"You know, I'm more than just money-obsessed."

Elwin stopped and turned to his brother. Anger grew uncontrollably within him and burst free.

"Destitute, Calion." he snapped. "You will not be able to earn money with a job. You will not be able to live in a house. No matter what you do to make your life better, the decree will drag you back to the gutter."

Elwin was now yelling at Calion, which he didn't want, even if he expected this to turn into an argument.

"I did this so that you would always have the best. I searched far and wide to find you the perfect wife so that you could go back to Earth and continue to ignore everyone here while still living in the luxury that you've always had and will always expect. You might not be money-obsessed, but I am. I want to make sure that you will always have it. These women were born into affluence, and once you become their partner, it is expected that you provide for them. Their families are not going to fund you, a Rochester. If you went to them and asked for money, they'd laugh at you."

Stalking the floors, Elwin could feel the anger flowing freely. It had festered into something that was unhealthy for the both of them. Elwin knew that it had to be said, though. Calion had a mighty chip on his shoulder, and his attitude was rotten.

"One day, you're going to have children. You'll have to feed them, put clothes on their backs, educate them. You will want to give your family the best of everything, and I'm trying to enable that. But if you're not money obsessed as you claim then go back to Earth. You'll regret it soon enough."

Without a word said, Calion turned and walked away. Elwin sighed and walked to the window.

It had gone as expected. Elwin hoped that Calion would accept this life, but a part of him knew that it was going to be a struggle. It was the reason that he vowed that every time he saw one of his brothers, he would remind them of the future. A warning to be prepared. Elwin was determined to learn from his mistake with Calion. He'd let him run free without the warnings being offered.

To be fair, most of it was their father's fault. Elwin had only been in control of the estate for a few years now. Calion's wild and carefree life was caused by their father, who wasn't interested in paying attention to any of his children.

Elwin stood at the windows for a long time, watching the world pass him by.

Elwin wasn't certain how many of their siblings would return for the event. Like always, he wanted for all of them to come back, but many had apartments in the city. Calion was the only one that didn't, which Elwin found surprising and not so surprising. He was determined to leave this world as soon as he could. Elwin could still hear his words that he would never come back.

"Knock, knock."

Elwin turned to see Kelleck at the door. The next victim on his list.

"Kel, you made it."

"Would I miss out on Calion's fight for freedom? How did he go?"

"As we expected. You know, if he's going to run off back to Earth, you could take his place and save me a lot of trouble."

"Ha. As if. I think that you need to work for the title of Lord and Master."

"So, you've accepted that this is your fate too?"

"I'm not an idiot. When I first learned that father had made a decree, I enquired, and he told me the exact details. I've lived the life that I've wanted knowing that it will change in a couple of years. The only thing that I ask of you is that you include me when you start to form your list."

"You want a say in who is on the short list?"

"I intend on remaining in Merah so that I can become integrated in the social scene. I'd like to know these women before you start making a list for me."

"So be it. I know that I will enjoy the help, and it will be less stressful if I know that you're okay with this."

Kelleck shifted the chair and sat down. Elwin was still on edge about the entire ordeal.

Returning to the bookshelf, he pushed it to the other side and revealed the board where he'd tacked on the potentials.

"What if I got it wrong?"

"Seriously? You've put in years of work into it, and that jerk has managed to get some seriously gorgeous women. Not once has he shown you any gratitude."

"It's only because he was never told the truth about the wall. He'll come around eventually."

"Probably when he realizes that he won't get his next payment. Cal's all about the money."

Kelleck glanced at the desk and noticed a rather well-loved book. It wasn't Elwin's style and seemed a little odd for him.

"Hey, what's that?"

He stood to pick it up, but Elwin cut him off, grabbing the book. Kelleck was stunned.

"It's a problem," Elwin murmured. "One that I do not want to discuss in this house, but I know that there won't be much choice. You may look at it but you must not breathe a word of it until I've had time to consider the ramifications of what is on the pages."

"Of course."

Kelleck took the book and opened it, flicking through the pages in silence. At first, he thought it was an odd family tree book that Elwin had created in a rather feminine handwriting that was nothing like his own. The pieces were slowly falling into place. It was not Elwin's handwriting, and there were things written about him and his brothers that seemed odd for Elwin to take note of.

Continuing through the book, Kelleck reached Aleph. There wasn't much written about him or Corwin and Johan. The images of them were taken at a distance, and it looked like New York. Kelleck believed that their mother must have taken them to visit Elwin.

He turned the page and saw someone that was not familiar to him. Page after page, he gazed upon more men that he did not know who they were. They continued to decrease in age until he reached the final page. The image was of a child who was a toddler.

Confused, Kelleck looked up at his older brother. Elwin took the book and sighed heavily.

"If it is true, then they are our brothers as well. I don't know when or how our father managed to visit Earth so often that he could create all of them, but it seems as if it might be possible."

"Did you do this?"

