VALENTINE
Wilhelm's eyes went wider. He started to say something but I removed my hand from the speaker.
"Hello?" Cian's voice came through. Impatient now.
"Apologies," I said. "The network was breaking. Let's begin."
I closed my eyes and drew in a breath. The words came from muscle memory. From years of practice. From a lifetime of making deals I shouldn't have made.
"By blood and bone, by soul and stone," I began. My voice dropped into the cadence of ritual. "I bind myself to you, Cian of House Donlon. I will not lie to you, not in word nor deed nor omission. I will not act as a double agent against you. I will not intend harm to you, neither directly nor through intermediary means, neither through action nor inaction, neither through spell nor through allowing another to act unchallenged in my presence."
The last part was careful. Deliberate. "Allowing another to act unchallenged in my presence" gave me wiggle room. Especially for what Wilhelm was to do.
