Chapter 9 – The Devil You Know
378 Words
The night stretched on, but Elara couldn’t shake the weight of Adrian’s presence. His words still echoed in her head.
"Careful, sweetheart. You don’t know what you’re stepping into."
She wanted to ignore it. To let it roll off her shoulders like everything else in this city. But there was something in Damien’s silence that unsettled her more than the threat itself.
He wasn’t scared of Adrian.
But he was calculating.
And that meant something.
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The office was dimly lit when Elara walked in. Damien was seated at his desk, a glass of whiskey untouched beside him. The golden glow from the city spilled through the window, casting sharp shadows across his face.
He didn’t look up when she entered.
“You should be asleep.”
Elara crossed her arms. “So should you.”
A flicker of amusement ghosted over his features before vanishing.
“You’ve been quiet,” she noted.
He swirled the glass in his hand, watching the liquid shift. “Thinking.”
“About Adrian?”
His jaw tightened, but he didn’t answer.
Elara took a slow breath, stepping closer. “You’re not going to tell me anything, are you?”
Damien finally looked at her, and for the first time tonight, she saw something raw beneath the carefully placed mask. It wasn’t fear. It wasn’t anger.
It was something else.
“Adrian doesn’t play fair,” Damien said finally, voice low. “He doesn’t just want control—he enjoys watching people break.”
A shiver ran through her.
Elara sat on the edge of his desk, mirroring his calm. “And you?”
“What about me?”
“You’re the same, aren’t you?”
Damien smirked slightly, but there was no humor in it. “You think I enjoy breaking people?”
She held his gaze. “I think you don’t hesitate.”
A slow exhale left him. “You’re right.”
The air between them shifted.
Elara should be terrified. She should want to walk away. But instead, she found herself wanting to know more.
About him.
About the war he was fighting.
About what it meant to stand beside a man like Damien DeLuca.
And for the first time, she wondered if she had already made that choice.
- Writer
