He did not leave my side for the rest of the day.
Not hovering — Darius did not hover, it was not in his nature, the specific precision he brought to everything extended to proximity and he understood the difference between presence and pressure. But he was there. The study moved to wherever I was. The coffee appeared without discussion. When Kira came back to check in the afternoon, he was in the chair across from the window seat where I'd settled, not working, just — there.
"You're watching me," I said.
"I'm sitting near you," he said.
"Those are different things," I said.
"Yes," he agreed.
"You're watching me," I said.
He looked at the window.
"I felt it through the bond," he said. "Before you knew it yourself. Before you stopped. I felt it arrive." He held his gaze on the terri
