Chapter 18
Nix stormed into the house like hellfire was hot on his heels and made a beeline for the kitchen, where he knew West would be.
Because no matter how sporadic and fleeting West’s emotions were, his patterns were hella predictable.
Sure enough, he found him in the kitchen making tea, and Nix’s mood must have been obvious, because the second West looked up, he froze.
“Nixie—” He let out an oomph sound when Nix shoved him away from the island and up against the counter, but he didn’t fight back or complain about the violent outburst.
Almost like he knew exactly why Nix was so pissed.
Which only made it worse.
“You better have a fucking phenomenal explanation,” Nix snapped, barely registering Lake finally entering after him. “How would you feel if Grady confessed his undying devotion to me and I kept that shit from you?”
West’s shoulders tensed. “Did he?”
“Seriously?”
“Right. Sorry.”
“About which part?!”
“All of it?” He cleared his throat and repeated with more certainty. “All of it.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Lake crossed his arms and glared.
“I didn’t know how to.”
“Bullshit.” Nix hated this feeling. This weird, twisting discomfort in his gut. He wanted to punch something, but that reaction was so unlike him that he held back. The worst part was not understanding why he was feeling this way in the first place.
It wasn’t like anything had actually happened. West had clearly rebuffed Beck’s advances, and it didn’t sound like Beck had done anything more than confess, and yet…
“Beck thought you told us,” Nix explained. “He thought that, because that’s the expected reaction from someone in a relationship. Learning that you were threatened by the person who’d done the threatening isn’t how this is meant to go.”
West winced. “He told you that part, too?”
“I’m going to toss this hot tea in your face.”
He held up his hands in surrender. “Hold on. Let me explain.”
“What do you think we’re doing here?!”
“I really didn’t know how to bring it up,” West said. “Or what to say. It was so unexpected, I felt blindsided by the whole thing.”
“Yejun’s known about Beck’s thing for you for a while now.”
“He has?” West shook his head. “I thought Beck liked him . That’s what Beck’s been leading me to believe for years.”
“So, after learning it was really you he has a thing for, you needed time to consider your options?”
“Come on, Nixie, you’re being an asshole.”
“Me?” He pointed at himself and then stabbed a finger against West’s chest. “In comparison to the way you all treat me when you’re angry, I’m being a gods damned saint!”
“I don’t have any feelings for Beck,” West reassured. “I never have, and I never will. He doesn’t mean anything to me. If you want me to cut him out, I will.”
“And risk pissing him off enough he turns on us?” Nix blew out a breath, realizing how irrational he was truly being. “What exactly did he threaten you with? What’s the real reason you didn’t say anything to me?”
He’d known there was something off about the Demon the other night. He’d been quieter than usual, a bit reserved. When asked, West had requested time to sort through things on his own. This was obviously what’d been weighing on him.
“You really don’t have any—”
“No,” West said before Nix could finish.
“Beck means nothing to me. That’s not why I couldn’t tell you.
I just…” He closed his eyes for a moment and centered himself before continuing.
“What if he meant it and he followed through on his threats? He’s trying to blackmail me into spending time with him romantically. ”
“Define romantic?”
“Dates.” He leaned back against the counter. “Sex.”
“Hell no.”
“That’s what I told him,” West promised.
“What were the threats?” Lake chimed in.
“He’d use his likability with the Order to stall things for you.
I’ve been thinking about it, and while he won’t be able to have you removed or stop you from ascending, he can certainly bullshit his way through the Order and the High Council and convince them to delay the coronation.
Technically, the period of mourning can stretch for another six months if it’s called for. ”
With no one on the throne, the High Council controlled how long the state of mourning for the planet lasted.
There were restrictions, of course, but West was right.
The mourning period had three timeframes, one chosen depending on the severity of the death, and the position that the person had been in.
If there’d been someone to immediately take the late emperor’s place, an immediate family member like a son or daughter, or someone of proper age, the mourning period would technically have been set for two whole years, because they could have ruled without their coronation.
