Nico's POV:

I sat at the edge of the table, watching Khloe and Doe as they enjoyed their breakfast.

Marcus was supposed to be here soon, so I wanted to make sure these two were safe before I lead him off to have a little chat.

I felt responsible for Doe as well since I was the reason for Xander's absence, so I tried to convince Khloe to stick with her today until Xander came back.

Luckily Khloe didn't ask a lot of questions last night.

After I locked away the boy that tried to break in, I had to linger outside my door for a while before I deemed myself calm enough to show myself to her again.

I didn't want her knowing what had happened. The last thing I wanted was for her to worry.

She's done enough of that in her life.

So, I just told her it was a mishap with the cleaning crew and that I got it all sorted out.

She fell back asleep soon after, but I couldn't for the life of me.

I may have calmed myself down enough to look calm physically, but my instincts were still going wild at the fact that there was a threat.

A threat that just happened to be my father.

Which was one of the main reasons I was keeping the master key with me at all times from now on.

All three sets of eyes turned towards the door as Marcus staggered into the kitchen.

From first glance, he looked like he got about as much sleep as I did last night.

He seemed to spot the girls before he spotted me, his whole demeanor switching to that of fear for a quick second.

Impressively, he managed to cover it up moderately well as the girls greeted him and invited him over to join.

He hesitated a response, eyes flickering to me as I stood.

"Actually," I began, putting on a cheerful facade of my own, "Marcus and I need to discuss something," I said before exchanging goodbyes.

My plan was for me to get this done and then whatever work I have to do by the time Xander returned so I could have Khloe be with me

The absolute last thing I needed was for her to be alone at all.

With the company of Doe and Lily, for now, that was enough.

I heard him gulp as I began to approach him.

"Is he the only threat?" I questioned just loud enough for Marcus to hear once I reached him.

I needed to know that besides my father, that boy was all I had to worry about.

"Yes," Marcus squeaked out.

I was already listening for any sign of dishonesty.

"Good," I finished, placing my hand on his back to lead him out.

That seemed to spike his panic, his entire body tightening.

He trailed behind me as I walked back to my room, wanting this conversation to be as confidential as I could possibly control.

I could feel my own anger begin to steadily rise as the seconds passed, my unsurety getting the best of me.

Frankly, yes, I was pissed at Marcus, and I'm sure he knew it.

I didn't even have to look at him to be able to tell.

The sound of his speeding heart rate and quick breaths were telling enough.

Regardless of the worry, it also told me that he was either extremely guilty or fearing for his life.

I took a deep breath in an act to keep myself calm.

I didn't want a repeat of last night, I just wanted to be able to logically hear and decipher what Marcus had to say to me.

So, I asked him a question right now that could over-all determine how this was going to go.

"Where does your loyalty lie?" I asked tightly, not even turning to face him.

He didn't think about his answer for as long as I thought he would.

"With you," He answered firmly, despite his fearful tone, "Its always been with you."

I sensed no hesitation or dishonesty from him.

Which strangely didn't work in calming me down as much as I thought it would.

Opening the door to my room, I turned towards him, gesturing for him to enter.

His posture could only be described as submissive, his entire body trembling wildly with his eyes pointed to the floor.

He didn't even want to look at me.

Still, he walked into my room and I followed soon after, shutting the door before I walked over to my desk.

I figured I might be able to keep my cool a bit easier if I was sitting down, so I rolled over my desk chair and took a seat.

Marcus only glanced over at me for a moment while I sat back and crossed my arms.

I could tell this silence was practically eating him alive.

So I gave him the chance to change that with one simple word.

Before any questioning, I wanted to know what he had to say.

"Talk."

He drew in a sharp breath, eyes looking at me before he searched the floor.

Exhaling that same shaky breath, he managed to speak.

"Where do you want me to start?"

My eyes narrowed, effectively adding to his fright.

"The beginning. I want to know everything that's been going on with you, this situation, and that boy."

He nodded slowly, trying to compose himself enough to explain.

"I-It actually started not long after we got here..." He began and then continued to explain in a panicked frenzy every last detail in a story that was a lot longer than I was expecting.

He claimed that this all started the day he had to bring a letter from Lord Bronwyn to my father. He told me how my father had threatened Marcus to keep quiet with the threat of sending him back.

This apparently was where that boy came into play, his name apparently being Carlo.

He was the head slave here before I brought in Marcus and is considered extremely trusted and valued by my father. On top of that, Marcus considered him a friend before any of this went down.

He then told me how he figured out something was going on by mistake, overhearing a conversation between Carlo and my father about him needing something done. Only later figuring out that he was indeed the one that drugged Khloe, which he guessed was to try to get information about me from her.

I felt my hands tighten.

