<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#99ccff">Lucian fought, and failed, to keep a smile off of his face when they talked. </span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#4da6ff">“Yes, it’s that big. I wanted to make sure I put everything I knew that would help, and it ended up being larger than intended.”</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#99ccff"> He looked over at Ayla, giving her a wink. </span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#4da6ff">“Besides, it isn’t the size that matters.”</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#99ccff"> He moved over to his intended position, on the south side of the circle, and sat down outside of it. He wasn’t one of the ones that was getting bonded, so he had to be careful to not step inside during the ritual. Or at least, that was the theory.</span>