It was the early hours of the morning when Lewis finally gave up on trying to sleep. Ever since Edmund had left, his mind had been turning over everything he knew about his father. He was still in disbelief that the life he had known had been built on lies to hide who his father really was.

Sitting down in the armchair beside the dying fire, he stared at the ashes. What was he supposed to do? If only he had looked at the letter from Sebastian when Emily had given him the chance, he thought. He had already decided that he couldn’t risk trying to reach Maria or his mother. There was still a good chance that the guards at Tristan were still searching for him and Emily. If they didn’t already have people around his family, they would be watching closely at the very least.

Picking up the poker from beside the fire, he prodded at the ashes absentmindedly, his mind wandering back to the years before his father had died. Had he not told Lewis because he didn’t trust him? It was inevitable that there would have been a day when Sebastian died and he would have had to take the crown himself. Would he have still turned his back on the city and the prophecy? Surely not.

Before he could come to his own conclusion, there was a creak of a floorboard behind him, and a hand appeared on his shoulder gently.

‘Are you alright?’

Looking up, he saw Emily standing beside him, her hair pulled into a messy ponytail and a worried look on her face. ‘I’m alright; I just couldn’t sleep.’

‘You’re thinking about what Edmund said, aren’t you? she said as she squeezed herself into the gap between him and the arm of the chair.

‘How did you guess?’

‘I have my ways,’ Emily said with a laugh. ‘Do you want to talk about it?’

‘I just don’t know what to think anymore,’ Lewis said. ‘Why didn’t my father ever say anything about it?’

‘Maybe he wanted to protect you from it,’ Emily suggested. ‘Life at the castle wasn’t anywhere near perfect. In all the years I was there, I was never really allowed to leave. He probably wanted you to be able to grow up and see more than the same walls every day.’

‘Surely he knew this day was going to come though,’ Lewis insisted. ‘Maybe he didn’t trust me.’

‘I’m sure he did,’ Emily said. ‘He must have had a reason, though.’

‘I just wish I knew what it was,’ he muttered grudgingly.

‘Why don’t you talk to Edmund about it?’ Emily suggested. ‘I’m sure he would know something.’

‘He’ll try and convince me to take the crown, though if I speak to him, you know that.’

‘He’s just trying to protect Tristan from the prophecy,’ Emily said fairly.

‘You actually believe that is true?’ Lewis asked.

‘Yes.’

‘What if he’s just trying to get us to go back to Tristan?’

‘If he wanted something from us back in Tristan, he had plenty of time to get it while we were locked up in the castle,’ she reminded him. ‘I know that the prophecy is true.’

‘How?’

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‘Do you remember when the green star first appeared in the sky?’ she asked. Silently, he nodded. How could he not remember? The people of Tristan had taken to the streets night and day, claiming that it was the end of the world. It had been some of the toughest patrols he had ever had to deal with while he had been a guard. ‘A couple of days later, I overheard Sebastian talking to someone in his office about it. He said that the appearance of the star was a warning.’

‘Who was he talking to?’ Lewis asked. Perhaps they could get a second opinion on all of this.

‘I don’t know; I didn’t see who it was. It wasn’t a voice I recognised either,’ Emily said. ‘Why?’

‘I was hoping we could get a second opinion on the prophecy,’ Lewis said. ‘I don’t know if we should trust Edmund.’

‘How can we not? If it wasn’t for him, we would have both been dead a long time ago,’ Emily said.

‘True,’ Lewis agreed. ‘I just don’t know, though. Do you ever get that feeling, though?’

‘All the time,’ she assured him.

‘What’s it telling you this time?’

‘I don’t know, to be honest,’ she admitted, glancing away at the ashes momentarily. ‘All I know is that the prophecy must be real if Sebastian was talking about it to someone. If it is as Edmund says, then surely we have to try and do something. There are some people in the castle that are worth saving, even if there are a lot I don’t like.’

‘George?’ When he only received a warning look by way of reply, he quickly continued. ‘So how do we stop a prophecy that wants to destroy the world?’

‘Edmund said that the rightful heir being crowned could stop the prophecy,’ Emily recalled.

‘Any other ways? An ancient ritual or a giant feast?’ Lewis asked hopefully.

‘A giant feast? Is my cooking not good enough for His Majesty anymore?’ Emily asked, trying to keep the seriousness in her voice. In the end, she looked away when Lewis caught sight of a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

‘Your cooking is more than good enough,’ Lewis amended quickly. ‘Never call me Your Majesty again, though.’

‘Yes, Your Highness,’ Emily laughed, wriggling out of the chair as he tried to grab her.

Scowling at her, he watched her back away as she tried to stop laughing. ‘Really?’ he asked, almost in disbelief.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said, covering her mouth with one hand a moment later as she tried to contain her laughter. Despite having had no sleep, Lewis couldn’t help but smile. More than ever, he wanted to pretend that Edmund had never arrived at Whitecliff. As if she had sensed the change in his mood, Emily moved back to his side, sitting on the arm of the chair as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

‘I have to do it, don’t I?’ He said it quietly.

Offering him a weak smile, Emily squeezed Lewis’ shoulder reassuringly. ‘If I knew another way, I would tell you.’

‘I know,’ Lewis said as he slipped an arm around her back. ‘You should get some sleep; it’s not worth both of us staying up worrying about it.’

‘Maybe I should stay up and worry about it instead,’ Emily suggested. ‘No offence, you look like you could use more sleep.’

‘Thanks,’ Lewis said sarcastically as he prodded at the ashes, coaxing a few embers to the surface. ‘I think I might sit up a little longer, though.’

‘Alright,’ she sighed as she stood up. ‘Try not to dwell on it too much; I’m sure Edmund will come up with something.’

‘I hope so; can you imagine me trying to run a city?’ Lewis laughed.

‘There are people that would do a far worse job than you,’ Emily said confidently. ‘Unfortunately, they’re the ones in charge right now.’

‘Well, at least one of us has some optimism about this whole thing,’ Lewis muttered as he poked the embers harshly.

‘You’ll be fine,’ Emily insisted. ‘If not, you can just pass the crown on, and then it’s someone else’s problem, and there’s no prophecy to deal with. Trust me, I would rather stay in Whitecliff than ever go back to Tristan. Apparently, the world has other ideas, though.’

‘How about I just forget Edmund ever visited us and we stay here?’ Lewis suggested.

‘That’s a nice idea, but you know he’ll be back before he leaves,’ Emily said as she turned away, heading back to her

‘I thought that as well,’ Lewis admitted, more to himself than to Emily’s retreating figure.

Dragging the poker through the ashes absently, he thought about what Emily had said. Maybe there wasn’t any way to avoid this. After all, there were people in Tristan that he wanted to protect from whatever this prophecy was going to deliver.

As he watched the embers, he wondered what he had missed since he had left. Arron was still with the guard; he knew that much. But what about David and Louise, his other patrol partners? What had happened to Robyn as well? He hoped the money he had given her would be enough for her to look after her mother and brother now that the bakery was gone.

When the thought of the bakery crossed his mind, he remembered Charles being dragged away by the guards at the castle. He had said Lewis’ father had been murdered at the price of a beating from the guards. Edmund might have denied it, but could it be true?