Herbert made a tsk sound.

“I know how old you are, Somersby,” he reminded the boy sternly, a rarity for the father, “but what you possess in years and…and…legal stature, you still lack in experience!”

His translucent eyes were wide as Herbert tried to explain this. He did not say what he was truly thinking, that his eldest might die on this ill-advised adventure, but that was a possibility that had already begun to gnaw at him. What if Somersby died, and did not remain in the mortal realm as Herbert himself had done?

Worse, what if he did?