Drio answered my frantic knock on Rohan's door.
"I messed up."
He pulled me inside. Rohan wasn't there.
Drio didn't say a word, just let me sit down and waited. The story tumbled out of me. "I knew intellectually what Samson was capable of. But I hadn't truly understood. He made me feel things."
My hand shook on the shot of bourbon Drio had given me. Between the bitter ache of my failure, the fading rush of adrenaline, and my brain trying to lockdown replays of my epiphany, it was a miracle my motor skills worked at all. "I had to get out of there and I didn't get the meeting for tomorrow."
"It's a setback. It's not the end of the world."
"I should have handled the situation better. I know I didn't have the ritual blade to kill him and I couldn't use my magic and tip our hand, but I should have-"