Damian's eyes tracked across the kneeling figures beside Brian's unconscious form.
Marcus Feng, the business-minded who'd survived two months in a Giant portal with him.
Ming, the man who'd lost his wife and daughter to Shadow Council bombs.
Others he recognized, faces bloodied, bodies bearing marks of interrogation and torture.
'How?'
The question burned through his mind, cutting deeper than any physical wound could.
'How did they get caught? Gia had hidden their information...'
His gaze found Brian's face again, saw the bruises forming under the eyes, the split lip, the way his breathing came shallow and pained.
'What… did they do to you?'
Kinsley Patriarch's voice cut through the silence, drawing every eye back to him.
"Do you know these people, young man?"
Damian said nothing, his jaw clenched so tight his teeth ached.
Kinsley's smile widened, something predatory bleeding through the pleasant expression.
