Fact of the matter was, Nate hadn’t felt centered in a long time, maybe longer than he could even remember. But being with Kaz? Whenever Kazimir was around, he demanded undivided attention. Nate could only focus on two things, the Devil, and himself.
Prior to that, Nate had only focused on himself when those vicious voices in his head got out of hand and started reminding him how useless and annoying he was.
“And if he brings someone else in without permission, like he did with me?” Zane switched tactics, bringing them back to that part of his story. It was impossible to tell from his enigmatic expression whether or not Nate had hit a nerve though, or if he was just rolling with the proverbial punches. “He trussed me up and took me unapologetically before removing the blindfold to show Lyra sitting on the opposite side of the room, watching the whole show.”
“Lyra?” That name… “Lyrathe Heir Imperial Princess, Lyra?!”
“The one and only.”
Nate had kept a wide berth between himself and those in power, however, even he couldn’t avoid rumors and gossip. “The one you’re currently living with, you mean?” He clicked his tongue when Zane seemed mildly surprised he knew that detail. “Sounds like it all worked out well for you in the end.”
“Looks can be deceiving.”
“I figured that out a long time ago. Which is why I’m going to cut this short and just ask for you to get to the point. What’s the goal here, Zane? Are you trying to break us up? Do you want me to help you file a report for assault—”
“I said I couldn’t forgive him,” Zane interrupted. “But I wasn’t referring to that.”
Nate paused. “We’re both kind of messed up, aren’t we?”
“Yes,” he agreed. “Perhaps that’s what Kazimir initially found attractive in us.”
Kaz took advantage and manipulated those around him, and yet here the two of them were, toeing off for…what? Dibs? To a monster?
“Do you think you can do better?” Nate said.
“Do you?”
“I’ve never really thought about it.”
“I have,” he stated, heading back toward him and the doorway he was blocking. Again. “And yes, I think I can do much better than Kazimir Ambrose. But that doesn’t mean I don’t feel a little bit possessive of him.”
So that was it.
“You’re staking your claim,” Nate surmised.
“I’m checking out the competition,” he corrected. “He and I have a good thing going, and something tells me you wouldn’t be down for sharing in the same ways I am.”
“No,” Nate confirmed. “I won’t be.”
Zane slipped something from his back pocket and held it out, waiting for Nate to take it.
The red envelope was silky to the touch, made of high-quality material, but the same standard card size as all the others that were being passed out this month.
“What’s this for?” Why was he giving Nate a New Year's envelope?
Zane tapped the end of it while Nate was still holding it up, staring at it like it might bite him. “I feel the need to remind you, it’s bad luck to open one of these before the big day.”
Nate scowled, and Zane winked at him before brushing past.
He turned as soon as he was in the hallway, that same empty expression back on his face. “See you later, Competition. If you can last that long, anyway.”
Nate let him go, listening to the sounds of his retreating steps down the long hall followed by the clicking of the front door. He exhaled and dropped down onto the edge of the bed, the envelope still clutched between his fingers. That parting comment had sounded a lot like a threat, and there was already so much about this whole interaction that left a bad taste in his mouth.
Vitals may believe opening an envelope early was bad luck, but Nate wasn’t a Vital.
He tore open the envelope carelessly, pulling the small gold card free to see what it was.
The ucina was printed in black, the derpy looking bird-like creature staring back at him mockingly. It wasn’t even a bird, the body with beady eyes and a beak a fake. It had bear like limbs and butternut colored fur with a tuft of green feathers on top of its false head. Behind it, the true creature camouflaged itself as five long, smooth leaves with darker green tips and hidden eyes. A long tail with a Venus fly trap tip was the real mouth and contained toxins that would paralyze its prey.
