The Man Before the Crown

Talia Pov

I stood in the doorway and felt something loosen in my chest.

This. This was familiar. Six siblings around a table. Grandma clapping off beat. Dad trying to dance. Mom watching from the kitchen door with that look on her face. That soft proud look.

I hadn't felt like this in months.

You're home, Sparrow said softly. Not really. But a little bit.

The bartender was a grizzly mountain of a