Page 70 of Martyr

“Yes,” Lake agreed. “You’ve been behaving. That’s…worrisome.”

Nix rolled his eyes. “Basically, what you’re saying is I’m damned if I do, damned if I don’t. What do you want from me? Do you want me to fight you every step of the way? If so, we’re both going to be exhausted and unhappy, and whoever this bastard is we’re after is going to get away. I don’t want that. Do you?”

“Lovers spat?” West appeared from the kitchen then, holding a small glass bowl filled with some type of nut. He plucked one out and popped it in his mouth, chewing as he eyed them with curiosity.

“I’m asking Nix if he plans on running,” Lake stated matter-of-factly.

West snorted. “He’s not a moron, your majesty. Have a little faith.”

“Exactly,” Nix jumped in and motioned toward the other Demon. “What he said.”

“Besides,” West shrugged, “if he tries, we can always break his legs.”

Nix blinked. “Wow.”

West winked at him, but he couldn’t tell if it was because the man was only teasing, or if he totally meant the threat and just didn’t see it as a big deal.

Nix shoved at Lake again and this time he took a single step back. “I’m not going to run. You know why.”

“It sounded like you were no longer certain about sticking with your original plan,” Lake pointed out, referring to Branwen. “If you don’t have that, I see no reason for you to willingly stick around. West is right, you’re clever. Clever enough to deceive us and put us into a false sense of security.”

“Where exactly is this coming from?” He’d thought they’d been having a fairly normal conversation up until they’d entered the Roost. Had that all been in his head? “Wait.” He held up a hand, frown returning tenfold. “This isn’t because you’re jealous, right? That would be stupid.”

When Lake merely stared back at him silently, Nix crossed his arms.

“For real?”

“What’s up?” West, who was still acting as spectator, asked around another mouthful of nuts.

“He’s jealous of Yejun,” Nix stated. “Which is honestly so hypocritical.”

“Why?” Lake cocked his head. “Are you going to lie and tell me the only reason you’re fucking him is because I told you to?”

“You did—”

“He asked if you liked it when he fills you up,” Lake’s voice darkened. “It was very obvious by the way you were looking at him that you do. That has nothing to do with me. But that’s not the real problem, is it? You know why that makes me nervous, and it’s got little to do with jealousy and everything to do with doubt. Even aware of the risks, you haven’t even attempted to distance yourself.”

Nix didn’t mean to, but his gaze swept toward West uncomfortably before he cleared his throat and turned back to Lake. “Can we not talk about this right now?”

“Why does it seem like you’re more afraid of me than of them?”

“Lake.” He was playing with fire here, and Nix didn’t understand why. The Imperial was the one who’d taken things to the extreme by biting him, yet now he was speaking cryptically in front of West—West, who was far too intelligent not to catch on there was a secret between them and wonder about it—as though it was no big deal if he discovered the truth.

Maybe they should just come clean. Just put it out there that Branwen and Iris were one and the same. At least then Nix could stop feeling this ridiculous guilt, and with any luck, the three of them could more openly search for whoever Serendipity was.

“Sounds like you need to get laid, brother,” West quipped, laughing when that earned him a glare from Lake. “What? Bad joke?”

Reminded of yet another secret that he was keeping, Nix lowered his gaze.

“Come on,” West motioned over his shoulder with his chin. “I made lunch.”

Nix went to take a step after him when the Demon returned to the kitchen, but Lake grabbed onto his arm.

“To be clear,” Lake said, “I don’t trust Juri Ferd. I don’t like that the two of you are developing a friendship, even if I understand that his loyalty toward you might one day prove useful.”

“How did you know…?” Yejun. Nix yanked his arm away. “Are you guys keeping tabs on me?” He’d known, of course, but not that it was to that extreme. “Yejun was there. Why did he even need to text you?”

“To keep me informed,” Lake replied. “And given your reaction, I think it’s safe to say if he hadn’t, you weren’t planning to.”

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