A Savior's Worth (Book #3)

Chapter Three

While Eldon and Ivy had retired to their separate inn rooms, Henry managed to fall asleep on the burlap hammock strung up between two palm trees. The hammock was to the side of the building, surrounded by tall and deep green grass, and with perfect view of the sparkling water. The soft waves lulled Henry to sleep.

When morning arrived, the sunlight poked through the trees, warming the side of his face and slowly waking him from his slumber. He grunted and blinked his eyes open slowly. And he was met with his cousin's excited grin, startling him enough to gasp and clumsily fall out of the hammock.

"Happy birthday!" shouted Ivy, clapping her hands together.

Henry landed on the grass below, facing upwards. He opened his eyes again and noticed Eldon standing to the side of him, an amused smirk resting on his features.

"Mornin'," said Eldon, extending his hand. "And happy birthday."

Henry sighed and accepted his help to get him back on his feet. Ivy then embraced him tightly, almost causing him to lose his balance.

"I cannot believe it," Ivy squealed. "You're getting old!"

Eldon snorted. "Hardly."

Ivy stuck out her tongue at him before beaming up at Henry again. "What should we do today? Absolutely anything you want!"

"Oh... anything?" Henry raised his eyebrows.

"Yes!"

"Let's go home, then." He stepped out of her arms and started heading for the inn's entrance. Ivy marched up behind him.

"We are going home today, Henry. However, we're spending the morning here first."

"Why can we not simply leave now?"

"Because Eldon and I are not allowing you to spend the entire day alone in your bedchamber. You've been doing that a lot recently."

"I have not," he grumbled in response, though he knew it was mostly true.

Could he be blamed for opting for solitude when the castle was constantly bombarded with activity? Henry couldn't remember the last time the corridors weren't filled with groups of visiting nobles from neighboring kingdoms who needed to meet with King Philip.

"We can go searching for seashells," Ivy suggested, taking his arm. She tugged him toward the beach. "Or we can sail out on a canoe!"

He tuned her out as she spewed a list of plenty other "fun" suggestions for them to do together.

Henry knew better than to behave negatively like this. Except it'd become harder for him to pretend everything was fine when... nothing felt fine. At least not for him. He could not necessarily say why not either. Everyone around him was always laughing and living life to their fullest while he felt like such a nuisance standing in their way.

These thoughts weren't anything new. They would get pushed to the back of his mind as they usually did. He merely needed to find something that would distract him long enough for that to happen. Unfortunately, this beautiful beach was not the answer, for it was too ordinary and calm.

On another hand, the new discovery they had learned about Inferum cantivat had been quite thrilling. He couldn't wait to return to the castle and exchange theories with Elouise and Fayre.

"... or we can build stuff with the sand," Ivy finished, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm fine with whatever you decide!"

Henry sighed. Until then, however, he needed to grin and bear it. "That is... lovely, Ivy. Yes, let's do that."