The image struck Seraphina with the force of a physical blow.
She saw him.
Kaelus, the terrifying Reaper, standing alone in the freezing snow, bleeding, watching the only family he had left drive away because they thought he was a villain.
He had sacrificed his humanity, his youth, and his happiness to build a safe world for them, and their repayment was abandonment and disgust.
Tears, hot and fast, spilled over Seraphina's eyelashes, tracking down her cheeks.
"They are bad people, waaahhhh..." Seraphina cried, her childish voice cracking with intense indignation.
She wiped her face aggressively with the back of her hand, smudging tears into the fabric of her dress. "They are blind! Papa Duke isn't a monster! He's the best! He sits in a chair for three days holding my hand! He buys sugar dragons for me! He wraps his coat around people so they don't get cold! How could they not see that?!"
The knights stared at the sobbing, furious child.
