By the end of that week, Kristofer had not made any further visits to Raven’s Loft. Instead, he was spending several rather depressed hours alone in the tiny abode just outside the eastern border of Sean’s territory. As he had just sat down to a modest meal which he hadn’t eaten much of anyway, a rather impatient knock came at the door of his little home. He swallowed slightly as he had hardly been expecting any guests and carefully moved to peek out through the window to see who exactly his visitor may have been that particular afternoon.

But when his eyes fell on the slightly older male outside his door, it did nothing to put his mind at ease. The man who was knocking loudly looked to be around thirty and stood a bit over six foot, with shaggy dark blonde locks that just reached slightly below his earlobes and were accented by light brown eyes that almost looked yellow; or perhaps that was just Kristofer’s imagination, all things considered.

Kristofer sighed slightly as he pressed his forehead to the wall, appearing to be having an inner debate about opening that door at all. That was when the man’s voice called loudly to him with further impatience, “I know you’re in there, Kristofer. Are you really going to make me force my way in?” he asked with a bit of anger that was never ever far below the surface with him.

Kristofer allowed another defeated sigh as he moved to unlock and open the door, “I didn’t realize anyone knew I was back” he greeted the other man, though his words were hesitant.

“You always told us it would only take you five years, didn’t you?” the man returned roughly as he pushed past the much smaller man. Though Kristofer’s hair and eyes were much darker than his visitor’s, it was obvious which of them was a lot more intimidating. “We’ve been watching this place all month just waiting on you to finally bring your ass back here” he muttered as he looked around the tiny home with a shake of his head.

“Nothing says love like being stalked” Kristofer muttered, only to have the other man grab his arm roughly.

“Does that attitude mean you’re not planning on coming home?” he growled in annoyance.

“I am home” Kristofer returned with what little defiance he could manage when it came to this other man.

“The Caern is your home; not this hole” the man growled in return, only then releasing Kristofer’s arm, though with obvious disdain.

“Kaleb, I’ve been living here since three years before I even went east” he attempted, still seeming unable to meet those yellowish brown eyes.

“Yeah and it’s been eight fucking years, including the five you were off somewhere chasing some ridiculous dream. You’ve had your fun, and you’re twenty-six already; it’s time to come home and grow the fuck up” Kaleb growled again.

“Most people don’t consider getting a medical degree to be a ridiculous dream” Kristofer returned, though the words were a mere mumble as he was so obviously cowed by the older man, and seemed as though he had been all his life.

“We’re not most people” Kaleb returned with that same ever-present anger.

“You’re not most people. I’m just a man” Kristofer argued in the same weak tone.

“You’re not just any man” Kaleb returned more loudly, “you’re kinfolk, and you’ve been avoiding your duty for almost a decade. We are at the last bit of our patience with you” he finished with that clear warning.

Kristofer sighed again, trying not to roll his eyes at the same argument he had heard for the first eighteen years of his life until he finally had worked up the courage to move away from his family’s home. “The whole point in my getting a degree is so I could become a real doctor and help people; not just hide in the Caern ‘til I die” he added more quietly.

Kaleb scoffed angrily, “Oh so you wanna help all these other people, but not your own family? Is that it? I think we’re a little more in need of help than a bunch of mortals who already have hundreds of other doctors. Now you better be ready to come home by the end of the day!” Kaleb added angrily.

Kristofer just shook his head at Kaleb’s unrelenting obstinacy before forcing any further argument, “I paid a lot of money for this degree, and took five years to get it; and now I’m supposed to just toss it all away?”

Kaleb turned back to him with a glare which did do well to cause Kristofer to shrink back further, “how the hell did you even get the money for this school of yours anyway? I know our parents never would have given it to you, even if they had it” he asked the question as only an afterthought.

Kristofer sighed once more, “I borrowed it from a friend” he confessed quietly.

“A friend?” Kaleb scoffed, “some friend who apparently had the money and had no problem just handing it to you?” he added with further disbelief.

“I guess she was more generous than my own family” Kristofer mumbled his answer.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

“She?” Kaleb latched onto that part, “some woman paid for you to go to school on the other side of the country?” the older of the two brothers scoffed even more loudly then, “other than how truly pathetic it is that you begged some rich widow or other to give you all this money, is that what this is really about? A woman?” he added with disdain.

“I didn’t ask her, she just offered; and she’s not…” Kristofer just shook his head, and then started again, “it doesn’t matter anyway. I doubt I’ll ever be seeing her again” he added sadly.

Kaleb just looked angrily back at his younger brother once more, “my little brother the whore, apparently.”

“What?” Kristofer asked, a bit thrown by that, all things considered.

“You fuck some woman and she gives you a ton of money. Apparently you do have some talent” Kaleb let out an angry laugh.

“It wasn’t like that, Kaleb” Kristofer argued with disbelief.

“Oh, so this rich, bored widow or whatever just gave you a load of money ‘cause she thought you had such a pretty face?” Kaleb just scoffed, “what is she? Ninety and too old to let you in her?”

“Stop it Kaleb” Kristofer complained, “she’s not some rich, old widow; she’s actually young and beautiful. Very beautiful” he added more quietly.

