We gathered that evening in a private room adjacent to the main hall, Ronan, Mabel, and myself, and I laid out Silas's request carefully, watching both their expressions shift through consideration as I explained the proposal of measured, repeated healing rather than the complete binding giving that had always carried such terrifying finality.
It's not without risk, Mabel said slowly, once I had finished. Even small measures, given repeatedly, place cumulative strain on your body and your bloodline's reserves. I don't have precise records of how much your family's particular gift can sustain before depletion becomes a genuine concern rather than a theoretical one.
But it's not the same as full binding, I said. Not the permanent ending Callum warned us about.
No, Mabel agreed. It's diffe
