"You don't have to do this," Celeste murmured, her hand grazing Magnolia's cheek. Her voice was low, barely audible over the rustle of trees below.
"Yes, I do," Magnolia replied. "If I don't, the bloodline ends with me as just another name in the tome."
Celeste looked like she wanted to argue, but her mouth flattened. "Then we begin."
They moved together into the center of the stone circle. The ground was scorched in places from old rites. Blood had dried into the earth generations ago. Bones of wolves lay fused into the cracks, reminders of those who had not survived the memory-binding.
"Strip," Celeste said simply.
Magnolia's fingers shook as she untied the laces of her ceremonial robe. Beneath it, her skin shivered in the wind. The crescent tattoo above her navel pulsed faintly.
Celeste knelt and smeared crushed lunar root across Magnolia's shoulders. It glowed faintly blue under moonlight.
"Speak your name," Celeste commanded.
