‘It looks delicious, thank you,’ he said to Ally, who let out a sigh of relief.

‘Thank goodness, I was stressing all morning wondering what to cook. I don’t know what kind of appetite a prince has,’ she said.

Ally was the spitting image of her daughter, despite the few wrinkles that lined her forehead and around her mouth. They both shared the same round, brown eyes, same hair—except Ally kept hers short. He had seen photos of Dana and thought she looked like Bethan and Ally; her facial features took after Henry, instead of the round faces that Ally and Bethan shared. Dana and Henry had angular jawlines.

They dived into their food; he smirked at Bethan when she poured extra maple syrup on top of her already drowned pancakes.

Henry and Ally chatted to Bethan about the things going on in town. They spoke warmly to her and even to him. Perhaps Henry wasn’t mad at him at all. Her father asked him so many questions about his life, and he seemed genuinely interested in what he had to say.

Sometimes, when things like that happened, he would catch glimpses of his past, glimpses of him sitting on the end of a long dining table only speaking when spoken to. Never made eye contact because that would mean someone would pick on him. Drinking beyond his limit just to get through it. Or sometimes, he would be so desperate for someone to talk to him and then be disappointed when no one even glanced at him.

‘Bethan, before you leave, I think we should clean out some of her things. It’s such a big job, and sometimes I set out to do it, but I don’t have the heart to throw things away.’

Bethan’s eyes caught him, and he only nodded. If Bethan were to spend the day helping her mother, it wouldn’t hurt if he went to the Etruscan Mountains by himself.

‘If you’re going to stay here, I might go to the mountains.’

Bethan grabbed his wrist; her apparent discomfort of the idea was written all over her face. He was about to say something but—

Henry smacked his hand on the table. He felt Bethan flinch beside him.

‘Are you going to the mountains? I’ve been dying to get back up there.’

‘Henry, you’re too old, and it’s dangerous,’ Ally interjected; Bethan agreed with her mother.

‘I’ve been aching to get back out there since—’

‘You don’t have to say it, Dad,’ Bethan said, cleaning the plates. ‘Kellan wanted to go to the place where Dana found the amulet and possibly the place where she —’

‘That’s even more of a reason to go.’ Her father spoke with a sense of excitement. ‘Besides, I will be going with Kellan. I’ll be safe, won’t I?’

He stared at Kellan with the same eyes Lupo gave him when he wanted something.