Ember holds a collar in her hands, and she is stiff as a statue.

C'mon. Be a good girl. Put it on. There's something misfiring here between her arms and her brain, between her hormones being played like a harp and the way her arms just won't move. And that misfire, that jam, is...

"...Bella said this is okay, right?" It's hot and hard to think, and the crush is on all sides, the joy of Ceron is being part of the pack, but her arms just aren't moving. "Because, she, Mosaic, she's the only one who gets to..."

That's untrue, isn't it, Dany? You get into all sorts of scrapes. Tumble up and down the scoreboard, end up in peril and doom, change from face to face like drama masks, but down at the bottom of them all there's you. And you're [i]married.[/i]

"I'm your sister-in-law," Gemini breathes sweetly in her ear. "I'm practically doing it for her."

"Okay," Ember says, eyelids heavy. "But can you put her name on here? Weave it in the, the collar, or etch it on the tag, or..."

Gemini takes it from her. Ember's arms fall like her training weights are tied to them. All around her are the sound of bells, of bells, she was wearing a bell and that made all bells beautiful, Bell-a Bell-a Bell-a, and when they find that lost world nobody and nothing's gonna keep them from finding a home, Bell-a Bell-a Bell-a with a jangling mood and a beautiful face, softer now, lovely always, Bella who came for her, Bella who married her, Bella who refused to break...

Gemini shows her the nametag, etched with a claw, the name of the one woman she belongs to, and Redana throws her arms around Gemini and hugs her, tail thwacking all around, giddy with the relief of everything settling into place in her head. Now she can stumble back down from rule. Now she can be praised for her qualities and not judged for failing to measure up. Now she can be a very special member of this pack:

The one who has [i]BELLAS[/i] at her throat, and a small silver bell hung there.