"Now, Ayla," Father Dayne said, his tone kind and gentle, "I was told that before you left the..." He paused to look at Brielle.

"The compound," Jeera answered instead.

Father Dayne nodded. "Right. Before you left the compound, you were forced to participate in a wedding? One you didn't agree to?"

I licked my lips and looked to Jeera, who nodded in support. I could feel my fingers starting to tremble, so I clasped my hands together to hide it. That put my left hand over my right, and the priest's eyes dropped.

"Is that your wedding ring?" he asked gently. "Do Moles wear it on the pinky finger?"

"No!" I gasped, switching my hands so it was hidden. "My mother gave it to me!"

"Ah..." He nodded sagely. "So, are you married then?"

I was sure I'd just made a horrible mistake. My tone must've offended him! But a comforting look from Zasen's sister reminded me she would get me out of here if I needed her to. Before this man could throw me out, or force me to go back, Jeera would save me, and I truly believed she could.

After swallowing to make sure my throat would work, I explained, "I said I didn't want to marry Peter Morgan, so they made me marry Reynold Saunders. When I told them I would say no, they said they simply wouldn't ask me. When it came to that point, they asked him but not me."

"I see," Father Dayne said softly. "And you have no interest in being married to this man? Not then and not now?"

"I just wanted to be allowed to read a book," I admitted, aware my voice was getting pinched. "Please don't make me go back, Father Dayne? I know stabbing him with a fork was wrong, but I didn't have any other option. If I hadn't, he would've forced me back to his chambers and then consummated the - "

The priest's hand closed over both of mine. "No," he said gently. "No, Ayla, I would never send you back to something like that. It's okay, my dear. We're going to make this better, okay? See, I'm asking because God gives you the right to refuse. It doesn't matter what any person on Earth says, the Bible was not made to create suffering. So if you don't want to be married to this man, I'd like to annul the marriage so you can know in your heart that this Reynold Saunders has no claim on you whatsoever."

The air rushed out of my lungs, and all I could do was nod my head repeatedly.

Father Dayne reached up to smooth my hair down, then patted my shoulder. "Okay. I have a few more questions, but only so I can make sure we do this properly, okay?"

"Thank you," I told him. "Oh, thank you, Father Dayne. And I really don't have to be someone's wife?"

"You do not," he assured me. "You see, Ayla, God loves you no matter what. He loves you enough to make sure you found your way to us, I think."

Fifty-EightAyla

The process of having my marriage annulled by Father Dayne was so much easier than I expected. He got a bit more information, wrote it all out on a piece of paper in Vestrian, and then told me where I needed to sign my own name. When that was done, he had me kneel before the cross, said a few words, and then all four of us prayed together.

That was it.

When it was over, I thanked the man so much, Jeera had to all but drag me out of there. I just couldn't believe all my ties to Reynold were gone! God wasn't angry with me, and so far as I cared, Lorsa was the closest thing to Heaven I'd ever heard of! I had a smile plastered on my face that didn't even wilt when we returned to the heat outside. My eyes, however, weren't as thrilled with the change from darkness to the midday sun, so they started to water.

"Oh, don't cry," Brielle said, reaching over to rub my back.

I quickly wiped my eyes. "It's just the light," I assured her. "It gets a little better every day, but I stay inside when it’s this bright out usually."

"Bright?" Jeera asked.

I gestured at the sky, unsure which part of that was confusing. "The first day I was aboveground, I couldn't even keep my lids all the way open. It used to be painful, but now my eyes just water sometimes."

"Because it was dark in the compound," Brielle realized.

"I never knew it was dark," I told them. "We had lights, and I could read well enough, but it wasn't quite as bright as the moonlight."

"You..." Jeera caught my arm, pulling me to a halt so she could look right into my face. "Ayla, you can read in moonlight?"

"Yeah?" I looked between her and Brielle again. "Can't you?"

"No," she assured me. "So you see better at night than right now?"

"Yes? At least I used to."

"Then squint," she told me before turning me the way she wanted and guiding me forward the same way Zasen had on our walk here.

I wasn't sure where we were going, but it didn't really matter. Jeera had found a way to remove my marriage, so I'd gladly spend time doing anything she wanted as my way of thanking her. I had a feeling I might enjoy it too, even if I'd probably get embarrassed, not know what to say, or ask a million stupid questions in an attempt to keep up. The best part, however, was that neither she nor Brielle acted like they cared when I did.

Yet when we ended up walking down some stairs and into a very large building with a massive room filled with tables, I wasn't sure what to make of it. Brielle pointed to a spot at the side, and Jeera directed me that way, so I didn't try to resist. As we passed one man, he grumbled out words which didn't sound happy, but Jeera just gave him a warning look.

"And now, for the fun part," Brielle said. Tossing a smile at me, she raised her voice and called out, "Service!"

A man yelled something back from behind a door. But when he stepped through in the middle of his sentence, I recognized the brilliant colors across his body. A split-second later, Rymar's face split into a grin and he hurried over.

"Ayla!" he greeted me.

"Rymar," I said, but my voice wasn't yelling like everyone else's.

"Okay," he said as he knelt down between me and Brielle, with Jeera sitting on my other side. "So I guess the amazing women have decided to grace us with their presence, hm? I'm guessing you want some food to go with your big day out on the town?"

"You knew I was going to see the town today?" I asked, because it felt like Rymar was never at the house with the others.

He chuckled. "Who do you think got Jeera and Brielle involved?"

"Zasen asked Rymar if he could tell us," Jeera admitted. "And then we took over."

"So?" Rymar asked.

"I think we all need meals," Brielle told him.

"No, I meant the other thing," he clarified.

"Yes, we already went to church," Jeera assured him.

Rymar turned his eyes to me. "And?"

"Father Dayne annulled my marriage to Mr. Saunders," I said meekly, dropping my eyes to the table. "He also said it wasn't a sin for me to put the fork in his arm because I was defending myself. He said God is kind and loving and that anything else is a lie."

"I'm giving that man free drinks for life," Rymar muttered.

"He's a priest," Jeera pointed out. "He doesn't drink, Rymar."

"See, a win-win," Rymar joked.