~Kaida Orion POV~
"Open it now," I say.
She hesitates one heartbeat too long but, Lupus steps forward and she yields.
Inside: silk rolled, silver thread, and a shallow lacquer tray lined with cotton, in the center sits a bead larger than a plum, cracked, oozing faint green mist, under it rests a folded paper bearing two brush marks...my childhood name and the wolf‑line name Wahya bound together in one knot.
My aunt avoids my eyes. "Your mother saved your childhood name until you were wed, she feared you would forget your roots in his house. But when the courier offered to 'restore' the binding for your fifteenth, I..."
"You gave them both names," I whisper.
"I thought it would please you," she says weakly.
Lupus lifts the bead with iron tongs, the mist fights, pulling threads toward my chest as I step back. "Do not let it touch me."
We seal the bead under brine and ash and the mist slams the lid so hard as the jar rings.
