The great doors of the cathedral groaned shut behind Elena and Jaime, sealing them in.
The air was thick with incense and wax. A draft whispered through the rafters, carrying the weight of centuries.
They kept their hands entwined, neither willing to let go. Elena felt Jaime's pulse beneath her thumb, steady but fierce.
Will they try to tear us apart? Elena thought, chest tight. Or bind us in chains? She felt Guabancex coil around her spine, a soft hiss escaping her lips.
The Council of Elders waited at the far end of the nave: five women robed in white, mantles stitched with sacred shells and golden thread. They sat like carved idols, bearing the authority of generations.
Elena and Jaime gave their testimony. Señora Behike spoke, Alejandro offered his word. Then silence fell. It pressed on the ribs until even breath felt like transgression.
At last, the eldest rose. Her hair silver, staff carved with spiral glyphs. She spoke not as a woman, but as the mouth of the divine:
"Hear, O Sanctuary. Hear, O heavens.
Two stood before the wellspring, and the waters bound them.
Two entered apart, but they returned as one flesh, one blood, one spirit.
The gods themselves have woven this cord.
Who among mortals shall cut it?"
The second elder rose, voice sharp as flint:
"What one suffers, both shall suffer.
What one bleeds, both shall bleed.
This is no ordinary yoke, but the sharing of soul.
To leave such power unguarded is to invite chaos, curse, and ruin.
Therefore it must be sanctified.
Therefore it must be clothed in vow."
Jaime's grip tightened on Elena's hand. Curse. They clothed the word in liturgy, but it scraped like broken glass.
The third elder lifted her hands to the vaults:
"But a vessel cannot be filled twice.
A vow cannot divide what the gods have made whole.
Thus the first bond must be undone- not broken, but unmade.
So we decree: the marriage of Elena Matteo to Niegal is annulled, stripped from the book of life, and erased from the memory of the gods.
It never was."
The words rang like a bell tolling for the dead. Elena staggered. Jaime caught her, though his chest thundered with outrage.
A fourth elder rose, staff striking the marble with a crack that echoed like thunder:
"Elena Matteo, by bond and by blood, you are head of your house.
Your line endures through you.
The Matteo name is yours to carry and yours to give.
Thus, let this man who stands beside you take your name,
That the Matteo legacy not die,
That your children's blood remain whole,
That the bond sealed in water be sealed in name."
The youngest elder, soft-spoken yet firm, added:
"The gods have chosen their vessels.
What the heavens decree, the earth must honor.
Within a fortnight, the rite shall be complete.
Their union will be sung as blessing, not hidden as curse.
So we seal it. So it is done."
The five struck their staffs in unison. The sound cracked through the cathedral like lightning.
Unanimous.
The hammer of it broke across Elena's ribs. Her knees buckled. Jaime steadied her, though the bind made her weakness his, too. Together they walked the endless length of the cathedral, whispers trailing like smoke.
The doors closed behind them.
But word always escaped. Even in silence, the Sanctuary spoke.
In the marketplace, voices curled around stalls, threading through awnings, carried by the smoke of hearths:
"Two stood before the wellspring."
"Aye, and came back bound."
"Not curse, they said blessing."
"Blessing? Then why speak of ruin?"
"The first bond undone, never was."
"Blasphemy. How can a marriage never be?"
"Because the gods said so. Who can argue with gods?"
"…And what of Niegal? Dead and gone, is he?"
"No, worse- forgotten."
"He takes her name now."
"As if he were born Matteo."
"As if blood could be sewn like cloth."
"Name is power. If the elders gave it, it is done."
Children ran between stalls, singing snatches they half-understood:
"One flesh, one blood, one spirit-
What one bleeds, the other bleeds-"
Their laughter twisted it into play, but mothers snatched them close, whispering prayers against ill fortune.
From the taverns, voices rose again:
"Within a fortnight, a wedding."
"So fast?"
"The gods do not wait."
"Or perhaps the elders fear to wait."
Everywhere, eyes followed Elena and Jaime as they passed. Not just lovers. Not just sinners. Something heavier. Something larger.
Back at the cottage, Elena sank into a kitchen chair, wood creaking beneath her slight weight. Her eyes stared into nothing.
"They annulled my marriage," she whispered, hollow. "Like it never happened. It's… gone. After all those years…"
Jaime leaned against the counter, arms folded tight across his chest, taut with anger he could not yet unleash. What right have they to choose for us? What gods decree without asking the hearts involved? The is the fear of mortals, not divinity.
Deep within his chest, Coatriskie's laugh crashed like a wave to a cliffside:
Mortals are suck fickle creatures.
The door burst open. Esperanza and Juan tumbled inside, breathless.
"Mama- " Esperanza rushed to her, holding tight. Elena held her close, tears welling. "This changes nothing. I love you all so very much."
Juan shook his head, watching, then joined Jaime by leaning beside him. "I didn't know it could be decided like that."
Jaime exhaled slowly, fighting the sting in his eyes. "Don't get me wrong, I'm honored to marry your mother. But for them to take that choice from us- "
Juan nudged him lightly, a smirk in his lips that didn't quite meet his eyes. "I get it… padre."
Jaime groaned, elbowing him back, grateful for the distraction. "Don't start, Juanito."
"Fair enough," Juan chuckled, though unease lingered in his gaze.
Then Phineus entered, face twisted in anguish. Elena lifted her arms, tears spilling freely.
"Come, mijo. They can't erase our love."
The boy stumbled forward, collapsing into her embrace. She kissed his head, gathering both children close.
"We are the Matteos. You two are the last heirs of the Matteo line. They can't erase blood."
Guabancex hissed her approval, though it did little to ease the ache in Elena's chest.
Esperanza and Phineus clung to her, thunder rumbling suddenly across the sky.
Jaime's gaze met Elena's across the room. No words passed, only the flood of shared feeling: grief, rage, love, hope.
And above it all, one truth echoed in both minds:
I'm so glad it's you.
Beyond the Sanctuary walls, another fate unfolded.
Niegal, cloaked in shadow, had overheard the decree from passing guards.
His knees struck the dirt. His hands trembled. His heart felt torn open.
"It's gone," he rasped to no one. "All of it. She's… gone."
Tears blurred his vision. He wept until his chest ached, until sobs raked him raw.
Then- movement. A figure. A whisper of steel.
He looked up, startled, as pain lanced the side of his neck. A dart, black as obsidian, jutted from his skin. His vision swam.
The last thing he saw was an armored man stepping forward, obsidian pendant catching the faint moonlight.
Then darkness swallowed him whole.