We wound around the town’s outskirts and made our way to the rocky shore that bordered the cliffs. In fact, I stood roughly five feet from where I helped Kierra cut her hair. Instead, in her place was a tall man with fiery hair, ignoring the two Grimms behind him.

Krulg stared at the ocean with a broad smile, canines on full display. The wind blew and his beard lifted with the breeze and as it settled he turned around. He crossed his arms and fixed us with a different expression.

“So you want to know things about the Prime,” he started. I nodded and he cocked his head. “Say it, pup. Declare your words when you are talking about him.”

I stabbed my pinky into my palm and smiled politely. “I have questions about the Prime. I wish to know the answers.”

He nodded along and turned to Alice. ‘Good. Good. Now you, pup. What is the desire you seek?”

She responded in a monotone voice that gave nothing away. “I seek answers for my questions, regarding the Prime and concerning an individual.”

Alice…

Krulg stopped and narrowed his eyes. He didn’t move from where he stood but he crossed his arms and stared for a long minute.

“You assume I know of this individual.”

“I believe you do.”

Damnit Alice, stick to the script.

“Curious,” he eventually said. “Very well, I will answer your questions after talking with Cain.”

“You know my name?” I asked.

He smirked and tapped his cheek. I watched his eyes flash orange before resuming his previous expression. “Of course. An errant pup who drew the attention of our leader. One who holds a smell just like us. I’d be a piss-poor Grim if I couldn’t discover something as simple as your name.”

So I’ll assume the rest know of me as well. Let’s hope Ripper stays far away.

“Should I be worried about them? Especially Ripper?”

A dark look flashed across Krulg’s face, followed by one of disgust.

“No, you shouldn’t. Elizabeth is a disrespectful grouch, but not one to involve herself without a personal reason. Quinn is even less likely to care for your existence than Ripper. But if you held an ounce of sanity, I’d avoid Ripper like the plague. Lest he fills you with heretical vitriol and turn your mental stats to mulch.”

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“So Ripper is an idiot, got i-”

He crossed the distance between us faster than I could react. His hand grabbed my collar by the fistful and dragged me upward, forcing my face only mere inches from his. Eyes of blazing gold rimmed with orange and flickering shades of red stared down.

When he spoke, it was cold and more of a half-contained growl that underlined his words.

“You’d be smart not to insult one chosen by the Prime. Unless you are insinuating the Prime is an idiot.” He dragged me past the last inch, his hot breath caressing my cheeks. “You wouldn’t be that stupid, would you? Pup.”

My fingers tightened around his wrist, but it was like bending hard steel. He remained unconcerned, and even as Alice reached for her weapon, his eyes never left mine.

“No,” I ground out.

At once, he relaxed his grip and I slipped, catching myself before I stumbled. Like a flipped switch, his snarl was gone and in its place was the casual grin from earlier. His eyes were no longer glowing sun orbs, and he stroked his beard.

“As much as I detest the savage at times, I wouldn’t be so sure of who would win in a fight. I’d crush you like a pixie’s skull, what he’d do to you would be far worse. Remember that, pup. Stay away from Ripper.”

I cleared my throat and adjusted my collar. One of the stitching had ripped open, leaving a hole where there shouldn’t have been.

“Noted. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult the Prime.”

“No apologies needed! You after all, weren’t nearly as suicidal as to insult our leader. Right?”

I nodded along and he switched emotions again, losing the cheer and adapting to a cold somberness.

“Now ask your first question. I can only stand the sea for so long before it messes with my nose.”

If he’s going to make it that easy,..

“Regarding us, do you know why he,” I stopped to reword the sentence I was about to speak before continuing. “Why we are chosen and made?”

“Because we are failures.”

What?

Krulg sighed and squeezed his arms hard enough to pale the skin around his fingers. “As much as I desire to say its because we are special. Me, Elizabeth, Quinn, Ripper, and anyone else who’s been gifted the Prime’s strain–are failures. Failures who will never see his wish fulfilled.”

“What do you mean?”

“Its as I said. We are not enough, and now our only use to our leader is to be the crop above the rest. He gave us a gift beyond the other’s ability, we have nothing left but to see that we continue to atone for our failure.”

I licked my lips and chose my words carefully. “What exactly is his wish? If the Prime needs something fulfilled, I would like to know lest I fail too.”

At this, anger flashed across his face but the wind picked up and hid the grimace by lifting his beard in a wild frenzy. The sea salt in the air burned my nostrils as I tasted the brine on my tongue.

“That is a question I cannot answer. Simply, survive and better yourself. Maybe you’ll be the one to succeed where we failed, but if not, then do your best to atone. Now ask a different question.”

Damnit.

“Did he give you a bead? Made of red flames.”

Again, his eyes narrowed. “No. But I know that Elizabeth and Ripper were both given the gift of power. Do you seek to know what it is and how to use it?”

“Yes… Should I ask Elizabeth then?”

“Hah. I was unworthy, doesn’t mean I don't know what it is. That bead as you call it, the flames of crimson hues. It’s a catalyst to fuel the evolution of your strain. Live up to the Prime’s expectations, and you will find yourself more powerful. Stronger, faster, more mana to your core. It’s a seed begging to bloom. But if you fail, its roots will choke you dry. And a hungry flower eats what it can, even if it dooms itself in its feast.”