Fenris's hackles lowered fractionally, and Alaric's stance loosened. I pressed on, my heart thrumming with the urgency of my plea. "Let us not spill our blood over a few miles of earth when our very souls are at stake. We must stand united, or fall divided."

Their gazes locked on mine, searching, weighing my words. After a moment that stretched taut as a bowstring, Fenris extended his hand. Alaric hesitated but then clasped it, their grip a silent accord brokered under the pressure of impending ...