Page 135 of Loving the Tormentor

I run my tongue across my front teeth, now only wanting to go home to Nyx and make sure she's alright. She can have time to think about Sophie when she's not at risk.

"Let me guess," I say, "the message was to remind you that you're a Shadow, and when the Circle gives you an order, you execute."

"Convenient that it came a day before your dad shows up here and asks us to find out who Hermes is, huh?"

"Yeah,convenientis one way to put it."

"We're just three guys against them, Achilles," Chris admits with defeat.

It's something he's always said. That we're not invincible. That we can't truly take them down, only push back. But now that his precious Ella is in danger again, he's putting down the arms entirely.

"I'm not putting Ella's safety at risk," he says. "You have to stop Nyx from posting. Hermesmustdisappear."

Running a hand through my hair, I look into the fireplace. The flames are dancing, the fire crackling as the rain outside batters against the window. November is truly a depressing month around here. Probably why I was born then.

Nyx isn’t Hermes. I know she's not. But my worry is how to keep people like Chris from getting to her. He'll do anything to protect Ella, and I'm sure threatening Nyx is part of that. Then what? I'd have to kill Chris, break one of my best friends' hearts,and Ella would never forgive me. This is a shitshow waiting to happen. One way or another, the Silent Circle is destroying our lives, and we're like taken soldiers. Facing a wall, our hands tied behind our backs, unable to do anything while we wait for that bullet to hit the back of our heads.

"You're awfully quiet," I call out to Wren.

He's still sitting on the couch, one arm resting on the back of it, an ankle on his knee.

"Do we really need another voice to add how screwed we are? I committed a lot of crimes, took a lot of lives, just so the Circle would be scared enough to let me go. And here I am, back in that fucking business like I never left."

"That's not what I was wondering about," I tell him.

Whereas Chris is our friend through Ella and the Circle, Wren and I grew up together. We're best friends and have put sense into each other many times. I need to know what he thinks.

"Listen, I can't imagine little scaredy cat Nyx Mayer behind her phone posting about us. I don’t believe she has that malice in her."

There's more to come, and I don't have the patience for him to admit it.

"But you never imagined Peach doing the things she did either," I conclude for him.

We all discovered a side of Wren's girlfriend last year that we never thought existed. She took us all by surprise. He's not wrong; anybody could surprise us that way.

He nods at me, his eyes full of apology. "The proofs add up, Achilles. It amped up when she arrived. She has reasons to hate us, the Circle, everyone at this school. And you yourself thought she was a trap at first. That your dad sent her for you. You hated her, bullied her. This could’ve easily turned her against all of us, could’ve been why Hermes is taking it up a level. We hatedChester, but we can’t ignore the fact that Shadows are being targeted and it’s working in creating chaos."

"You guys imagine her to be some sort of vigilante against rich people because she's not from here, and it's seriously disappointing from both of you. Nyx is as much a victim of Hermes as we all are."

"A couple posts against herself are the perfect alibi," Wren says too easily, betraying the friendship we've built over the years. "And don't say it started when she wasn't at SFU. We're talking about social media. She could be in another country and still do it. But it's not like the North Shore is far anyway. It's twenty minutes down the road, just on the other side of the river. They know the life we live here just as much as we know how unprivileged they are over there. Anyone from there could get sick of how unfair that is. Anyone could want revenge."

"But not her," I snap as I stand. "She's not like that. She wanted out of there; she wanted to be part ofthis." I point between us. "Don't ask me why." I snort. "Because who in the world would want to be constantly surrounded by snakes?"

Wren stands up to face me directly, looking me in the eye. "Tell me the truth. Does she know about the Circle? Have you told her secrets from members that you shouldn't have?"

I thought myself stronger than this, yet I can't get myself to lie to him.

"Yes, but?—"

"Fuck,"he hisses. "Achilles, what the fuck!"

"Alex isn’t part of the Circle, and we tell her things all the time. Why would it be different for Nyx? She has absolutely no reason to want to take it down or out it," I fight back. "Why would she?"

"Except she does," Chris says calmly. "I did some research. Her mom left, right?"

I nod silently.

"Because she wanted money, a better life…" he keeps going.