Not a question. A statement delivered with the careful neutrality of someone testing boundaries.
Eve met her gaze steadily. "Thank you. The bond was completed last night."
"The power surge we detected," Isadora said, understanding settling into her expression. "That was the bond activation. A triple bonding, from the magnitude of it."
"Yes."
Isadora sat back slightly, her posture relaxing from formal to genuinely conversational. "That explains much. And it's...." She paused, seeming to choose her words carefully. "....it's quite remarkable, actually. Triple bondings are rare. Triple bondings that fully activate with that degree of power are extraordinarily rare."
"I'm learning that," Eve said.
"It will serve you well," Isadora continued. "The Court respects strength, and a fully activated triple bond is undeniable evidence of strength. Of compatibility. Of genuine connection rather than political arrangement."
