***Cadiz***
Dravenshire in early autumn was more beautiful than I'd expected, gold and white stone catching the low afternoon light, the estate gardens still holding onto the last of their color before winter stripped them bare.
Cyrus pressed both hands flat against the carriage window the moment the white marble walls came into view, entirely absorbed, while Mirin sat quietly beside him with the same solemn attention, watching a world neither of them had seen since their first birthday.
The estate doors opened before our carriage had even fully stopped. Cassius came down the steps himself, unhurried, one hand resting lightly over the visible swell of his stomach beneath his tunic.
Aldrik was right at his side, his hand hovering near the small of Cassius's back with the careful attentiveness of a man determined to make sure his spouse didn't lose his footing on the stone steps.
