get away with it.”
“We’ll protect you,” Sif insisted.
No one noticed Demitrious roll his eyes aside from Nix, who pretended not to.
“Tell them,” Juri urged, resting a hand on Nix’s lower back intimately. “Go ahead. Tell them—”
The doors burst open, and Nix, in all his foolishness, sought out Lake’s gaze the second he stepped into the room. He searched his expression for any signs of betrayal or anger, but the Imperial had his mask firmly in place, the icy exterior too tightly on for even Nix to peek behind.
“Yeah,” Yejun stepped in on Lake’s right then, “tell them, Firebird.”
West came in on the left. “Tell them all about how Juri here kidnapped your cousin and tried to blackmail you into making up some bullshit sob story.”
Two things happened at once.
First, Nix felt a rush of relief so potent, he practically saw stars.
Second, he pulled his arm back and elbowed Juri directly in the throat.
There were gasps and the sound of Juri choking as Nix stood, but he didn’t give a shit about anyone else.
“You figured it out?” he almost didn’t dare ask in front of all of these people, but he had to be sure. Had to be positive he wasn’t seeing what he wanted to see, and those words spoken by West right now hadn’t been misinterpreted by him as meaning they believed he was innocent.
“Found Briant locked up at Winchester,” West filled him in as they crowded the room on the side of the table where most of the Order were sitting. “It’s an old hotel that’s been waiting on renovations for over two years now.”
“He’s safe, Songbird,” Lake said. “Beck is watching him at the Roost.”
“Is he okay? He wasn’t injured or anything, was he?” Nix hadn’t seen anything on the camera when he’d been shown, but it’d been black and white and tiny on the screen.
“He’s fine.” Yejun smirked at him when their eyes met, but then he turned to Juri and lost all sense of humor. “But someone won’t be.”
“Nix,” Juri reached for him but he slapped his hand away and moved out of arm's length.
“Everything Juri told you is a lie,” he declared. “I’m legally mated to Lake Zyair by choice . I was given another mating bite by West Corleone by choice . And I’m dating Yejun Sang by choice . The only one in this room who’s made me do something I don’t want to is Juri Ferd. He abducted my older cousin and has been holding him hostage for several days now.”
“Is this true?” Sif sneered. “How unbecoming.”
“I am of Imperial blood,” Juri snapped. “Legally, I have a claim to the throne. It is my birthright.”
Lake faltered for a split second, the confusion there and gone in a flash. The only reason Nix caught it was because he’d been staring at him. They must not have gotten the full story, perhaps because Juri hadn’t shared it with Briant?
“He isn’t wrong,” one of the quieter men at the other end of the table leaned over and said to the woman on his left.
She nodded but didn’t verbally reply, not that she needed to.
Nix could see the wheels turning in her head. She was thinking about how Juri might be more pliable than Lake. How the Order might gain a stronger foothold in the empire as a whole if they backed someone other than the icy Imperial.
Discussion took off amongst them, members turning to whisper amongst each other, as though those who were the topic of discussion weren’t standing in the room with them.
All at once, they seemed to forget they didn’t actually have the final say in who took the throne. The High Council did. This was a talk about who the Order might suggest. Not a done deal.
He didn’t bother concealing his disgust as he watched them all turn on the candidate they’d backed all this time, treating Lake as though he didn’t exist and wasn’t within earshot as they debated whether or not it’d be wise to try someone fresh and new.
“You see?” Juri leaned in and said, ignoring how Nix bristled at his nearness. “This is the corruption I’m fighting to put an end to. This is why it needs to be me, Nix.”
“Back off,” Lake’s low growl from across the room was no louder than any of the whispers, and yet everyone went instantly still, as though a large predator had entered and any sudden movements would result in their violent and bloody end.
Nix took a pointed step away from Juri, showing Lake that he had no intentions of being that close to the other guy.
“He treats you like property.” Juri’s boldness rose up to meet Lake head-on. Which was stupid of him.
But Nix wasn’t going to be the one to tell him that.
