Damien's POV
I didn't go to him right away.
The message had come, but I let it sit. Not out of defiance, and not out of hesitation either. I needed distance from the council—not from what had happened, but from how it had felt in the moment. If I went to him immediately, the conversation would circle around that. I didn't want that.
By the time I stepped into his study, the night had settled properly.
Darius was inside.
He wasn't at the window this time. He stood near the table, one hand resting against its edge, a glass untouched beside him. His attention shifted the moment I entered, even before I closed the door.
For a second, he did not speak.
Then he said, "You stayed longer than the others."
That wasn't about the council.
I walked further in.
"I had no reason to leave immediately."
His gaze held on me, steady, searching for something beneath the answer.
"Most people don't remain after they've said what they need to say."
"I wasn't finished observing."
