Damon’s POV
Something had changed. Again. The realization had been bothering me for days. At first, I told myself I was imagining it. Elodie had only recently recovered from her illness. It made sense that she would be tired. It made sense that she would need time. The healers had warned that recovery could be unpredictable.
Yet this felt different. Not physical. Emotional.
The female who had attended the gathering beside me and tolerated my company without obvious resistance seemed to be slipping away again. Not dramatically. Not enough for anyone else to notice.
Enough for me. I stood outside the library doorway watching her from a distance. She sat by one of the windows with an open book resting on her lap. She wasn't reading. I could tell. Her eyes remained fixed on the same page f
