••• Damien's POV •••
The war room was too quiet.
I walked in alone, the weight of what I’d felt earlier still pressing against my ribs like a blade. My claws hadn’t fully retracted, and the air around me crackled with the remains of my fury. Noah had followed me while I let Carl take over at the battlefield, but I’d left with one thing echoing through my mind.
Victoria. Gone.
The silence of the war room didn’t comfort me. It mocked me. Every shadow in the corners felt like a threat. Every breath I took tasted of ash. I didn’t sit. I stood by the window, staring out at the tree line where shadows shifted in the moonlight. The bond still pulsed faintly in my chest, but it was thin—like a heartbeat underwater. I tried to reach for her through it. Nothing. No fear, warmth. Just s
