<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#99ccff">He was watching them throughout the process, his mind barely connected to theirs so he could monitor them. He had to make sure that they were safe at all costs, even if it meant he had to pull them early. Lucian felt their simultaneous surprise, and when he looked at their faces he saw matching expressions. Not worried, so something hadn’t gone wrong, just slightly puzzled. </span><i><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#4da6ff">There must have been something that the notes didn’t tell us.</span></i><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#99ccff"> He thought to himself as he maintained the ritual.</span>