He was a teenager.
He existed in that strange, liminal space between child and adult, an older brother figure that she had never had the chance to experience in either of her lives.
Cedric stared at the tiny girl in the crimson dress, held safely in the arms of the most dangerous man on the continent. He looked at her dark hair, her wide, curious brown eyes, and the lingering redness on her cheeks from her recent crying.
The anxious, frantic tension in the teenager's face entirely melted away. A soft, incredibly gentle, almost awe-struck smile spread across his handsome features.
He walked slowly around the foot of the bed, approaching Kaelus.
He didn't drop to one knee like his father had. He stood a respectful distance away, leaning slightly forward, his hands clasped behind his back.
"And you," Cedric murmured, his voice dropping into a warm, teasing, incredibly endearing tone. "You must be the tiny terror of the catacombs."
Seraphina blinked.
Tiny terror?
