"You don’t have to do this."
He had heard the pleading tone, the way the former prince seemed to almost beg him to turn back. He had heard it before, heard it from both friends and family. Victor could not turn back not when he was so close to finding that last key to completely his life’s work. He looked up from his books, exhausted, and furious now. “No, I have to. This…this was my fault. I am the reason he is dead and somewhere, here or somewhere else there is the answer I seek.” He had to hold back from snapping, the annoyance creeping in his tone as he slammed the heavy volume shut. It was as useless as the rest that he had found, “Hannes…” he used the affectionate variation of the ginger’s name, but the way came out was tinged with the building frustration as he almost collapsed against the desk. “You don’t understand, I have to.”
