Page 15 of Saint

“Yes, well, when I found out you’d completed your mission and uprooted the hacker, the Order and I agreed it was only right to fast track things. The longer the throne sits cold, the worse it is for us all, wouldn’t you say?”

“Considering one has nothing to do with the other,” Yejun chimed in, unable to help himself, “not really.”

Demitrious frowned at him, no doubt caught off guard by the haughty disposition. He had a right to be. Especially this close to achieving everything they’d all been working for. Yejun should be on his best behavior in front of an Order member, but he couldn’t control his irritation.

They hadn’t been ready for this.

Nix hadn’t been ready.

“In another one of your moods, I see,” Demitrious ended up giving him an out, probably not wanting to fight with such a large audience around them. He turned to Lake and winked. “Artists. I was trying to have a conversation with his father earlier and I swear he spaced out several times.”

Yejun would stand up for his dad except…that sounded about right. He couldn’t even recall the last time he’d had a talk with his dad that had lasted longer than five minutes. Unless, of course, the lectures about how he’s wasting his potential and embarrassing the family counted. Those could drag on for near an hour if he wasn’t rescued by either West or Lake early enough.

“We’ve contacted our sacrifice,” Lake said, getting them back on track. “He’ll be here as soon as he’s able. Since we didn’t have any notice, it didn’t occur to us to bring them along.”

“Pardon?” Demitrious’s brow furrowed. “I thought you said Phoenix Monroe would be accompanying you?”

“He did. But he isn’t our sacrifice.”

He blinked at them, completely caught off guard.

Yejun almost smirked. See how he liked it. Prick. Instead, he sipped at his beverage to hide his partial smile, catching sight of a group of three younger teens eyeing him from the entranceway to the library a little over thirty feet away.

“What are they doing here?” he blurted, giving them a once over to be sure he’d clocked their age accurately. The Night of the Nightshade was not the type of event to bring minors to. Itwas early, and people hadn’t drunk nearly enough yet, but after the initiation ceremony, the orgy portion would no doubt begin and… “They look like high schoolers.”

“They’re of age,” Demetrious corrected. “They’re attending Foxglove this year as freshmen. You haven’t seen any of them around campus? What about at the Club House?”

“We don’t pay attention to people who don’t matter,” Lake replied cooly before Yejun could think of something more tactful to say. “Which is why this isn’t exactly how I’d hoped to spend my birthday, surrounded by people I couldn’t care less about.”

“I apologize, son.” Demetrious slapped a hand on Lake’s shoulder and left it there. “This seemed like the best gift, speeding up the process so you could become a full-fledged member. I was thinking the sooner it was done, the less of a chance there would be for those who are still speaking against you to have their way.”

“Oh?” Lake feigned indifference, but this was actually a topic they were all invested in.

“It’s nothing to concern yourself with,” Demitrious pulled away, “especially not now that you’ve completed your mission and we’re about to name your sacrifice. But I would be lying if I didn’t inform you that Hendrix has continued causing a stir amongst the Order. He still insists you’re too young for the throne. Fortunately, everyone is smart enough to see his true intentions, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have followers.”

Hendrix had enough coin that even filthy rich bastards like some of the Order members could be swayed if offered the right amount.

Speeding up the Night of the Nightshade wouldn’t change the date for Demon’s Passing, so, again, it didn’t really matter and wouldn’t magically stop Hendrix from being a threat. However, Yejun supposed it could help slow down his progress ifhe was still attempting to recruit, which he must be, considering they hadn’t been called to the Club House and told Lake had been voted out of the line of succession.

Legally, Club Essential didn’t have the authority to make that call.

But since they owned all authority on planet…

Becoming Emperor was the only way out from under their thumb. The only way the three of them could be free from their fucking families and their even more fucked up expectations.

Four of them, Yejun mentally corrected. Nix was a part of this too, even if his relationship to his parents seemed to be healthier than his and West’s.

“What’s this about a change in sacrifice,” Demitrious didn’t sound pleased. “I thought you had it all planned out.”

“That was before he became my mate,” Lake said.

“Yes, about that—”

Lake held up a palm, clearly not interested in whatever argument West’s father was about to start. His multi-slate happened to ding right after, and he checked the message. “Our sacrifice has arrived. I’ll go retrieve him.” He turned to Yejun. “Wait here for the others.”

“Yes, where is my son?” Demitrious asked, still with that same disdainful tone. It was obvious he didn’t like being shut out by Lake, but he knew better than to argue openly.

“Getting Nix a change of clothes,” Yejun replied as Lake slipped away. “We were underdressed thanks to your surprise.”

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