Once Was: Book One of the Asylum Trilogy by Miya Kressin Page B

done.
    “Handfast with me, Fion,” was my soft plea as he slid beneath the covers. “Make us permanent.”
    “Leave the Priesthood, and we’ll have the ceremony by nightfall.”
     
    *
     
    Despite what turned into a screaming match, Fion and I had spent three days in his bed, only leaving to fetch food and exchange dirty linens. When his assistant came daily to see if Fion was willing to see other patients in the clinic, he had chased her off with sweet promises to help as soon as his “childhood friend was back on her feet.” The glares she shot me turned to smiles once ordered to bind my powers again. All the pain Kayade inflicted was tempered by memories of the bliss I accepted in Fion’s bed and the luxuries with which he pampered me. Due to his status in Lorilindo, he had a private bathing chamber, including a brass tub set over a fire so heated water was no luxury to him. The water let out onto the fields, irrigating the crops with the remnants of our frequent baths.
    If I had not seen the tincture to stop conception upon his desk in the infirmary, I might have mourned our lack of child-making. There was so much I needed to do that his silent deception was a blessing despite my anger regarding his lack of forthcoming. No words were spoken; I had to honor his decision to do what was best for our situation. It was better to have no chance for pain than worry what Liand would do should he discover what Fion and I had done.
    It was my own fault for having taught Fion the recipe. After our first night outside Aristeer, I’d kissed away his fears that I might “catch,” as he’d called it, then showed him the herbal tincture all priestesses carried for fear of forced interludes with the army. Now, with our bond ended, I wished that I had some part of him to cling to beyond the translucent ghost of his memory. Dead or married, he was lost to me.
    I would be a whore to no man, despite what Liand had done once Fion could no longer declare I was his patient. My healing abilities were not all he demanded, and in exchange for releasing five of my sisters still in captivity, I gave myself willingly for the three moons I treated his tumors. Despite declaring my abilities heretical, Liand had no issues with allowing me to pray to Aya for a sharp blade to remove the exterior tumors, and Bas to heal what I could not remove physically. I slept in his bed, healing every ailment until his own faith-healers and medics found him in perfect health once again. It was due to his fondness for Fion that I was granted a chance to escape, but I knew should I be caught again, I would not be treated to such liberties.
    The rueful thoughts that had accompanied me through the woods followed me into the home that had belonged to Kira and then Asha and to the back wall where all my hopes for the future rested. The latest tenant’s departure was so hasty that remnants of her supper still sat in the pot over the dead hearth, the contents burnt to a dry crisp. Her bed was destroyed; scraps of fabric and dried grasses covered open chests that once held clothes. My luck held, however, and the hidden door to the temple remained undisturbed. The clay covered walls were cool to my touch as I tried to remember where Kira had opened the door for me before taking a short cut to the sacred space.
    Could I find the short cut?
    Nay, I had to take the proper path to the temple. My nails caught upon two cracks in the plaster, one leading to the right crevice to spring the latch. The door whispered open, fabric on the other side sliding over the earthen floor.
    Sunlight filtered ahead in the temple, giving a soft ending to the darkness awaiting. The tunnel seemed much shorter than my last trip. I stripped off my shoes and set them atop a small woven basket before pushing the door closed, leaving me in the womb-like space. With my hands on either wall, I soon had to drop to my knees and crawl as the earthen walkway returned me to my beginnings. Cade’s shirt