"There's no way to soften the ritual itself," the eldest priestess said, her name, I'd since learned, was Mother Adara, eldest of the surviving order scattered since the Lycan Empire's founding stripped their formal recognition away. "The trance draws its power from truth laid bare, without embellishment or mercy. Anything less would leave the bond's authenticity questionable, and questionable authenticity serves no purpose against an entity capable of exploiting the smallest uncertainty."
"Then we face it as it comes," Valerius said, though I caught the tightness in his jaw, the particular bracing stance of a man preparing to endure something he couldn't fight with strength alone.
Mother Adara studied us both for a long, searching moment, her ancient eyes carrying a weight of accumulate
