It didn’t take long for two castle guards to gather the unconscious men from Julien’s room and quickly shut the door behind them with a simple bow to Rowan and Julien. Rowan had lingered for a few minutes before finally bowing and informing Julien he’d take his rest.

Which left Julien inexplicably bored. At least his hunger—for both sex and blood—was sated, but his desire for company was never-ending. He lay on top of the unmade sheets of his bed for ten minutes before boredom got the best of him. 

Hindsight and past experience would tell him that leaving unattended was just asking for trouble, but Julien needed something to do to pass the time, and he wasn’t about to train like his guard or read a book like his older brother, Virion, would do. Though, he wouldn’t be opposed to observing the castle guards training in their fitted attire or lack thereof. 

But the ogling would have to wait; with Rowan not on babysitting duty, Julien could do his own investigative work. Except, instead of just making out who’d want to work with the Coalition, Julien desperately wished to know more about his mysterious guard. Surely, Rowan would’ve confided his secrets to someone in the estate. And who better than Jean, someone who seemed to know all the inside scoop of the Rosenthal family’s gossip?

Julien threw on a pair of pants and a flowy shirt before heading out.

Maggie, the servant girl, was just outside, the usual treats filling the tray in her shaky hands. He scooped a handful into his pocket for later. Julien sent her a wink causing her to bow lowly, amused that a simple act made her fluster. It wasn’t like Julien would be interested in her romantically, although her blood did smell appetizing. If only she weren’t as fearful and nervous all the time. 

Prince Felix’s room was next to Julien’s; Ivan insisted it was for safety precautions and not because he wished for the two siblings to get along. Julien never understood why separating the two youngest from their older siblings was necessary, especially when they were in their own territory half the time. Jean and Rowan had explained that keeping them separate meant in the event of an attack on the estate where all the Rosenthals were in attendance, at least a few siblings would make it out alive if they only targeted one wing. 

Julien thought it was insane; if anyone were crazy enough to pull that off and managed to attack, no one in their right mind would think leaving the estate in the hands of Julien and Felix was a brilliant idea. No one would target just one wing of the estate either; if anyone were to attack, it would be from all sides, eradicating all siblings if given a chance. 

But even Julien knew better than to question Ivan’s decisions. He wouldn’t admit it either, but it was better that Felix was right next door; living on opposite ends of the mansion would be boring, especially when they were typically the only siblings living there. The two oldest, Mikhail and Laurent, in addition to Lucy, often visited, given the proximity of their territory. Still, it was rare to have all of them here for an extended period of time. 

Julien missed the chaos of having all his siblings in one building for longer than a meeting with their parents. And as he was approaching the age of maturity, Julien realized Felix would grow apart and eventually rule over a territory far from him, most likely taking Jean with him. While he doubted he’d be put in charge of his own territory, Julien wondered if he’d even stay in touch with his siblings once he inevitably left the estate for his own place.

And then, Rowan would likely part too, remaining here at the Rosenthal estate or retiring from his duties completely and doing his own thing. 

No, Julien told himself. He couldn’t think about that right now. He’d just make Rowan his personal guard. 

But then, that’d make him just like those clingy humans who couldn’t understand the word no. Forcing him into a position that he would most definitely hate, something he had just gotten through to Rowan in the first place. 

He’d first ask, Julien decided, and if Rowan would like, he’d stay. 

If not, Julien would just have to accept it, then. As terrifying and difficult as it would be to accept. 

But he would have five years before any of this needed to be decided. There was no point in stressing about it now. Not when he could be spending this time actually to unravel all of Rowan’s secrets.

Julien didn’t bother knocking, opening the heavy-set door to the youngest prince’s room. The shrill sound of a drawn blade didn’t deter Julien, even as it arced before him. Upon seeing Julien, relief filled Felix’s guard’s face as he pocketed the dagger against his side in a concealed holster.

“Knock, would you?” Jean chastised.

“Glad to know that if I had been an intruder, you wouldn’t have been prepared to strike me down instantaneously,” Julien said, dripping with sarcasm. 

“Alright, alright. What is it now?”

