Page 105 of Martyr

Once word got around campus, he wasn’t going to be able to show his face.

“That’s the last time I was there,” Yejun sounded relieved that Nix didn’t doubt him and went back to the video. “I didn’t check, but I was there all night adding the finishing touches tothe phoenix, so there’s no way anyone took Lake’s present before I left today.”

“So, we keep going.” West hit the button to speed it up even more. “Does anyone stand out?”

Yejun shook his head. “It’s not that easy to break into my studio. It’s locked. Until now, I would have said you were the only one who could hack in. The only other chance is someone who’d used the room before me.”

“You didn’t change the passcode?” Lake obviously found this foolish.

Nix didn’t blame him.

“The guy who’d been assigned it before me graduated and moved off planet,” Yejun said. “I didn’t think it was necessary. Besides, who would dare break into one of our places? And even if they did, I didn’t think there’d be anything all that awful they could do. I don’t keep valuables.”

“Are you saying a naked photo of Nix post-coitus isn’t valuable?”

“Please don’t talk about it like that.” Yeah, Nix definitely wished he could vanish. They were talking too closely for anyone else to really listen in at this point, but still. He didn’t want anyone reminded about the painting.

“It’s most likely someone who’s used to the art building,” Beck surmised. “Someone who knows you well enough to have seen you type in the password before.”

“What about the other studios on that floor?” Nix suggested. “Could one of them have seen you input the code at some point and memorized it?”

“I mean, sure. It’s possible. It’s only four digits,” Yejun replied.

“You are such a moron.” West shook his head at him, then paused the video footage with a harsh tap of his finger thatalmost had him dropping the device altogether. “Holy shit. Look who it is.”

“Why?” Nix leaned in, watching as a familiar student headed up the stairs. The stairwell was empty for six minutes in total, and then he appeared again, descending the steps.

This time, he was holding a painting covered in a white cloth.

“That’s Juri.” Yejun cursed, but Nix was already spinning away.

He tore off his multi-slate and hit the call button, fear and disbelief bubbling up within him.

“Juri Ferd did it?” West sounded pissed. “Where the fuck is he? Let’s go catch him right now before he can get away.”

“His friendship with Nix seemed real,” Lake added.

“Let’s find him and—”

“There’s no need,” Nix interrupted, still holding the device up to his ear as he turned back to face them. “I know where he is.”

“Where?” Lake asked.

He swallowed the lump in his throat. “With Briant.”

Briant, who wasn’t picking up.

What had he done? What if Nix had left his only remaining cousin alone with a wolf in sheep's clothing?

What if it was already too late and something terrible had happened?

A million and one worst-case scenarios played through his mind as he waited and listened to the line continue to ring.

And ring.

And ring.

And ring.

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