Darius found Nessa in the garden just after midday, sitting on the stone bench near the old oak where she used to read as a child. She had a book open in her lap but she wasn't reading it. She was staring at nothing, her fingers resting on the page without turning it.
He watched her for a moment from the path before she noticed him.
There was something wrong with how she sat. It wasn't the relaxed stillness of someone at rest. It was more like a statue trying to imitate a person… close, but slightly off in a way he couldn't name.
"Mind if I join you?" he asked.
She looked up, and for just a fraction of a second, something moved across her face that wasn't quite warmth. Then her expression settled into the familiar, fond smile he knew.
"Of course," she said. "I was just getting some air."
Darius sat beside her and said nothing for a moment. He had learned long ago that silence often drew more out of people than questions did.
"You seem better today," he offered finally.