Kaleb narrowed his eyes at that, “so a rich, bored, neglected wife then?” he offered that guess as he watched to see the way Kristofer quickly looked down, “so, what’s happened to make you say you’ll never see her again? Did her husband find out and hand your ass to you?” to that, Kristofer only continued keeping his eyes downcast. Kaleb then scoffed with further disbelief, “did you at least manage to get her pregnant?”

“What?” Kristofer returned as he finally looked up in shock at that question.

“Given, it wouldn’t be ideal, and we’d have to go get her and drag her back home with us, but I suppose it’s a start” Kaleb added in thought.

“Would you stop it?” Kristofer interrupted with as much volume as he could, “no I did not get her pregnant!”

That’s when Kaleb’s anger was renewed as he cast those eerie eyes back toward his little brother, “then you really are just a useless boy whore?”

Kristofer scoffed with further disbelief, “she was my friend and she offered to help since no one else would. And that’s all there was between us, aside from…” he then shook his head again, “all there was” he repeated, leaving it at that.

Kaleb let out another derisive laugh, “so this woman is just some rich, young, beautiful paragon of generosity who took pity upon your poor unfortunate soul? Is that your story?”

“I know it’s hard to believe; but it’s the truth” Kristofer insisted, though weakly.

“Yeah really fucking hard to believe” Kaleb shot back, “I’ve gotta meet this woman, now.”

That was when Kristofer paled, “why? So you can tell her how much you and our parents hate her for helping me? Come on, Kaleb. What’s done is done. Let it be” Kristofer pleaded, before adding, “I already said I wouldn’t be going back there again.”

“Back where?”

Kristofer was a bit caught by that, “to where I met her” he managed, looking down again.

“And that would be?” Kaleb pressed as he stepped closer to his little brother with further intimidation.

“That doesn’t really matter” Kristofer returned shakily, “her and I are done. Remember?”

“Yeah, I’m sure that she just gave you this money, didn’t even fuck you, and now is just gonna let you go on your merry way. Do I look stupid to you? There is something between you and this woman, and I’ll be the one to stop it for good. Now where is she?” Kaleb repeated with further impatience.

“What do you mean stop it for good? I already told you that she and I haven’t even spoken since my first night back” Kristofer repeated urgently.

“Stop it by making sure she doesn’t have any second thoughts about messing with any member of our family again. She’s not our kind and she has no place in your bed” Kaleb finished pointedly.

“I told you, she was never in my…” instead of finishing, Kristofer just shook his head.

“You said you saw her on your first night back?” Kaleb stated as an afterthought, “at that tavern over by the beach?”

Kristofer’s eyes came up quickly at that, “god, how long have you been stalking me?”

“I gave you a week to come to us on your own. You failed to do so. Brought this on yourself, little brother” Kaleb finished bluntly, “now you get packing. I’ll be back tonight.”

“Where are you going?” Kristofer asked worriedly.

“Thought you’d be happy to see me go” Kaleb offered a wry smile, then added, “don’t worry though; I’ll be back to collect you tonight. And you will come home with me” he added the last sentence with finality before heading out of the small house once more.

----------------------------------------

As there was a council meeting that night, Eliza, Emilia and Finn were tasked with opening the tavern for Claire, who wouldn’t be able to get there until later in the night. Once that meeting finally came to an end, the other Primogen started filing out of the room before Claire. As she stood though, Sean caught her wrist to speak to her once they were alone again, “you were rather quiet again tonight” he observed.

“I have to get to The Loft” Claire reminded him as she did not yet retake her seat, despite his fingers around her tiny wrist.

“I think the three of them can manage another few minutes without you, Claire” Sean attempted a smile.

“You’ll see me later anyway” Claire responded as she cast a look at the clock.

“Why such a rush? You’re there every night as it is” Sean asked warily.

That was when Claire let out a sad sigh, “he hasn’t been back at all.”

“And who might we be talking about?” Sean asked with a furrowed brow.

“Kristofer. He hasn’t been back since you pretended to be a crazy, jealous husband” she informed, though quietly.

“Wasn’t that the point?” Sean returned, while still looking up at her questioningly.

“I suppose, but I still feel bad” Claire sighed.

Sean then mirrored her sigh before he spoke, “I know you cared about him and tried so hard to help him and all, but you know this is better, in the long run” Sean reaffirmed.

Claire then sadly leaned back against the table, “it still feels strange for me to even think in terms of ‘the long run,’ all things considered.”

“So, since you may not have long left, you want to throw caution to the winds and try to remain friends with a man whose own family members are our mortal enemies?” Sean asked her pointedly.

“No, but it’s not his fault that his family members are… what they are. And it was horrible watching you tear him down like that. He didn’t deserve it” Claire added quietly.

“I didn’t do it to punish him, and you know that. I did it to protect you, me, and all of our people” Sean reminded, though spoke with a gentle force behind his words.

“I know. But it was still…” Claire then just shook her head as she cast her eyes down once more. “Never mind. I better get going” she added with another sad sigh before leaving the room and heading toward the front door of their home.