It was no secret amongst their family that, to the Dark Prince, Dino was his entire world. The prince would protect and care for his little brother like no other.

Dino’s condition was obvious very soon after he was born: when he was four, he scraped his knee on an errant nail on the floor. He’d been hospitalized for six days. It had been the worst six days of Jihoon’s life – who had been responsible for the boy when he got hurt – and since then, Jihoon invested all he could in his brother.

Haemophilia – the lack of a certain item in the blood that caused blood to clot – was hereditary. Their mother’s great-great-uncle had been the last one to show signs of the disease. When she heard the news, she had cried for days.

After an hour of catching up, with the soft beagle at Dino’s heels, they returned to their family.

That night, eight hours later, the King took his last breath.

Aron was sitting on the bed, staring. Jihoon sat in the chair next to both of them. Everybody else had fallen asleep in various positions around the room.

“It’s okay.” Jihoon was never very good at showing emotion, or sympathy. “…let him go. He’s going to be okay now.”

Aron’s tears dripped off his face coldly. “I don’t want to be king,” he whispered. “I’m not ready. I’m not ready for him to go and leave me all of this. I don’t want to do this, Jihoon.”

Jihoon leaned in to put a hand on his brother’s knee, before moving to grasp the man’s hand. “I don’t think anybody is ever ready to be King,” he whispered. “And I certainly don’t think just anybody is cut out for it. But of everybody who is cut out for it… I’m glad it’s you.”

Aron looked up.

“We all are.”

“Jihoonie… thank you.” Aron fell forward, hugging his little brother tightly. “…I love you so much, you know that?”

“Yeah. You too.” Jihoon patted him on the back. “…I miss him already, too.”

“Yeah.” Aron broke out in a half-sob. “Yeah. Thanks.”

It was strange to be back in his own room, surrounded by princely things, like the ridiculously uncomfortable bed a mile wide, old paintings and priceless carpets. Not to mention a wardrobe full of what the palace stylist called appropriate attire, which was far from appropriate in Jihoon’s eyes. At least Amy had had the decency to fill his room with peonies.

He stood out on the balcony to text Soonyoung his thanks, and then simply spent time looking out at the sky. It was a clear night – no clouds, no rain. Simply an eternal black that raged across the horizon, peppered with silver stars, winking at nothing.

“Hey.”

“…hey.” Jihoon straightened up a little. “…when’d you get back?”

“Just now. A little while ago.” She put her arm around him. “Yoonjo’s here too. I can’t believe he was gone so quickly.”

“…yeah. It was… strange.” Jihoon put an arm around his eldest sister too. “But there’s nothing to be done now.”

“You’re up late.”

“Yeah. I need… coffee.”

“You need to sleep,” she smiled gently.

Jihoon considered that for a moment, moving to lean his forearms on the balcony railing again. “How are you coping?”

“…people die,” Nana answered. “It’s a thing.”

“How are you in general, anyway?”

Nana sighed a little, crossing her arms and leaning her back against the same railing. “Can you keep a secret?” The boy’s expression was enough. “Right. Duh. Course. Well, thanks for asking. You’re the first one, so far. Me… well, let’s just say morning sickness is a .”

Jihoon’s eyebrows raised slightly, staring at his sister’s stomach in wonder. “Wow. Congratulations.”

“Thanks.”

“Are you happy?”

“You know what?” The woman smiled. “…for the first time in a while, I really think I am. Despite right now, of course.”

“Of course.” Jihoon cleared his throat a moment. “How long?”

“Couple of weeks, I think. Not much more than a month.” She nudged him. “How’s coffee?”

“It’s good.”

“Anything new?”

The Dark Prince shrugged. “A new intern. He’s pretty. Like… really pretty. Enough to tempt me. But he’s one of those alphas that just… creeps me out. You know?” Jihoon shuddered to prove his point.

Nana laughed, tossing her long, luxurious brown hair over her shoulder. “You really have this alpha issue, don’t you?” She stretched a little with a small smile. “I’m so glad all women are betas. It gives us this supremely neutral stance.”

“Speaking of all women, please have a talk with your baby sister.”

Nana got a glint in her eye. “You really hate her chatting with Sato Hikaru that much?”

“You knew?!”

“Who do you think was the first contact in her phone? Please, she tells me everything.” Nana grinned at the idea. “You do realiz