Lucas glared at Kegan as he considered the two questions. The way Kegan had chosen to phrase them made him feel dirty, especially since he was the one who had ensured Kegan would lose his place. What do I want? Am I just here for the quest? Lucas was torn because he really did want that ring. He needed it. The more he advanced along the Imperium storyline quest, the more he wanted to see it through. He naturally wanted to reach any goal he set in life, and this was no different. I will be the villain. Another part of him, however, empathized with Kegan.

“I lost my wife too,” Lucas said, walking forward. “I still remember the day, the hour, the minute, the very second that her heart stopped. I remember the lump in my throat . . . the doubt, the tears, and the pain . . . the knowledge that I was powerless to stop it or save her.” Kegan’s eyes glossed over, and Lucas knew that the large man was now processing whatever memories Lucas had called up as they flooded through him. “I can remember the loss so clearly that it is all I feel sometimes when I close my eyes.”

“But not her,” Kegan said. His once-assured, powerful, deep voice cracked, and his cloudy vision cleared enough to meet Lucas’ gaze and stare him in the eyes.

Lucas nodded. “But not her. I have to use pictures to remember her face . . . A random smell will sometimes remind me of her, a small thing might trigger a memory, but other times . . .” He trailed off, leaving the thought unfinished.

“You can’t recall something about her no matter how hard you try?” Kegan asked, a note of desperation in his voice.

“No,” Lucas confirmed. “I can’t. Nothing has been the same since that day, and I can’t remember what the world was like before she died.”

Kegan let out a deep, plaintive sigh. “I’m sorry.”

“Dray sent me here for your ring,” Lucas admitted. “You’re right about that. He’s going to send others after me if I fail. This much is also true. But as to what I want? I want an answer: How did you continue?”

Kegan didn’t respond at first. He just stared at Lucas, and the room sat in silence as the two locked eyes. “Brother,” Kegan finally said. “Duty. Duty and blood are all that quench the thirst her void has manifested. If you have not found those, there is only one other way, and I will lead you to it. I will relieve you of your pain . . .” Kegan’s knuckles went white as he tightened his grip on the double-bladed axe’s handle. “I will free you from your suffering as gratitude for completing my revenge . . . and as punishment for bringing a traitorous, filthy, subhuman Were-Fox into my home!” he roared.