Page 71 of Saint

Nix nodded, but quietly waited for Juri to continue.

“Well, at the beginning of the summer I was contacted by Greta police.” That was on the other side of the planet. “They’dfound a body in a marsh and there was some indication that the body might be my brother, Joel.”

“Oh gods, I’m so sorry!”

“It wasn’t him,” Juri said. “But before we knew that, they asked for a DNA sample to be sent over. I was going to fly, but the sample could reach them quicker, so I went down to the local station and had it done. Turns out, the body wasn’t my brother after all, but a friend of his. Joel went in for questioning and offered up a sample of his own to test against the body.”

“He was a suspect?”

“Very briefly. My brother couldn’t hurt a fly. That’s why he made for such a terrible Demon. Anyway. I thought that was the last of it, until I received the reports in the mail. I think they meant to send them to Joel, like maybe he’d requested it for some reason, but I ended up with copies as well.”

Nix wasn’t following, and it must have shown on his face.

“I’ll get to the point,” Juri stated. “Turns out, my brother isn’t my full brother. The guy I grew up with, looked up to, thought I knew…He’s only a half-sibling.”

“Your parents didn’t tell you?”

“I don’t even know if my dad is aware honestly.” He ran a hand through his hair and smiled bitterly. “He probably does though and they just kept it from me.”

“Why would they do that?”

“To protect me, most likely.”

He started to see where this could be going. “You found out who your biological dad is and he sucks, doesn’t he.”

Juri grunted. “Pretty much. I wish that was all of it, but it isn’t.”

“There’s more?” Nix dropped a hand to Juri’s knee and patted. “Sorry, man. It must really suck to discover you’ve been lied to all your life.”

“It changed how I saw my family,” he admitted. “And how I view myself. That’s been the hardest part, I think. Having to reevaluate who I am as a person, the lengths I’ll go to for justice, stuff like that.”

“Justice?” Against his parents? “You haven’t tried talking to your mom yet?”

“No, but I went through her things. That’s how I discovered who my real dad is.”

“Have you reached out to him?”

“He’s dead. He’s been dead for a while.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to keep saying that,” Juri told him. “It’s not like any of this is your fault, and you’re not going to be feeling much pity for me once I’m done explaining things.”

He pulled back, confused all over again. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

What did Juri’s revelation have to do with Nix?

“I’ve harbored a lot of resentment because of my brother and the way he was treated. How he chose to run away instead of face his problems and maybe make a difference. I felt like dropping out of the club was the only way I could help keep the peace at home, since my parents were so desperate to get Joel back, they decided they were going to pull back with club duties. It didn’t work. Joel doesn’t care what they do with their lives. He wants nothing to do with us, and me even less than before.”

So, his brother had discovered they were only half-siblings and took that fact out on Juri? Used it as an excuse to put more distance between them?

“I know what it’s like to think you know a relative, only to discover you never really knew them at all,” Nix said. “If your brother is going to act like you aren’t good enough for him, that’s his loss.”

“He’s the one not good enough for me,” Juri stated, a bit of venom slipping into his tone, surprising Nix. “I have no use for a coward who won’t take the chance to change things for the better when they’re presented with the opportunity. If he’d stuck around and fought back, maybe things would be different here. Maybe Lake and his people wouldn’t be ruling the school through fear mongering.”

How had they gotten on the topic of Lake?

“Maybe you wouldn’t have been forced into accepting a life you never wanted.” Juri’s gaze landed on Nix’s neck and he scowled. “Those monsters. I can’t believe they did that to you. You’re an innocent person who had nothing to do with the club before now, and they had to pull you into this nightmare out of pure selfishness.”

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