Things got weird every time they had sex. Confusing. Part of him understood it was pure sensation, endorphins firing off in his brain, making him enjoy something he shouldn’t. But the other part, the part that was starting to get addicted to that high, was excited whenever Kelevra initiated things.
He should probably be grateful, really. If he couldn’t find a way out of it—and Kelevra never grew tired of him, which Rin still thought was a strong possibility—then at least their sex life would be worth it.
How messed up did that make him? They’d yet to have one encounter where Rin hadn’t been either blackmailed or drugged into it, and yet here he was thinking about how great the orgasms were as though that somehow made everything fine. He needed to get a grip. It was one thing to try and find the positive in an otherwise shitty situation, but it was another to sit here and wax poetic about what had to be the most toxic relationship he’d ever heard of.
Great. And now he was thinking about them as arelationship.
Fuck Kelevra.
And Fuck his stupid flashy clothes.
That looked sexy as all hell on him.
Damn it.
His brother would get a kick out of things if he knew this was what Rin was wasting his time thinking about. Another surprise, really. He’d expected his brother to throw a fit and threaten to murder the Imperial Prince as soon as he found out about the betrothal. Instead, he’d not only told Rin to milk it for all it was worth, he’d also abandoned him at Friction, knowing full well what Kelevra intended to do.
“Are you going to ask for a replacement mentor at least?” Brennon asked. “It’s got to be weird to be paired with your fiancé. The power imbalance is already through the roof, but he can also decide whether or not to pass or fail you? Doesn’t seem right. Besides, he can’t be happy about this either.”
Rin frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Kelevra’s never been with anyone long-term before. He’s never even shown an interest. If this was set up by your families, I doubt he’s pleased.” Brennon reached across the table and rested a hand over Rin’s. “I’m worried about you. He’s not the type of person you can afford to piss off. He’s dangerous. Like, really dangerous. It’s a well-known fact that he’s killed before, even if there’s never any evidence left behind to prove it. The last girl who tried to tie him down ended up dead.”
“You think Kel is responsible?” Rin had heard rumors about a girl dying over the summer break. He and his brother had stayed since a trip to their galaxy was pricey and far, and they hadn’t wanted to go anyway. It’d supposedly happened at one of the Royal parties, much too high class for either of them, so they hadn’t been invited, and neither of them had known the girl in question. “Didn’t she fall?”
“Yeah,” Brennon said, “from the rooftop of Kelevra’s penthouse.”
It should have terrified him—a normal person would have been scared but… “That’s unfortunate.”
Brennon gave him an incredulous look.
“Like you said, there’s no proof he did anything. What? You think he pushed her?”
“How can you not?”
He wasn’t like his brother. His range of emotions was a lot broader, and he could experience things like guilt and empathy. It was sad a girl died, and if Kel had done it, that was awful.
Did Rin hate him for it though?
No, not really.
His brother wasn’t exactly squeaky clean either, yet another reason why they’d needed to leave Tibera. There were more secrets belonging to the two of them buried in the sand on that planet than there were shells.
“He’s a murderer, Rin,” Brennon insisted. “What if—”
“He’s not going to kill me,” Rin snorted. Oddly, he wholeheartedly believed that. Kel would probably hurt him some more in the future, there was no doubt about that, but he wouldn’t take his life. He’d already pushed the Imperial many times, and somehow he’d held his anger in check each and every one of those occasions. Besides. “I can hold my own. Trust me. I’ll be all right.”
“He’s not a normal person.”
“I’ll let you in on a secret,” Rin said. “There are no normal people, Brenn. There’s just the mask and the true face hidden behind it. Everyone’s got demons, and the Devils? They’re no different from us in that respect.”
“Sure, except they’re rich, powerful, and above the law. Last I checked, I only fit under one of those categories, and you…”
Rin smiled humorlessly. His dad might be wealthy on their planet, but none of that had ever transferred over to his sons. Giving them money would mean allowing them the opportunity to slip through his grasp, and he never would have done that.
Only, somehow, they’d managed to do it anyway, hadn’t they? And a whole three years sooner than they’d originally planned to.
For the first time, Rin considered things from his brother’s perspective. From the outside, it didn’t look all that bad. Kelevra was gorgeous, filthy rich, and powerful enough all he’d had to do was whine to his sister and she’d granted him a full person, as a birthday gift no less. Attaching himself to him meant Rin would be set for the rest of his days. He could even quit the Academy and—
