He’d probably had his nose stuck in a book and forgotten the time. He was prone to doing that. He also appeared to be wearing a smoking jacket, a thing that struck her as funny and nearly sent her into hysterical giggles. She swallowed them back, sensing that they would quickly turn to tears, and she’d had enough of those on the way here.She’d been holding it together. Somehow, she’d made it through last night, feigning indifference to Damien’s sudden departure even though she’d seen Lyra shooting her sympathetic glances all evening. Everything was fine; everything was normal. She’d been good at pretending that once, able to smile and look serene even during her darkest moments among the Grigori. But Damien had ripped a hole in her, leaving a wound she had no idea how to heal. She’d waited centuries to be able to really give her heart to someone… and he’d rejected it.If she got through the next forty-eight hours in one piece, Ariane supposed she would find a way to live with it.
