Darien's pov

After a few hours of discussion and planning, we finally wrapped up our meeting. I stood up, stretching my arms over my head, and Claire followed. We exchanged a look, and I could see the relief in her eyes. We had made some good progress, and we had a solid plan in place to deal with the recent attacks.

As we left the meeting hall, I put my arm around Claire's shoulders again. "Thanks for your input back there," I said, squeezing her gently. "You're always so level-headed and ...