Nobody spoke for a long moment after Elara's words settled into the room, the ancient book still open on the table between them like something none of them wanted to touch again.
"Then we stop," Fenris said finally, closing the book himself, gently, like the act of shutting its pages could somehow undo what was written inside it. "I won't do this to you. Not without you understanding exactly what it costs before you agree to it. Not like this, rushed and half-informed in the middle of a crisis I created."
"I already agreed."
"You agreed before you knew it was permanent." His voice was rough, edged with something that sounded almost like anger at himself, at the whole situation, at a curse he'd never asked to inherit. "You agreed to risk your life for a few hours during a ritual, not to