“I can’t spend time with my lovely brother?” Julien sassed. 

“It was quite the noisy night.” Jean quipped as Julien strolled through the room like it was his. “He join you yet?”

Julien brushed past him, unceremoniously plopping onto the bed beside Felix, who had his nose in a book, undisturbed by his brother’s antics. “The answer will always be no, you know this.”

“Doesn’t hurt to ask.”

Felix turned a page in his book, saying without glancing away, “Rowan’s not like you, Jean. He’s actually got self-control.”

Jean gasped, clearly offended. “I have self-control, your highness. Most of the time, thank you. Not every vampire can have the restraint Rowan has; he’s the exception here.”

Julien propped up on his shoulders, glancing between the two. “Your highness? Jean, what have you done to piss my brother off this time?”

Jean rubbed the back of his neck; he never cared to use honorifics in private unless he was in the doghouse, especially if it happened to be the princes. “He offered his wrist.”

“I did, and I sorely regret it,” Felix seethed, holding out his arm to reveal the deep bruising surrounding where Julien could assume a set of fangs had clamped down. “You acted like a ravenous wolf who hadn’t fed for a month—no, they’d at least play with their food first.”

“And I apologized and returned with enough blood bags to sustain you for the month,” Jean attempted to mend, adding begrudgingly, “Your highness.”

The prince rolled his eyes as Julien watched the affair, amused. “At least you two had fun, it seems. I had to teach grown men some manners and teach my guard what the fuck boundaries are.”

Jean’s features scrunched. “Boundaries? Rowan is the epitome of respecting boundaries.”

Julien pinched the bridge of his nose. “He doesn’t understand that he deserves to set his own boundaries. He just lets some horny humans walk all over him and extend their necks without saying no.”

Felix set his book down. “Was it not you who asked said horny humans to do such a thing?”

“Not recently,” Julien argued. “It’s getting annoying; it’s not like he’ll suddenly change his mind.”

“You seem disappointed at that.”

Julien rolled his eyes. “I don’t know,” he finally admitted. “Just when I think I’m getting somewhere with him, he does his cold shoulder act of being just a guard and saying that this is his job. Is it that hard to want to be around me?”

Jean opened his mouth to speak, but Julien sent him a glare, saying, “Don’t even start.“

Felix pressed his hand to his temple. “The fact that he’s stayed at your side says something.”

“Maybe. But he’d say something stupid like staying means a job and a roof over his head. Not because he wants to. He could at least try to hold a conversation or tell me literally anything about himself. It’s like pulling teeth with him,” Julien said. “In the twenty-five years I’ve known him, I know little about his life before coming here.”

Jean grimaced. “I’ve known him for longer and have yet to get much out of him.”

“He hasn’t mentioned anything about his past? Family members?” Julien couldn’t imagine they’d be alive if he had any; Rowan never took a holiday away from the castle or wrote letters during his downtimes. “Maybe a twin that would be interested as a guard?” he added with a smirk.

“He didn’t say much about his family, just that he was on the run at some point.”

Bingo. Of course, Rowan’s talked to Jean.

“On the run?” Julien tilted his head. “From what?”

Jean pursed his lips. “He never elaborated.”

“Interesting,” the prince’s words were slow as the information settled. 

And yet, bitterness festered in Julien’s chest like the B+ blood he had consumed last night. Rowan had never shared any of his past with him. Whenever he asked, he was met with silence or phrases like “it doesn’t matter” or “it was a long time ago.” To know that Rowan had at least confided in Jean was a relief but also upsetting. Did Rowan simply not trust Julien? Granted, Julien would consider himself the least trusting of the siblings, but Rowan could trust him with something like that—especially if it “didn’t matter” as much as Rowan liked to claim.

“Perhaps I misheard.” Jean waved his hand through the air. “He could have just meant running from his situation. Many guards come here for financial stability. He did say he came from a small farming village from Mikhail’s territory.”

Julien pressed his tongue against his fangs. “I wasn’t aware he was from the west. Didn’t father find him in the north? A trip to Laurent’s estate with the twins.”

