Page 10 of Martyr

And Yejun…Well. Admittedly, Nix disliked him least of all, but that didn’t change the fact that the major reason Lake had bitten him at all was out of some misguided attempt to ensure Nix’s safety from his artist friend.

And as much as Nix hated and disagreed with that, a part of him actually understood. Even though Yejun had been nothing but nice to him, he’d heard the stories and knew that was only one side of the Demon. He’d also heard all about how angry and bitter he still was over Iris’s betrayal…

Iris, who was actually Branwen.

If Yejun found out that the person he hated the most on the entire planet was related to Nix, what would he do?

Lake seemed to think it would be something awful.

Nix wasn’t so sure, only because it was hard to picture Yejun treating him differently, but he also wasn’t willing to bet his life on it. At the end of the day, sure, he’d started to read their tells, but that didn’t mean heknewthem.

Hell, he didn’t even know his cousin.

If he had, he never would have come to this hellhole of a school in the first place.

“I hate you,” he repeated, voice breathy and shaking as emotion started to override him now that the adrenaline was starting to wear off. “I hate everyone.”

“Your cousin—” Yejun began, obviously trying to help comfort him but not knowing any better.

“Screw my cousin!” Nix exploded. “Fuck her, too!”

West let out a low whistle. “You tell them, Nixie.”

“He’s cursing you too, moron,” Yejun pointed out.

“How much blood do you think he had to lose to get like this?” West tipped his head. “The hospital—”

“I said no,” Nix almost stomped his foot like a child, but the second he tried, he wobbled and ended up braced against the wall instead. “The room is spinning.”

West sighed. “I don’t think he lost enough for us to really worry, but he should rest. I’ll make some xuj tea. June, you help him upstairs.”

“He’s staying with me,” Lake interjected, only for all three of them to shake their heads at him.

“No way.” Nix didn’t want to be anywhere near him right now. “You’re the reason I’m like this in the first place.”

“Your cousin is the reason, actually,” he corrected, and while that might be cryptic to the others, Nix heard the underlying threat loud and clear.

His eyes narrowed. “You said you did this to protect me.”

Lake shrugged. “Since the protection is already in place, I don’t see why I need to keep qui—”

“Fine.” He inhaled deeply and then pushed off the wall, relieved a little when at least he didn’t topple over and could stand straight once more. “I’ll go to your room.”

West glanced between the two of them suspiciously. “Why does it feel like there’s a secret? Care to share with the rest of the class?”

“Later,” Lake said, motioning to Yejun. “Help him. I doubt he’ll let me near him at the moment.”

“I won’t,” Nix stated, allowing Yejun to take his arm and slowly walk with him toward the wooden steps that led up to the second level where all the bedrooms were.

The Roost, where the Demons of Foxglove lived, was located just on the edge of campus, at the base of Munin Mountain. There were three stories, but Nix had only ever been up to the second floor. The entire building had a dark, mysterious vibe, and it was decorated in metal, wood, and glass, with the side of the rocky mountain set as a background seen out the south windows.

It wasn’t the sort of place regular college students would live, and that alone set them apart from the rest. Nix had known from the very first time he’d stepped foot in here he’d gotten himself mixed up in something he shouldn’t have. By then, however, it’d been too late to turn back.

He could hear West and Lake talking as he was led away, but their voices were hushed all of a sudden, and he couldn’t make out anything they were saying. It irked him—because he knew that meant he was the topic—but not enough to turn back.

“How do you feel?” Yejun asked as he helped him up the stairs slowly.

“Dizzy,” he confessed. “And my neck is killing me.”

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