“He treats me like I’m his mate,” he corrected instead. “Because I am.”
“You’ll never be happy,” he tried again. “I can help you, Nix.”
“He doesn’t need your help, asshole,” Yejun interjected.
“Yeah,” West chimed in, “he’s got enough guys taking care of him. Isn’t that right, Nixie?”
“Yes,” he agreed. “I do.”
They weren’t mad at him about the photo. What a relief.
But also…
He turned to glare at Demitrious. “You said they were pissed at me. They look angry, sure, but it’s not directed my way.”
“Did he say that?” Lake set that cold stare on Demitrious. “I wonder why. It couldn’t be that you were trying to sow animosity between us and my future Royal Consort, could it?”
“My father would never do that,” West said, the sarcasm in his tone unmistakable. “He’s always been your biggest advocate, Lake.” He came over to the table and leaned over Sif, scanning the medical document that was still on the screen in front of her. “No shit. According to this, Juri is your little brother, man. Congrats.”
“How tedious,” Lake drawled, back in total control of himself, so if the news actually shocked him, no one could tell.
“Is this what the fuss is about?” West let out a low whistle and straightened. “I thought this was going to be interesting, but this is it? A secret bastard baby comes crawling out of the woodwork the day before Demons Passing, and you’re all just going to lap it up like gospel?”
Yejun laughed demeaningly at them. “No way, man. Don’t insult their intelligence like that. They’re not complete idiots. Anyone with two brain cells would see what’s really going on here.”
Nix watched in awe as with a few sentences, the Demons had the older members of the Order collectively squirming in their seats. They shared awkward glances with one another, and the embarrassment that had been lacking on Sif’s face earlier was now there in spades.
“What are you implying?” Juri demanded, only for West to snort.
“I’m saying you made it all up,” he stated. “Give me a computer and five minutes and I can create a dozen false test results that match this one to the T.”
“I didn’t fake it!”
“Sure you didn’t.”
“It’s easy enough to prove,” Demitrious broke his silence. “We’ll have a test run right now. None of us will leave this room until the results are brought back. How does that sound?” He stared at Lake. “Will that satisfy you?”
“You’re taking this too far,” Nix said.
“You have no business being in here,” Demitrious waved dismissively at him. “You can see yourself out.”
“He stays,” Lake ordered, but Demitrious merely smirked.
“This is the Order, and last I checked, you are not a member of the board. You have no say on what goes on here, Lake. I decide. Not you.”
“I vote to finally do away with the pretenses,” Yejun suggested, lifting a hand into the air almost comically.
“Seconded,” Nix stated, hatred for Demitrious getting the best of him.
“By all means,” West shrugged, “don’t let me hold you back. I’m in. Lake?”
“What are you talking about?” Demitrious frowned at them. “Did you not hear me? This is the Order, none of you—”
West’s hand came down on Sif’s right shoulder so suddenly the woman jolted in her seat. “Mrs. Helgi, do you remember three years ago when your stocks suddenly crashed and you lost all that money?” He met Demitrious’s furious gaze and grinned deviously. “Did Mr. Burns forget to tell you my dear old dad here was behind that?”
“Excuse me?” the way she said it, was obvious she believed him. She turned to Demitrious. “How dare you! We had to sell our vacation home on Drax because of those losses!”
“He did it for Mr. Dagur.” West pointed at the man at the end of the table, the first one who’d spoken in subtle favor of Juri. “It was to make up for stealing the Hoj business out from under his nose. Not that Mr. Dagur ever figured out it was my father who outbid him.”
“What?!”
“That is enough.” Demitrious slammed his hands on the table and stood with a flourish, staring daggers at his son.
“I don’t answer to you,” West replied in a matter-of-fact tone. “Although, I do suppose the vote wasn’t yet unanimous. Sorry, Lake. Would you like to put yours in now? Should I stop airing Dad’s dirty laundry or should I keep going?”
The ever so slight curve to Lake’s lips was answer enough, but before West could launch into another attack, Juri loudly coughed.
And kept coughing.