It took everything in me to keep my mouth shut and let him continue.

Apparently at that point, after I had questioned every slave on this floor about it, Marcus connected the dots and excited to investigate himself.

I remembered helping him mask his scent from my father, but I never imagined that this was what he was doing.

I didn't think he had the guts to eavesdrop on a Lord.

That's where he found out that Carlo had failed and Khloe didn't give up any information. Which is when Marcus discovered that Carlo and my father had made a sort of deal.

Marcus stopped for a moment, to regain his breath.

I could even see tears beginning to swim in his eyes before his next words.

"The deal was that either Carlo got the information he needed from Khloe, or that the Lord would send me back to Bronwyn."

Admittedly, this surprised me.

Even with my protection, my father could have easily gone through with that without me knowing until it was too late.

Both of us seemed to know that.

As well as the fact that we both knew Marcus wouldn't last long if he was returned.

What also surprised me was that I had very much underestimated Carlo's friendship with Marcus if he was willing to go so far to protect him.

And regardless of that, Marcus decided to protect Khloe instead.

I listened intently as Marcus began to speak again, explaining his internal dilemma, constantly looking out for Khloe despite the fact that following that route would get him killed.

His tears started to stream down his face.

He had even told Carlo the side he was taking on this. How he was going to follow my order to stick with her and protect her.

How he had to go against the person who was trying to save him.

Little by little I felt my anger with him shift to sympathy.

Something that never really happened until after I had gotten Khloe.

He explained how he was trying to make sure everybody he cared about didn't end up hurt, saying that he didn't tell me because he didn't want Carlo to get hurt, and to make up for that he swore to himself that Khloe wouldn't get hurt.

Then, in the end, the only one that ended up getting hurt would be him.

He considered that the best-case scenario.

What the hell kind of thinking is that?

Then, he explained how the day after Khloe's birthday, apparently the stress had taken enough of a toll on Marcus that Carlo told him what his plan was, saying that Marcus had the choice to make his decision by either stopping him or not.

And yet despite all that, he was still there to stop him and protect Khloe, stopping the only plan Carlo had and thus solidifying in Marcus' mind that he would be sent back to Bronwyn.

He lifted his head a bit as soon as he had finished his story, fear still showing all throughout his body.

He knew the next move was completely up to me.

Yet I couldn't find it in me to be mad anymore.

Despite what happened, he was willing to stick with Khloe and protect her.

It's more than evident that he made her a priority.

Especially last night. He could have so easily just acted like he knew nothing about what my father wanted Carlo to do.

That would have benefited him a lot more and saved him a lot of stress, but he decided to bear the burden himself even if it got him killed.

There was absolutely no way in hell he was going to get sent back and I will personally make sure of it.

I turned my attention back to him once I heard him sniffle, guilt being as evident as the tears in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," He spurted out, rubbing his eyes, "I'm so so sorry. I know I should have told you, I just wanted to protect everyone that I cared about. I know I messed up and I betrayed your trust but I promise I didn't have any bad intentions,"

In an odd way, the way he spoke reminded me of Khloe when I first got her.

He looked and sounded panicked beyond compare, almost exactly how he did when he mistook me for Lord Bronwyn the day I freed him.

He probably thought I was going to bring the same fate that Bronwyn gave him.

The tension in his body did look similar to the way someone braces for a physical attack.

And for some reason, that fact made me feel terrible.

I stood from my chair.

For all he was willing to sacrifice... If anything, I owed him.

He cowered ever so slightly as I approached him.

I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do once I reached him.

The only people I've ever really comforted were my brother and my lover, so I wasn't too sure how to handle this.

I settle with setting my hand on his head, hearing his breaths choke at the contact, eyes squeezing shut in some sort of preparation.

"Thank you." Is all I said.

Needless to say, that was probably the last thing he was expecting from me.

The way he turned his head up to me with wide eyes further proved my point.

I drew my hand back.

"Although you should have told me I can understand why you didn't, and at the end of the day, Khloe never got hurt. You did your job despite what would happen do you, and I don't know a lot of people who would do that."

I saw the tension in his body slowly dissipate, his panic turning into relief.

"I'll tell you everything from now on," he assured quickly, "I promise."

"And I'll make sure you never end up at Bronwyn's. I promised you my protection before we left and that hasn't changed."

I meant that more than he probably thought.

He blew out the rest of his panic, his exhaustion finally showing with a few tears of relief.

Yet something was still apparently bothering him, His head lifting like he had recalled something.

"A-And Carlo?" He questioned.

That worry had reappeared in his eyes.

Right. Him.

The person who had the rest of the information I needed.

I needed to know why my father is after Khloe.

And I doubt its going to go as smoothly as talking to Marcus was.

"I'm questioning him next."