Meanwhile, that night, Stella did not sleep.
The room was quiet except for the soft breathing of the others. Moonlight filtered through the narrow window, cutting pale lines across the floor. She lay on her back, eyes open, staring at the ceiling as if something was written there.
Maxwell's voice replayed in her head.
Two days.
Bow.
Or die.
She turned to her side slowly. Her back ached from the lashes, but she barely reacted. Pain was background noise now.
"I know how this works," she told herself silently.
She had seen it before. Not here. Not with coins and robots. But power was power everywhere.
Maxwell would not rush.
He would squeeze.
He would make examples.
He would humiliate them in public. Strip them of pride piece by piece until bowing felt like relief.
"Maxwell will bully us until we bow or die."
Her jaw tightened.
She bit her lower lip, tasting iron where the skin had already cracked.
"I have to move fast."
Her fingers curled against the thin blanket.
"I have to play his game better than him."
Across the corridor, in another room, Brian and Theo were also awake.
Brian lay flat on his back, arms folded behind his head, eyes fixed on the darkness. Theo lay on his side facing the wall, restless.
"You know that Maxwell wasn't joking, right?" Brian said quietly.
Theo did not turn.
"I guess he is going to kill us all," he hissed.
The words did not sound dramatic.
They sounded calculated.
Brian rolled onto his side, facing him now.
"We do not have to die with the rest of them."
Theo turned slowly, raising his head from the pillow.
"What do you mean?"
Brian's gaze held steady.
"We could bow," he said. "Ask to be his right hand man. He rules this place and we could rule with him."
Theo's eyes narrowed slightly.
He rubbed his chin, wincing when his bruised knuckles brushed against his skin.
"The rest are going to see us as traitors."
Brian's lips curved faintly.
"And so what?"
He shifted closer.
"Since when do you begin to care about what others think of you?"
Theo stared at him.
Then a short laugh escaped him.
"That is true," he muttered. "They can think whatever they like."
Silence returned.
But it was not the same silence as before.
It was heavier.
Charged.
The next morning, before the blue light of any notification appeared, Brian and Theo were already up.
They moved quietly, careful not to wake the others.
The corridor outside was dim.
Maxwell's room was three doors down from Newton's.
They stopped in front of it.
Brian lifted his hand and knocked.
Once.
No response.
Theo glanced down the hallway.
Brian knocked again.
Harder.
The sound echoed sharply.
Still nothing.
Brian's jaw tightened. He raised his fist and pounded the door with force.
The door flew open violently.
"Who is that idiot?" Maxwell growled.
He stood in the doorway shirtless, eyes dark with irritation.
Then he froze.
Recognition flickered.
"You!"
His voice dropped into something colder.
Without hesitation, Brian dropped to his knees.
Theo followed a split second later.
Their knees struck the hard floor.
"We have come to bow under your authority," Brian said, lowering his head.
For a moment, Maxwell did not speak.
He looked at them carefully.
Measured their posture.
Studied the angle of their shoulders, the tension in their necks.
Theo's heart thundered so loudly he was sure Maxwell could hear it.
Why is he quiet? Does he think we are lying? he thought.
Seconds stretched.
Then Maxwell's lips slowly parted into a smile.
"Come in," he said.
Theo instinctively shifted to rise.
Brian's hand shot out and pressed him back down.
Stay down.
They moved forward on their knees.
Crawling.
Into Maxwell's room.
The floor was polished. The air smelled faintly of cologne and metal oil. The bed was larger than theirs. Neater.
Maxwell stepped aside, watching them with open interest now.
He sat on the edge of his bed, crossing one leg over the other.
"Alright," he said. "I see your loyalty."
He leaned forward slightly.
"But to enjoy my protection, both of you will have to pay for my food with your Ninja coins for the next two weeks."
The words landed heavily.
Ninja coins.
Brian and Theo exchanged a quick glance.
Two weeks.
Five points per meal.
Three meals a day.
The numbers began to add up in their heads.
They both knew it would cost a lot.
Maxwell noticed the hesitation immediately.
His smile thinned.
"It is either you spend it," he said calmly, "or you will still have to die, leaving it behind."
The silence in the room tightened.
Theo swallowed.
Brian's fingers curled slightly against the floor.
Another glance passed between them.
A choice.
Coins.
Or blood.
They lowered their heads together.
"We will do as you instructed."
Maxwell leaned back again.
"Good choice."
He waved his hand dismissively.
"You can leave now."
They bowed once more, foreheads nearly touching the floor.
Then they rose slowly.
Brian hesitated at the door.
"One more thing, your highness."
Maxwell's expression darkened instantly.
"What is it?"
Brian turned fully toward him.
His posture was straight now.
"I want to be your right hand man."
The air shifted.
Theo felt it.
Maxwell did not answer immediately.
He stood from the bed and walked closer.
Slow.
Deliberate.
He stopped inches from Brian's face.
His eyes searched him.
Studied him.
Measured his ambition.
"You are bold," Maxwell said quietly.
"But being my right hand man is what you earn and not get."
Brian did not drop his gaze.
"Tell me anything," he said. "I am willing to do what it takes."
Maxwell tilted his head slightly.
"Are you sure you can do what it takes?"
Brian nodded once.
No hesitation.
Maxwell's voice lowered.
"Even if it will be against your friends?"
The question hung between them.
Heavy.
Sharp.
Theo's breath caught.
Brian did not look at him.
He did not look back at the corridor.
He kept his eyes locked on Maxwell's.
The room felt smaller.
Warmer.
Maxwell waited.