After the stark brightness of the altar room, the deepening darkness of the main body of the chapel was a shock.

Had I really slept that long?

The powerful paintings of the deeds of the gods and goddesses were bathed in a muted deepness, blending the once vivid colours into browns, greys, and blacks. The faint smell of sweat gave the deeping chapel an edge of desperation and isolation.

The quietness, which once filled this vast room and which I loved, was disrupted by two women shouting at each other. Occasionally, there was an attempt to stop the two arguing, but the two voices carried on shouting at each other without pausing or acknowledging someone had said something.

‘At least I didn’t fuck Gomes because I couldn’t wait to get into my beloved’s arms—’ Tan-bei shouted. Her normally happy copper-fawn face screwed up in rage a fist away from Sara’s chubby white face, which was similarly screwed up in rage.

‘Me did something. Anything to get attention. Me gave meself. Ya just cling to him like… Like baby toddler.’

‘So what if I don’t want to fuck him? I love him all the same.’

Sara scoffed. ‘How ya say that? Fucking same as love.’

‘So your mum loved everyone she opened her legs for? She must have a whole lot of love for everyone then.’

The echoes of the slap was loud in the now quiet chapel.

‘Enough.’ I said, in a quiet rumbling tone, like the rumble of thunder over distant hills. A tone of voice I hadn’t used in far too long. Tan-bei and Sara looked at me with fearful pale faces. I stalked towards the two of them. It seemed they were fighting over me. ‘Sara. You made your choice.’

I reached out and pulled Tan-bei towards me. She came happily and snugged next to me. Having sex with Sara was … Interesting. Maybe even nice. But I never felt the need for it, not like I had with Sirona or Orla. The sex we had was just something Sara initiated for some reason or another.

‘No.’ She said, looking up at me with wide regretful eyes. ‘Me made mistake. Miri told me she made mistake.’

‘You picked family.’ I said. Maybe what Maelwys said to me earlier impacted me harder than I expected.

Sara reached towards me, but stopped, leaving her hands hanging near me, but not touching me.

‘May I speak now?’ Gannis interrupted us all. He hesitantly walked forward, his submissive posture at odds with his powerful thuggish body and ruddy square thuggish face.

I nodded.

‘There is a simple solution—’

‘I’m not divorcing Berwyn, not now, not ever. I love him too much for that.’ Tan-bei stated, standing up straight, and holding tight to my arm as if it scared her I would cast her away.

‘The laws of this land, when dealing with marriage, take the stance that the Holy Rules of Matrimony are to be upheld above all else.’ As he was saying this, Gannis moved so his back was to the statue of the Trio. The virile prime god and his two wives hanging demurely off his arms, which blocked the entrance to the screened off area of the chapel, loomed over him, giving his words extra authority. ‘Which is why, on this feast day, you do not need permission to marry from the lords of the land if you marry within a sacred space dedicated to Saint Evaine.’ He motioned to the chapel which we were standing within.

‘And there is something else which can help, too.’ He stood there a moment in silence, probably waiting for someone to say something. Nobody did. In the end, he shook his head and carried on. ‘There was a time when it looked like the Temple was going to push for the dissolution of the Martimony Doctrine of the Trio, as set forth by the Council of Santa Peyre della Costiera. But during the recent,’ he pulled a slightly troubled face, as if he wasn’t sure of what word to use, ‘troubles with Saksanac and Island of the Galha, the Central Temple needed something to counterbalance the threat they pose. Then along came Sudimark.’

I honestly had no idea what any of this meant.

‘You mean the succession crisis,’ An-chau said. She moved to stand next to Gannis and hesitantly reached out to take his hand, ‘and how the Crown Prince needed to wed a second wife. The daughter of his principal rival to the crown.’

‘Yes, and in doing that, the Crown Prince pledged his allegiance directly to the Priest of the Central Temple. The Central Temple faction accepted his allegiance, and to support his claim to the throne even went so far as to reissue the text of the Martimony Doctrine of the Trio—’

‘Second wife…’ Sara muttered. ‘That mean, me marry Berwyn too?’

Gannis smiled at her, a broad happy smile looking more at home on the thuggish face than I thought it would. ‘Though our parent temple is of the Peoplist faction, I could sell the double marriage…’

‘Isn’t it too much, especially if you tell them about us too?’ An-chau said.

‘Ah, it’s nice you’re worrying about me. But, An-chau, I do have more pull than what you think. Especially when dealing with the Communion of the Divine Champion. Here in Three Bridge there is only a single Divine Champion candidate, and that is Tan-bei. You, of all people, know how much pull you candidates can have. Remember, Tan-bei got you promoted here after all. Didn ’t she?’

