She jumped a little. "Allowed to what."
"Know," he said. "And still be kind."
The answer landed oddly in the quiet between them.
Felicity blinked once, then twice, like she wasn't sure she had heard him correctly. The ruined storefront behind them reflected warped fragments of both their silhouettes in broken glass.
"Know what."
Damien's gaze didn't waver. His eyes were sharp, but not unkind. He always watched her like she was a language he was still learning, parsing every small shift in expression, every hesitation in her voice.
"That people want things from you," he said calmly. "And that it doesn't have to make you cruel."
She turned fully to face him now, arms folding loosely across her chest. Victor's jacket slipped down one shoulder again, the oversized sleeve dangling past her wrist.
"I don't want to turn into someone else," she said.
"You won't," he replied.
There was no hesitation in it. No room for doubt.
"You'd hate it."
