Damian kept thinking about what Louis had told him in the evening. Now, in the darkness of his room, he felt nothing but a strange aloofness. Finally, standing up from the chair, he went to see Eilika.
As he approached the doors, the usual stillness of the palace wing was broken by a sound that gave him pause: the bright, melodic laughter of Eilika and Roman. He stepped inside, moving quietly as he watched them. They were in the midst of a game, their faces glowing with a carefree joy he rarely witnessed.
Shouldn't she be resting? he wondered, a flicker of concern crossing his mind.
"Father!" Roman gasped, freezing in place with a ball clutched to his chest. Eilika stopped beside him, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath, a stray lock of hair falling across her damp forehead.
"Joanna, please take Roman to his room. I wish to speak with the Duchess alone," Damian said. His voice was uncharacteristically soft, lacking its usual sharp edge of command.
