Damian's head snapped toward him, a sudden stillness rolling through him like a storm front.
"What did you say?"
Gabriel didn't answer right away. His eyes had narrowed, something burning behind the exhaustion now—clarity, sharp and unwelcome. He sat upright, ignoring the twist in his stomach and the room's tilt.
"Callahan and George," he repeated. "I didn't question it before. I thought Callahan leaving was part of George's way of protecting him from Elliot—or from Hadeon. But George stopped calling, writing. I stopped asking before reaching the capital. No contact since you severed Elliot's control over him."
Damian stilled.
The air around him did not move or shift, but something in it tightened, as if the room took a breath and held it.
"That's when he changed," Gabriel continued, his voice slow but steady. "After you broke the spell. George acted freely. But he's been silent ever since."
Damian's jaw was rigid, golden eyes narrowing as he absorbed every word.
