Chapter Nineteen
"Papa!"
The door didn't creak open so much as fly, and Eliot barreled through it with his short legs pumping as fast as they could carry him, straight across the office and into his father's arms before either Darian or Liora had time to react.
Darian caught him on instinct, the boy's small body colliding into his chest with enough force to nearly knock the wind out of him. For one unguarded second, something in Darian's face softened completely — the same tenderness Nyara had glimpsed once and only once, buried beneath years of duty and armor.
Then it vanished.
"Eliot." Darian set him back on his feet, his voice firm now, the warmth folded carefully away. "What have I told you about running through the pack house?"
Eliot blinked up at him, his small chest still heav