“He’s nearly two hundred and fifty years old,” Jean reminded him. “Over a century of being a mature vampire on your own means a lot of traveling. Clans typically don’t help rogue vampires, and staying in one place too long isn’t good for a vampire living in human territory.”

“He wasn’t a part of a clan?”

Jean shook his head. “Not that I’m aware. Possibly a small one, given that I haven’t heard of a clan under the surname Marlowe. His family could have been newer, freshly turned vampires that didn’t have an established name. It would explain the small village if he were living with mortals.”

Julien pursed his lips. He wished Rowan hadn’t actually gone to rest so that he could interrogate him now about it. Knowing Rowan, he’d likely brush it off and run off to train anyway.

“Was trying to get a background check on your guard why you came over?” Felix turned to him. 

Julien shrugged. “I doubt Ivan would be willing just to hand me a file on Rowan. That is if Rowan’s history is even in there. I was just curious; nobody seems to know anything about him.”

“You could just ask,” Jean suggested matter-of-factly.

“Like it’s that easy. I don’t even know his favorite color.”

“Green,” Felix said. 

Julien groaned. “How do you even know?”

“He told me.”

Julien flung a pillow at him before falling limp on the bed. “He really doesn’t trust me with anything, does he?”

Jean sighed. “It would probably help if you weren’t trying to sleep with anyone that moves, for starters. Start a normal conversation with him that doesn’t revolve around your nightly habits. Heck, even talk about the Coalition. He asked me about it at the Blue Vein; you two could share theories about who’d want to work with them. “

Felix nodded. “Or what other clans could possibly be targeting us.”

“Other clans?” Julien knew a few other clans, but most were unassuming and small families that kept to themselves. Vampires were known for not being as territorial as other species, but there had been clashes in the past. Most clashes were due to resources and access to human towns that would easily be resolved, though he couldn’t remember the last time two clans had declared war against each other. Especially not to a clan with the prestige and strength of the Rosenthals. Their reach stretched most of the country. “There’s no way a vampire clan could take us out at our strength in numbers.”

Felix made a disgruntled noise. “That’s foolish thinking.”

“While the Coalition is strong with the help of dhampirs and their weapons, it would be extremely difficult for them to wipe us out completely,” Jean explained, using his hands to explain. “But for other vampire clans, they’d be on the same playing field as us in terms of strength. Let’s say all the smaller clans were to band together and attack us at once; it would be difficult to drive them away with all of us in different locations.”

Julien shook his head. “There’s no way any of the smaller clans would want to work together. Besides, why would they attack us? We’ve established peace between us, humans, and the other species, ensuring they all have access to the same resources. Maybe not equally, but still.”

Jean opened and closed his mouth, almost debating whether to say more, but Julien narrowed his eyes. The guard drew a breath. “While it’s likely we have spies here at the estate for the Coalition, a spy who works for other clans is a possibility we can’t rule out, especially if it’s vampires who have a vendetta against us. Clans like ours in power are bound to be targeted by others.”

Julien studied him carefully, glancing between Jean and Felix. “You say this as if you have an idea of who it may be. Who’d want to mess with the most powerful clan if not just the Coalition?”

“It’s just a speculation.” Jean held his hands up. “I can’t know for sure.”

Felix cleared his throat. “There’s been rumors of a clan that gathers criminals, ex-clan members, vampires who are on the brink of insanity—anyone who’s been wronged by other clans—“

“So, a group of strays? Rogue vampires?”

“Yes,” Jean said carefully. “But they follow a powerful leader that appears to rival Ivan’s strength. I’ve mentioned this to Rowan in the Blue Vein, and since then, I’ve heard all sorts of things about the clan from the others and on the streets after the Coalition decided to follow us. While the Coalition is already enough a thing to worry about, I don’t think we should take this possible threat lightly either.”

“Of course, Rowan hadn’t told me about this either.” Julien rolled his eyes. “And this leader’s name?”

“Oscar Liszt,” Jean said. 

Even the name sounded like some crazy whack job, Julien thought. He had never heard of that name before; there was no way he could rival Ivan’s strength. How hard could it be to take the guy out, Julien wondered. 

---

A/N: Enjoy <3