"No," Elwin said as he shook his head. "A woman who I think has a grudge against this family. She lured Calion into an entanglement in the elevator yesterday when he turned up to protest the letter I sent him. She stole the letter, probably thinking that it was a portal key. I had a Raven watching her. He brought the letter and this back."

Taking it to his desk, Elwin dragged open a drawer, dumped the book, and shut it. Rather than risk it falling into the wrong hands, he locked the drawer. The book would be moved to a safer location later. Not that the drawer wasn't safe. Only he could open it. Even if someone had the key, they still would not be able to unlock the drawer. It was like so many things in this room. Enchanted.

"What are you going to do about it?"

"Consult lawyers. Think about it."

"You know that it's possible that she's a jilted lover."

"It had crossed my mind. She was determined to get into Merah, and clearly, she wanted to bring our family down. No one does that unless they've got a serious problem."

Both brothers stood in front of the board, looking at the candidates. Kelleck thought that Calion was a fool for complaining. All of the hard work was done for him.

"Will you put this kind of effort in for me as well?"

Elwin smiled softly, taking a brief moment to glance at Kelleck. He looked like their mother, with rich brown hair and deep blue eyes. Slightly shorter than he was, Kelleck was still trim like the rest of them.

"If I have to."

"I'm just grateful to be at this end of the search rather than eighty, ninety years when you've had enough. Poor Aleph will get one or two, won't he?"

"Not a chance. The squirt is far too cute for such atrocities. For the record, I will always put the effort in because I would expect it for myself."

Kelleck's smile died as he turned to face Elwin.

"Do you think that he's ever stopped to consider your life?"

"And why would he do that? Not sure what I did to deserve his loathing. Or any of us, really. One is understandable, no one would hold that against Calion for hating our father, but he's,"

"Painted us with the same brush. I know. I also happened to overhear the words that were said on the front steps. Honestly, he's lucky that mother didn't slap him for it. I could see that she was struggling not to."

"Perhaps she should have. She might have knocked some sense into him."

"Ah, but violence is not the key to solving our problems, right?"

"Maybe."

Elwin's fingers ran over the files that sat next to the board. There was one for each of the candidates. He'd researched their lives, their families, even going back several generations to ensure that there were no issues. When they made the long list, each of the candidates were invited to meet with Elwin and Selene. They were asked a multitude of questions and based on the answers, a short list was formed. They were the women on the board.

"Was she one of the long list?"

"No. She's Earthborn."

"Well, I'm stumped. I'm sure it has something to do with our wonderful father. In the meantime, do you want me to play nice with Calion?"

"Do as you please. I don't want sides being formed, nor do I want a war breaking out. There are issues lingering that need my attention and I can't risk being distracted."

"You think she'll do something?"

"I know she will. This woman, who I regretfully employed, is a go-getter. She's tenacious and clearly annoyed. She tried to get here through me, then figured out that I won't be looking for a partner for a long time. I figured that she'd backed off, but then she started asking about the candidate list and offering to help."

"Did you let her?"

"The fake one, yes. The real one never left this room. She got to see a list of random female names that meant nothing. I should have paid better attention."

And listened to Kendall, his mind offered.

"Calion wanted her on the list," Elwin said softly.

"He's going to be angry when he finds out that you didn't put her on it because I assume that you didn't."

"The woman has a motive, Kelleck. She's after something to do with this family. I will not endanger anyone, regardless of how they treat me. He can be angry all that he wants. He can even go back to Earth and fornicate with her until the cows come home. She will not enter this world, and Calion will not be able to alter that."

"I wonder if he will claim that it's love at first sight."

"More like lust at first sight. They knew each other for a grand total of thirty seconds before they defiled my elevator."

Kelleck chuckled, giving his brother a hearty slap on the shoulder.

"Only you could be so," Kelleck's eyes locked with Elwin's as their smiles grew deep. "You. Now, I heard talk of freshly baked cookies, so I'm going to cross the pond to enjoy our mother's lovely company. Don't be a stranger."

Kelleck reached the door but stopped, seeing Calion approaching. He looked at Elwin and gently flicked his head. A wordless gesture that he was about to get company.

"Round two?"

"Shut up."

Kelleck snorted an amused huff through his nostrils and left his brothers to continue their war.

Storming into the room, Calion stopped and looked at Elwin. There was a new part of the wall on show, something that he did not get to see earlier.

"What's that?"

"The candidates. If you'd bothered to show an interest, I would have gladly revealed it earlier. Of course, if you care to change your mind, you can certainly look at the candidates. Their pictures with brief notes are here, and their files are here. Read as you please, and return when you are done. Please don't make a mess of my hard work. You might not want this, but Kelleck has accepted his future and many of those women are more than eligible for him."

Calion frowned. He did not like the thought that Kelleck would saunter in and steal them out from under him.

Elwin restrained the smile as he watched his brotherturn to look at the women. It would seem that he was not as money-obsessed asElwin thought he was. Clearly, jealousy and competition were the way to motivateCalion.