Chapter 48

Ronan's POV

Mara rewrote the coalition charter in a roadside inn while Lucien occupied half the bed with treaty drafts and Soren worked at the desk. I stayed by the window, listening to Redwater guards search the southern road and watching Mara cross out every phrase that could be turned into permanent obedience.

"No emergency authority can be irrevocable," she said. Soren argued that territories needed predictable commitments during an attack. Mara answered, "Predictable is not the same as permanent. If someone leaves in the middle of a battle, everyone gets to know they left. That is still safer than magical compliance being used against them by whoever owns the paper."

Lucien suggested a sunset clause, which Mara called useful and disturbing. By the time they finished, the Open Oath rested on three ideas: participation had to remain active, an