CINDY'S POV
My chest squeezed painfully as I pulled Alaric into the kind of hug we used to give each other when we were kids and the world still felt safe. His arms locked tight around me like they had never let go.
I let the warmth of his arms linger for one more heartbeat, then pulled back just enough to look at him.
My eyes were teary now.
"Good to see you too, little bro."
He laughed under his breath, the same low, familiar sound that used to echo through the halls of our old house in D.C. His hands came up to cradle my face, thumbs sweeping gently across my cheekbones as if he were still afraid I might vanish.
"Dad's going to lose his mind when he sees you," he said, his voice low enough that only I could hear the crack in it.
"He missed you so much, Cin. He never stopped aski
