"It's strange, I know. I still don't fully understand how the contract works myself." Her tongue darts out to moisten already wet lips. "Chiron is--"

Now her brows furrow. Is it her right to speak of what he's confided in her? It seems a betrayal to him. But not telling Jon would be a betrayal as well, she thinks, for this is a bond which goes beyond mind ravens.

"He relies on magic to survive. In his world, there are those like him and they form...a sort of contract with someone who has magic. It allows the--he calls himself and those like him servants. I don't like that, masters and servants." A sigh. "He was not doing well in the tunnels, and though the magic in my veins is meager, it was enough to help him survive Gallipoli."

Frankly, she'd not believed herself capable of having magic at all.

"It also allows for a sort of connection similar and independent to the mind ravens. That's how he knew. He'd contacted me through that link, but the poison had already affected me."