“The Council has already announced the date,” Lake pointed out. “They’d look foolish if they went back on their word.”
“Yes, but it’s not completely unheard of,” West argued. “Beck can be convincing. You know that. You’re cousins, after all.”
“Barely.”
“You were brought up the same way.”
“We all were.”
“He’s a professor,” West added. “He can easily mess with our grades and ensure we don’t graduate on time.”
“Did he say he would do that?” Nix frowned. “He really has no sense of responsibility, does he? First, he fucks a student, and now—”
“He what?” West shook his head. “I never slept with him!”
“Relax,” Lake drawled. “He wasn’t referring to you.”
“Then…who?” West’s brow remained furrowed as he considered. “Yejun?”
“Dew.”
“Dew? Dew Seaborn? The one that was stalking him?”
“Supposedly stalking him,” Nix said. “He told you that?”
“He mentioned it to all of us at the gallery showing, remember?”
Nix just wanted to be sure there wasn’t more to it. He’d never cared what Beck and West talked about before, but now… “He was sleeping with a student, and he just tried blackmailing you into being with him. He can’t be trusted.”
“I had no idea.” West scowled. “That means he knows more about Dew’s situation with Juri than he let on. Actually, we were stumped about where Dew could have gotten the Serendipity account from…Beck could have easily gained access to a few extra accounts with King status.”
“He’s good with computers?” Lake asked.
“Not as good as Nix or me,” he lifted a single shoulder, “but yeah. He also knows me well enough, he can probably work around me, in a way I wouldn’t notice. The problem is, we don’t have any way of checking this out without tipping him off.”
“Not true.” Nix pulled out the tiny device and held it up. “I copied his entire hard drive. If he’s hiding something, it should be on here.” He pulled it away when West reached for it. “We’re not done talking about this.”
“I was never going to cave to his threats,” West said.
“But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t bothering me.
I’m embarrassed I didn’t notice something was off about him sooner, and a part of me can’t help but feel like my father was right about me all this time.
Maybe I really am just a block in Lake’s path to the throne. ”
“Insecurities?” Lake clicked his tongue. “That’s unbecoming.”
“I don’t tease you about your daddy issues,” West snapped.
“Demitrious is a control freak and a sadist. He pits us against each other because he gets off on it, not because there’s any merit to his words. You’re no worse or better than I am, and I definitely won’t hold you accountable for Beck’s actions.”
“Beck has—”
“A lot to make up for,” Nix cut him off. “He apologized to us at the library just now. He made it sound like he regretted it.”
“And you believe him?” West asked.
“I don’t know.” Nix stared down at the device in the palm of his hand. “Maybe this will help us figure that out.” He wanted to continue to press the issue, but everything West had said made sense.
There’d always been a one-sided competition between him and Lake. Demitrious had beaten this idea into West that he would never be good enough and would only hold Lake back. Of course he feared being the cause of that after speaking with Beck.
“I don’t want you to doubt me.” West risked reaching out, grabbing onto the hem of Nix’s black shirt, holding tightly when Nix didn’t pull away.
“I was trying to figure out what to say to Beck to get him to see reason. I was hoping, for the sake of our friendship, he’d back down.
If I gave in to him, it would hurt you. If I didn’t, it would hurt Lake. ”
“That’s more of a reason you should have told us. If it affects all of us, we all have the right to discuss it and come to a solution together.” Nix held his gaze sternly. “Swear you won’t keep anything from us again. Ever.”
“I swear.”
He could stay mad, or he could go to West’s room and get answers to the rest of the burning questions he had regarding Beck. The first would only waste time and drag out something that had pretty much been settled.
If Nix went through Beck’s things and found there was more to this, he could argue with West more then.
“I’m going to borrow your fancy computer,” he announced, and then spun on his heels and headed out of the kitchen, toward the stairs.
Whatever else Beck was hiding, he’d find it.
Then he’d decide what to do about Beck’s audacity.