And their silence now, as he passed, was not fear anymore.

It had turned into something else entirely.

It had turned into judgment, and judgment is a thing a man like Damian has no answer for, because it cannot be charmed or threatened or bought.

Those were the only three instruments Damian had ever really played.

Charm, for the people who could be flattered; threat, for the people who could be frightened; money, for the people who could be bought.

He had built an entire career on the assumption that everyone fell into one of the three categories, and judgment was the thing he had no instrument for, because judgment is what is left in a room after the charm has curdled and the threat has expired and the money has been clawed back by a court.