Damon returned to Mirath late that afternoon.
This time, nobody was waiting for him in front of the Transfer Point with their arms crossed.
He considered that progress.
Aria was busy comparing the records of Arvell with the little information Damon had brought back from Veyra. Aurelia was insisting that she shouldn't try to reconstruct genealogies that the people involved had deliberately chosen to abandon, and Jian Yue was training in the courtyard.
The routine had returned so quickly that Damon almost forgot he had spent much of the past few weeks trying to understand a bodily structure that predated the very division between vampires and incubi.
Almost.
The following morning, he trained for an entire hour.
Without interruption.
Without Ester appearing to tell him to stop.
Without any significant reaction from the ancient connections.
When he finished, he was tired, sweaty, and perfectly normal.
He sat near the courtyard wall to catch his breath.
