Chapter 3 #2
Not many people could do that, though, right? To reach the King level alone was a feat. Only a person in power, power enough they didn’t need to hold onto the username, would give it away like it was nothing.
They’d already wasted so much time searching for the King who’d fooled Branwen, and all it’d done was lead them in circles. Even with this newfound information, was it enough?
“He didn’t say much about his friend, other than to explain how he’d gotten the account in the first place.”
“Dew just… let him borrow it?”
“That’s the story.”
There had to be a reason Dew would do that. Was Juri blackmailing him as well? No, that didn’t make sense. Nix had been around the two of them together a million times. There was no animosity there. Their friendship had seemed strong.
At least, up until Dew had killed himself. Then Juri had acted as shocked and upset as everyone else, even though he’d obviously known more than he’d let on.
They’d been friends, sure, with no clear problems. But that didn’t mean Dew would have ended it all to protect Juri. Nix had considered it earlier and came to the conclusion that Dew wouldn’t have.
So why?
“Branwen was new to campus,” Briant continued.
“She didn't have any friends yet, and the only person she’d spoken with was Yejun. Juri saw his opportunity, and he took it. It started off small, just the usual stuff to get her to like him. Then once he felt like he had her confidence, he upped the ante. Started talking about his family.”
His family, who had been members of Club Essential for generations.
“They’re hardly innocent,” Nix sneered.
“Juri doesn’t see it that way.” He paused and blew out a breath. “Sorry, didn’t. He didn’t see it that way. To him, his brother was wronged. He wanted revenge. Bleeding hearts must run in the family, huh?” He laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. “I fell for his bullshit, too.”
“Same.”
“Too bad he’s dead. He could have tried his hand on mom and dad next.”
“Wow, dude.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be.” Nix unfolded from his perch and set his feet on the floor. “Anything else?”
“He made her feel bad for him and then roped her into helping him. From there, he fed her info on Yejun to help her maintain and grow that relationship.”
No wonder she’d managed to get close to June, when all others had failed. Juri might have waved his rights to the title of Demon, but he’d still grown up around them. It would be stranger if he’d gone all that time and hadn’t picked up anything about the artist.
“Branwen fell hard for Juri,” Nix said, thinking about what she’d written in her final letter. “No wonder she was willing to turn on Yejun for him.”
“She did more than turn on him,” he argued.
“She risked it all. Her life, our family, everything. Juri had her drug Yejun so the two of them could look for evidence. Or, more accurately, so she could. That coward never stepped foot in the danger zone. He always had her do it for him, citing that he’d be recognized if he got close. ”
The Demons would have never willingly invited him over, so that meant Juri’s only chance would have been to wait until after Branwen knocked Yejun out with the sedative.
But then they’d run the risk of someone seeing him enter the Roost, a thing that would certainly turn into campus-wide gossip, or having West return and walk in on them. Juri had needed Branwen.
“Did she ever find anything?” As far as Nix knew, they were only aware of her drugging Yejun a handful of times at the Roost itself, though they’d realized she’d tried a few times to break into his multi-slate, with no luck.
“No,” Briant grunted. “You’ll never believe this, but as clever as Juri made it sound, the two of them were actually just stupid kids. On paper, the whole thing could be considered child's play. Sloppy and illegal. But harmless in the grand scheme of things. ”
They’d both been in their early twenties, so hardly kids, but Nix understood what he was saying. Besides, on some level, they’d always be kids in Briant’s eye, since he’d grown up watching over Nix and Branwen since they were in diapers.
“He believed the Demons would have something to hide, and in his mind, that was enough to send my little sister on a wild goose chase. She, like an idiot, took him at his word. I thought she was smarter than that. That I’d—” Briant stopped himself, and Nix gave him a moment to collect his thoughts.
Nix understood what Briant was going through right now. He’d spent months blaming himself just like him. A part of him would probably always take some of that blame, even though logically, neither of them had any control over Branwen or her actions. Her choices were her own.
Yet they were the ones left here to pick up the exploded pieces.
“In the end, she was selfish, just like him.” Nix shook his head. “They deserved each other.”
“Except Juri never loved her,” Briant said. “To him, they were friends, but he knew she felt deeper feelings. He never confronted her about them, chose to allow it to continue, even knowing he was giving her false hope.”
“He really said that to you?”
“Yeah.”
“Bastard.” He could have at least had the decency to lie in that instance.
It would have been the only forgivable time.
Instead, he’d chosen to tell a grieving brother that his sister had died for a love that had never even been real?
“He didn't tell you any of that out of the goodness of his heart.”
“He was trying to clear his conscience,” Briant agreed. “Oh, I’m aware.”
“If he wasn’t dead already, I would—”
“Get one of your boyfriends to beat him up,” his cousin interrupted.
“But that’s all you would do, Phoenix. Even knowing all of this, you wouldn’t allow them to kill him.
Despite everything you’ve been through, you’re still a good person.
” He smiled at him sadly. “At least I’ve still got that.
My sister might have been misguided, but I’ve realized I don’t need to worry about you anymore.
You can take care of yourself. You won’t lose yourself the way she did. ”
Nix blinked. “Don’t you already think I’ve done that?”
“Because I thought you’d been brainwashed by them?
