Page 40 of Saint

Nix must have been really distracted with his own shit, because it finally occurred to him why Briant might prefer Juri drop him off at the bus stop over his cousin. He licked his lips and took a step toward the door.

“Well, if we’re all set, then I suppose it’s time to go. Briant, text me when you’re home.”

“I’m the older one here.” Briant ruffled his hair as though to prove it. “But you got it. Remember, if anything comes up, or you just want to talk, call me.”

“Will do.” Nix nodded at Juri as he lifted Briant’s bag off the bed. “Take care of my cousin.”

It worked out actually. West had an important match outside of town. He and Yejun would have left for it already on the team bus. Nix and Lake were both staying behind since Lake had a waif practice he couldn’t miss. Now that he didn’t have to worry about taking Briant to the bus stop either, Nix had plentyof time to make it back to the Roost before the Imperial and get ready.

One way or another, tonight wasn’t going to end without Nix getting fucked.

Chapter 12:

“Are you listening?”

Not really.

Yejun smiled and nodded his head like the good son he’d been trained to be. “Of course, mother. You were saying the submissions this year are dreadful compared to last.”

She wasn’t wrong, but like hell was he going to agree with her. It would only drag the conversation on and he was already late. By this point, he was meant to be on the bus with West and the rest of the boxing team, but she’d called him here at the last minute claiming it was an emergency and their family reputation was on the line.

Blah.

Blah.

Blah.

Their reputation was always on the line in her mind. If it was up to his parents, their children would sit in glass cases andpaint nonstop. They’d invite spectators to come see what “real artists” looked like in their natural habitat or some crazy shit like that. His sister had been smart to leave.

And all she’d had to do was marry the man their mother had chosen for her first.

“The hospital relies on this event,” Sayda Sang went on. “The funding it brings in helps a great deal. It’s important that everything goes off without a hitch.”

Harkens Hospital, which was owned and run by members of the club, was not lacking funding in the least, but he didn’t argue with her. His mother had always had an inflated sense of self-importance, perhaps brought on from her match with his father, who was of royal blood.

Technically, Sayda was now considered Royal as well, since she’d married Royal Insu, but that never seemed to be enough for her. Yejun understood and tried to humor her as best he could.

To be truthful, he didn’t hate his parents. It was just they were overbearing and smothered him. He wanted the freedom of choice. To choose his own path and his own future life partner, both things Insu and Sayda were highly against. Being able to put the title Royal before their names meant a certain level of responsibility—or so they believed.

“I brought the pieces you asked for,” Yejun said, the smile only partially slipping. He kept his hands clasped in front of him in a stance of respect, hoping to placate her to the point she’d let him leave. “Marget is taking care of them as we speak, so the gaps should be filled. Why don’t you take a break?”

“There’s no time for that,” she stated. “I’ve over a dozen things to do. I still can’t believe you and your father are both skipping out on this. At least he has a good enough reason with his concert happening an hour later, but you? A boxing match?Seriously, Yejun? When are you going to stop wasting your talents? If you’d just commit to your art you’d be—”

“Mother,” he stopped her, “I don’t want to fight. Can’t we just end things amicably for once?”

She tutted at him. “You make that sound like all I ever do is nag you!”

Sayda was a full two heads shorter than him, and wore her black hair in a tight bun, different from his slightly loose one. The mauve pencil dress she wore fit her like a second skin, and her jewelry was carefully curated so that it would both impress, yet appear elegant and worn casually.

When they’d still been alive, she and Lake’s parents had been close. His mother especially. The three of them had attended Foxglove together, and their mothers had been roommates their freshman year.

Yejun could still recall being younger and overhearing Lake’s mom tell his she should go easier on her children. He often wondered what life would have been like if they were still here. Would their influence eventually have gotten to Sayda?

“If that were the case,” she began, and it was clear he made a misstep and accidentally ended up on a landmine, “I would have brought up that humiliation of a showing you ruined last week.”

“That wasn’t my fault. Someone was messing with us. Besides, thanks to that, we were able to catch the hacker. Shouldn’t you be happy about that at least?”

“Happy?” she grunted. “Why should I be happy? Lake is the one in line for the throne, not you. Just because you and West like to pretend to be his family, that doesn’t make it true. I am your family. If you focused more on your responsibilities to the Sang name and less on Lake Zyair, something like the other day would never have happened. How did they manage to break into your studio and swap out the paintings anyway? Hmm? Andwhat were you thinking, wasting your talents creating something so vulgar in the first place?”

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