Ester forced Damon to remain seated throughout the rest of the preparation. She placed a thicker containment band around his arm, covered the dark blue lines with a mixture of mineral powder and treated blood, and warned that any attempt to observe the memory again would end with sedatives. Damon did not ask how many would be necessary. Judging by the way Ester arranged the vials across the table, she was clearly willing to find out.
Even while physically restricted, he continued directing the operation. Aria and Iris worked on the message intended for Orven, comparing the symbols on the broken coin with codes recovered from Havelock's documents. Iris knew only part of the sequence, but Damon quickly noticed that the gaps followed a pattern. Seraphine did not trust complete codes to her agents. Each person received a specific structure, and the other half of the coin determined which sections were meant to be read.
