Once the final curtain fell and the standing ovation faded, he turned from the rail and offered his arm to Enigma. Dressed throat to toe in opera black, there was nothing about his mein that seemed anything short of powerful. Even the stark lines on his face lent a sense of gravitas, and if they were deeper than earlier, the increase only lent him that much more. Just before he led her out of his box, Erik gave Enigma a long and considering look.
"The lakehouse," he said at length, voice smooth as liquid gold, "Is not without its charms. But all that stone and water makes it damp and uncomfortable for those whose constitution has faltered."
There was a reason for this. A reason that served all of them very well. He had only to say what he needed of her. For her. For all of them.
"You will come home with me, tonight," Erik said. His tone was calm and reasonable - a king so used to command that it came naturally, without any room or thought for dissent. "And you will stay for as long as it takes for you to regain your place on stage."
With that, he lifted the hood of her cloak with his free hand and set it in place. Moments later, they were in the corridor, and Erik was directing his assistant to escort Ms. Enigma to her dressing room and meet him immediately after in his office downstairs.