"Twenty demons and a guard captain." Marcus smiled. "Plus, your backup is about to have problems of their own."
More demons emerged from the perimeter – the backup guards Seria had positioned were under attack.
They were trapped. Outnumbered. Cut off from reinforcement.
Exactly what the conspirators wanted.
Damien looked at Seria, and she saw the question in his eyes: Do you trust me?
Everything Aldric had warned about crystallized in this moment. Trusting Damien meant fighting beside someone using dark powers, accepting that appearance didn't equal reality, choosing results over methods.
Not trusting him meant fighting alone against overwhelming odds while her backup was pinned down.
Not really a choice.
"I trust you," she said. "What's the plan?"
[MAJOR TRUST DECISION: SERIA CHOOSING DAMIEN OVER CAUTION]
[PARTNERSHIP: SOLIDIFIED UNDER PRESSURE]
