Page 73 of Martyr

Khloe shook her head after his retreating form as he raced away without another word. “That guy will do anything for sex.”

“You're one to talk,” Grady joked, grimacing when she whacked him on the shoulder.

“Are you headed back to the Roost?” she asked Nix who nodded. “I’ve got another class to get to. I’ll see you later.”

“I’m going with her. I’ve got one in the same building in twenty.” Grady paused and gave him a serious look. “Are you really okay?”

“Yeah,” he smiled reassuringly. “You don’t have to keep worrying about me. Everything is fine.”

“All right. But if they ever do something to you…”

“Thanks.” Nix wouldn’t involve Grady anymore than he already had, but for his friend's peace of mind, he’d keep that to himself. “I’ll catch you guys later.”

“Later.”

Alone with his thoughts, Nix took his time walking to the Roost, trying to come up with as many excuses for Lake as he could before he confronted him. It was foolish of him to evenwant to give the Imperial an out, but finding this hacker was something Lake wanted just as much as Nix did. Why would he keep pertinent information to himself?

When Nix had brought up the name Serendipity, Lake had acted like he’d never heard it, but he couldn’t have been the only one to think of searching Iris’s logs. West would have definitely done so himself once they’d discovered her betrayal, but he and Yejun had also acted like they didn’t know…

There was this uncomfortable feeling slowly taking over him, an apprehension, almost as though he dreaded finding out they’d all deceived him. As if he’d convinced himself they wouldn’t. As if he’d forgotten the situation.

These past couple of weeks, they’d all been nice to him, but that didn’t erase the past. It didn’t change their beginning, and it did nothing to alter the fact that Nix was a captive. All of these tiny loosening of the reigns—letting him eat with his friends, letting him hang out with Juri sometimes on campus—they’d done the exact thing Lake and the others had no doubt hoped for.

They’d tricked Nix into a false sense of security. Tricked him into thinking they wouldn’t use him like they did everyone else.

He lifted his multi-slate as he walked and opened the group chat one of them had created at some point after he’d moved into the Roost.

Nightingale:We need to talk.

Since they’d said they’d be busy, he wasn’t expecting anyone to respond right away, so was a little surprised when his device dinged almost immediately after hitting send.

Hellhound:What’s up, babe?

Incubus:Did something happen?

Maestro:I’m on my way.

Nix paused and stared down at the screen as all three messages came in almost at the same time. It certainly sounded like they cared about him enough not to dick him around but…Was he being fooled? Was he playing into their hand?

He’d thought it before, that this could all be some game. That the hacker they were supposedly tasked with finding might not even be real, but he’d put those doubts almost immediately aside because of how ludicrous that would be. Now, those doubts returned. He hated second-guessing everything.

Hated how they were tearing him apart at the fundamentals and leaving him to poorly attempt to stitch himself back together.

Hated that he was only barely managing to piece himself into some almost recognizable form.

Nightingale:Not an emergency. No need to rush home.

He wasn’t ready. He thought he wanted to confront them right away, but the more he was left with this sick feeling in his gut, the more cowardly he found himself becoming. How many times was he going to have to be put through this? How many more occasions would he fret and wonder over their motives and how truthful they were being? Was this going to be his life? Forever?

“You can’t run,” he reminded himself, whispering it under his breath as he forced his legs to start moving once more. Running wasn’t an option. Which meant he needed to think up some other way to protect himself, or at least, what little bit of the original him was left.

“Nix.”

He was still pretty distracted by his own thoughts, so even though he registered someone had called him, he wasn’t able to place the voice until he was looking up and his eyes landed on a familiar man.

“Briant.”

Branwen’s older brother was nearly four years their senior, a big enough age gap that they hadn’t played very much as children. Nix had always been a lot closer with his sister than Briant, but seeing how withered he appeared had something protective sparking to life within him.

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