” Briant shrugged. “I was wrong. To be honest, most of that was Juri feeding me made-up stories to help sell the narrative. He wanted me to help him the same way Branwen had, and when I refused to involve myself in your life, his true colors came through.”
“He told you about drugging Yejun, but did he tell you about how they’d almost murdered West?
” He was still convinced they were missing something in that regard, that they’d had it wrong, and Juri and Branwen weren’t responsible for that piece of the puzzle.
It was supposed to be a secret, but at this point, Nix needed to confide in his cousin to get answers.
Maybe his sense of trust wasn’t completely shattered after all, since he fully believed he could count on Briant not to share this information.
Or maybe he was merely being an idiot again and trusting someone when he shouldn’t.
Only time would tell.
Briant’s brow pinched, and he straightened in his seat. “What? What are you talking about?”
“So he didn’t.”
“No, he didn't say anything about that and…I’m pretty sure he would have. He was really unloading, almost desperately.”
Which meant Juri hadn’t known. Was that what he’d been trying to tell him before he’d passed out?
That he hadn’t been a part of that? But Branwen wouldn’t have acted alone, especially not for something that serious.
Up until that point, they’d broken a few laws and would have made enemies out of the Demons, sure, but it was a far cry from a murder charge.
And if they’d merely been searching for evidence to prove the Demons were awful people, why would either of them even think to take it that far?
From the beginning, Nix had felt there was more to this, and even though they kept peeling back layers to the story, he hadn’t changed his mind.
There was someone else. Someone who gave that account to Dew.
Someone who’d somehow convinced one of them, Dew, Branwen, or Juri, whoever, to slip West the poison.
Someone still hiding in the shadows, treating everyone else as fodder.
Branwen.
Dew.
Juri.
They’d been expendable. Tossed aside the moment they’d been caught and outlived their usefulness.
“It’s a member of the Club,” Nix stated, talking out loud. “Whoever is really in charge of all of this. It has to be a member.” Probably someone on the Order. “Hendrix?”
That’s who they’d suspected in the beginning, and after finding that email sent between him and Dew, they’d been even more certain.
It was the only person who made sense. It also explained why everything had stopped after the initial poisoning had failed.
The Demons had used Nix as a distraction to make the Order and whoever had poisoned West think they were busy searching for a hacker.
It’d bought them time, yet despite all of West’s work, they hadn’t gotten much closer to answers.
If the person they were after was Hendrix, that would make sense.
Not only did he have the kind of power needed to orchestrate something like that, he also knew how West and the others operated.
Even if they’d never been close, he was still Lake’s uncle, had watched them grow and, in a way, had a hand in helping to raise them.
He could have attempted to get West out of the way first, with his next target being Yejun. Or, perhaps, he’d even wanted to weaken Demitrious’s station in the Club by removing his heir. The two were constantly clashing since Demitrious notoriously backed Lake’s claim to the throne.
Nix had little to no doubt in his mind that this was something Hendrix was capable of—He’d shot West at point-blank range, hadn’t he?
It also made sense that he would have been too scared to risk another attempt.
After the deaths of the emperor and the Royal Consort, he would have chosen to lie low for a time.
“If it is him, that would be a good thing, wouldn’t it?
” Briant asked. “He’s on the run for attacking one of your Demons, and by doing that, he’s given up all rights to the throne.
There’s no way he’ll be made emperor, even if Lake is removed.
I doubt they’d give it to his son either. If you suspect him.”
“Do you?” Beck was close with West and Yejun, and Nix had witnessed his reaction after the guy’s dad had shot the boxer.
Beck had been genuinely distraught.
“I don’t know,” Briant replied. “I don’t know these people like you do.
But at this point? I wouldn’t trust anyone if I were you, Nix.
Juri claimed none of your other friends were involved, but I don’t know if I’d believe him.
Anything he said about himself, sure, but others…
We can’t rule out that he was simply trying to protect them. ”
The way Branwen had protected Juri, despite believing he’d betrayed her.
Nix nodded. “I need to think.”
“I know this is a lot. It should have been me. I should have been the one to come here. She was my sister.”
“She left me the letter.”
“Yeah,” Briant exhaled, “Because she knew you’d drop everything for her. And look? You have. You were always like that. Loyal to a T.”
“Only to her.”
“You only had her. Before. Now you have them. I’m glad.”
Nix quirked a brow, and Briant chuckled.
“I wasn’t before, but I am now.”
He believed him.How odd.
“What are you going to do?” Briant asked.
Nix rested his head back against the window, staring up at the domed ceiling and the dark sky outside of it. “This instant? Let’s just sit here a while longer.”
Eventually, he was going to have to leave this room, go get the others and tell them everything he’d just learned, but that could wait an hour, maybe even two. He was at the end of his rope, and he feared if he pushed himself, he’d well and truly break this time.
He couldn’t risk that. He had to keep himself together.
For them.
For their future.
“All right, cousin,” Briant’s soft voice drifted to him as Nix’s eyes closed. “I’ll be here for you as long as you need. You aren’t alone.”
No, he wasn’t. Briant was here in the room with him, and the Demons were downstairs.
His cousin was right; he had them now.
And he’d do everything in his power to keep them safe.