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

An-chau nodded. ‘She did, yes.’

‘Through accepting this double marriage, the superiors would have access not only to another potential candidate but also an anchor holding both these candidates to Three Bridge. The temple here is desperate for some good news to help retain its standing in the Peoplist League.’

This all felt too outlandish to me, it seemed like Gannis had changed from a preacher to a fast talk braggart.

Sara must ’ve felt like her question was unanswered because she asked again. ‘Can me marry Berwyn too?’

‘That is up to him. I will tell you what your stones said. Your married life will be difficult and tempestuous. You will be blessed through this union, though Berwyn will gain more. As a warning, your reading shows your marriage will not be as positive and easy as Tan-bei ’s marriage to Berwyn will be.’

It didn ’t look like Sara cared what the stones said. Maybe she saw them as some strange, unimportant ritual. But I listened to what he said, especially as Gannis had cast with my Sirona’s own stones. Our married life would not be easy, though Sara seemed to be eager to marry me. Still, with all this talk about marriage, and with Sara sleeping with Gomes, not to mention political issues far removed from what I care about, I felt like I had missed something important.

They were talking, and it was disrupting my thinking. ‘Wait. Quiet.’ I said.

Now that the talking stopped, I hoped I would have time to think over all of what I heard. I started to mutter to myself: ‘Divine Champion Communion. Candidate, Tan-bei. Another Candidate…’ I stopped mumbling and looked at Gannis. ‘Who is other candidate?’

‘You. Did you not feel the blessing of Julkasa come down from the heavens when you married Tan-bei earlier?’

Now that he said it, I guessed it was a blessing. I gave a hesitant nod.

‘Berwyn, we need to depart soon.’ Maelwys said, his deep voice brokering no arguments. ‘You may continue this discussion at a later time.’

‘Sadly, if they are to be wed, it needs to be today, here, on Saint Evaine’s day. Otherwise getting permission to marry is… Difficult. If we wait until next year, my arguments will hold no power and the temple will likely annul the double marriage.’

Maelwys turned to me. His distinguished face looking even more dramatic in the dim light of the chapel. ‘We must depart soon. For it is on this day we must start the—’

Maelwys stopped himself, holding the cheap cloth satchel tight to him, and looked around. When no one said anything, his wary eyes eased slightly.

To speed things up, I decided to marry Sara. ‘If Sara desires it, I will wed.’

Maybe it was not the most love filled declaration, but I felt pressure from Maelwys to get this over and done with.

I put out my hand. Sara eagerly placed her small pristine white hand, worn by the work she did for the tavern, on my rough pale pink hand, beaming at me as she did so. Her smile seemed to light up her face.

I gave her a small smile in return.

‘Under the watchful eyes of Saint Evaine,’ Gannis said, quicky, ‘I proclaim the truth of your marriage. May Saint Evaine, the gods, and the spirits, watch over you and bless your fruitful life together.’

I staggered under a now familiar heavy warmth that slammed upon my shoulders. A heavy warmth surrounded me before sinking deep inside before. Emotions ran through me thick and hot. Before everything turned into an icy cold. Faint cruel laughter echoed at the edge of my hearing.

The blessing was harsh and rough. There was none of the gentleness of my previous blessings. I struggled to breathe, as if a great hand was smothering me. Only the faintest gasp of frozen air reached my lungs.

Brutal and icy raindrops hung heavy upon the bare winter bones of trees. A weighty promise of snow filled the air.

A dank cave, open to the sky, surrounded by thick snow and the crackling of ice.

A hidden place of worship lost to us insignificant humans, known only by long forgotten gods. Arctic winds rushed through the entrance of the cave, filling my body with an engulfing frozen mist. The mist froze my body whilst the blessing forced its way throughout my body.

My body grew numb.

No amount of shivering warmed my body.

I struggled to breathe.

My vision grew dim and everything distanced itself from me. Just as I thought I would finally die the deadly winter cold snapped away.

As the warmth of the chapel filled me, I felt somewhat different.

‘Juron the light bringer,’ I heard Gannis whisper in reverence.

Sara ’s hand was no longer on mine. She was laying collapsed on the floor with a rapturous expression on her face.

‘There’s no time, Berwyn,’ Maelwys said in a strict, firm voice. ‘We must depart now. Leave her. Follow me.’

With a powerful and purposeful stride, he headed towards the chapel door. I looked down upon Sara ’s body laying in a rapturous state.

‘Berwyn,’ Maelwys said, in an even stricture tone.

‘Leave her with me,’ Tan-bei said, not moving from her place next to me. ‘I will look after my fellow sister-wife.’

With that sorted, I followed Maelwys out of the chapel and into the rowdy and drunken feast day evening.