Page 63 of Heart of Defiance

Chapter Twenty-Three

Several months later

Signy

My silky dress rustles around me as I shift on my feet. Everywhere I look, mosaics of swans and roses and swaths of pink draped across pale marble meet my eyes, making it impossible to forget exactly whose territory I’ve wandered into.

The Temple of Blissful Devotion is the largest temple in all of Velduny dedicated solely to Ardone, the godlen of love and beauty. We figured if we were going to request her blessing for a rather atypical sort of love, it’d be best to do it in her most prominent worldly home.

But now that I’m here, surrounded by all those symbols of divinity, I can’t suppress the jitter of my nerves.

I drag in a deep breath of the perfumed air, scented by the very real roses that grow all around the airy building.Jostein comes up behind me, tucking his arm around my back.

He must be able to pick up on my worries. He leans in to press a tender kiss to my forehead. “We don’thaveto do this. Not now, not even ever. Getting Ardone’s approval won’t change how much any of us love you.”

I twine my fingers with his. “I know. But it makes a difference to the rest of the world.”

For everyone who’s accepted my joint relationship with three men, there are others who mutter scornful gossip and shoot disdainful glances our way. Never terribly overt, because I am still hailed as a hero of the rebellion, but I notice it and I know my lovers do too.

I never want them to have any opportunity denied to them because of their association with me. I want the whole country to see that the gods themselves support our shared affection.

But what if they don’t? What if Ardone feels I’ve asked for too much, that I’m not worthy of monopolizing not just one but three incredible men?

Well, I’ve never been one to back down from a challenge, even those seemingly impossible.

As I square my shoulders with resolve, Iko and Landric amble over to join us. All three of my men have dressed up for the occasion like I have, them in formal jackets and trousers that set off their stunning looks to impressive effect. Taking them all in, I have to catch my breath.

“Getting cold feet?” Iko teases, giving one of the loose tendrils of my hair a playful tug.

I laugh. “Not at all.”

Landric holds my gaze with all his usual intensity, his dark eyes never failing to send a tingle over my skin. “No matter what happens, we’ll be by your side.”

I reach to grip his hand as well and aim a determined smile at Iko. “And I’ll be by yours. I love you all so much.”

If that’s not enough for the godlen dedicated to love, what could be?

With her blessing, we can properly marry. Our bond will be treated as just as valid as any other official partnering.

And I can confirm the love that’s solidified between us over the past several months in the most unequivocal possible way.

One of the devouts in his pink robe of worship approaches us, tapping his fingers down his front in the gesture of the divinities as if to bring his chosen godlen to the conversation with him. “It’s time. You can follow me.”

Gathering myself, I walk into the main atrium of the temple surrounded by my men. Light in shades of pink, red, and purple beams down through the panes of stained glass on the domed roof overhead.

Several more devouts stand in a ring around the edges of the atrium. The one who brought us leads us before the cleric who presides over this temple, who’s waiting by an altar at the one end.

The cleric bows her head to us with a soft smile that’s also faintly sly. Ardone’s worshippers are advocates for all sorts of romantic love, from the most innocent to the most carnal.

“Are you ready?” she asks.

When we all nod, she spreads her hands toward us. “Signy Mauddaut of Adelay, Jostein Silvansson of Nalbrecht, Iko Gerholdsson of Nalbrecht, and Landric Klausson of Adelay, you come before our passionate godlen today to seek her blessing for your union—one between the four of you instead of a partnering of two. What would you say to Ardone about your association?”

Jostein speaks first, with the commanding tone that provokes a giddy shiver down the center of me. “Signy ownsmy whole heart. My love is great enough that I welcome the love others can offer her as well.”

Iko trails his fingers across the small of my back. “I’ve never cared for anyone else like I do for Signy—and I love seeing how much joy she experiences with Jostein and Landric as much as what she feels with me.”

Landric shoots me a quick but fond smile. “I spent most of my life knowing I was missing something but too afraid to pursue it. Now that I’ve found my place with Signy, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. And what we have wouldn’t feel complete without these two men who’ve become my greatest friends.”

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