'The Archduke is... shy? The Vanguard accepts apples? The psychological operation is a catastrophic failure.'
"Seraphina, please," Kaelus rasped, a desperate, muffled plea from behind his hands. "Close the window. My dignity is bleeding out on the pavement. I am the Reaper. I cannot be associated with daisies and flower crowns."
Seraphina pulled her head back inside, her face flushed with excitement, her dark eyes sparkling with absolute, triumphant mischief.
"But Papa, they love us!" Seraphina beamed, holding out a handful of flower petals she had caught. "You said they would be scared! They aren't scared at all! Sir Boris is wearing a flower hat! It's highly tactical!"
Kaelus dropped his hands, staring at her with an expression of exhausted and defeated awe.
He realized what she had done.
