Winning was still the priority. He’d given up too much already. Even if he couldn’t marry Grace, he still wanted the right to choose his partner in the future. He hadn’t realized that envisioning his entire future intertwined with Grace’s meant he’d have no vision for himself alone. Now he was at a loss for most of it, but he knew his chance at happiness would rely at least in part on not being forced into a political marriage.
The priestess stared blankly at Stella as she flipped through the thick guest book. “Let me check. What are your names?”
Stella sighed, exasperated. “Stella Selene McKay and Theodore Davide Savero.”
The priestess paged through the book with excruciating slowness. Finally, she found their page and held it open for them to sign. “You have to sign here and acknowledge that you understand the rules?—”
Stella huffed and signed the book. “Yes, yes. We know the rules. We just did this a few days ago.” She signed her name in the book sloppily and passed the pencil to Teddy.
He leaned over the book to read what they were signing.
“Teddy, come on.” She tugged on his arm. “You must be joking. Has anyone ever told you that there’s not a right way to do every single thing? Let’s just go get this over with.”
“Didn’t you learn your lesson last time?” Teddy asked, arching a brow.
She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall.
Teddy scanned the page. “What does this say here?”
The priestess leaned over and squinted at the place where Teddy’s finger rested. “That you accept the outcome.”
“So it’s the same as last time?”
Stella laughed. “It’s not like it could get worse, Teddy. It’s all up from here. Now, if your curiosity is satisfied, can we please go? I’m so sweaty and I need a bath. I just want to eat something and cool down.”
Teddy hesitated a moment before signing the book. The priestess waved them inside.
As soon as they stepped into the entryway, the energy of the hall felt different. It wasn’t just the lack of people gathered for the moon bonding ceremonies; it was a quiet hum that stirred in Teddy’s chest as he entered the space, like the bond knew it was returning to its source.
A beautiful priestess greeted them. “Welcome back, Your Highness. Lady McKay. We are happy to host you, though surprised to see you so quick to return. Are you eager to affirm your bond?”
Teddy opened his mouth to speak but closed it when he saw the disgust on Stella’s face at the mere suggestion.
“Could you try to look less horrified?” he grumbled.
“Not really, no.” Stella turned her gaze back to the priestess. “No, we are here to speak with my—with the goddess—if she’s in residence today, of course.”
The priestess’s full lips lifted into a smile. “Of course. We are happy to host you and she is here, though she’s in private company at the moment. Perhaps you would prefer to help yourselves to some dinner and freshen up in our suites.”
“Yes, please,” Stella said.
“Perfect. You’ll find soaps and oils in the baskets by the cooling springs just outside of your suites. You may help yourself to any of them. We will send clothes to your rooms,” the priestess said as she shepherded them down the hallway away from the entrance.
“But we have our own clothes,” Teddy said.
The priestess smiled at him indulgently. “I’m certain you do, Your Grace, but for private audiences, the goddess prefers her subjectswear clothing of her choosing and she is quite particular. She won’t take an audience without it.”
Teddy wanted to argue that they hadn’t done that the night of the moon ceremony, but he kept his mouth shut. This was a goddess flexing her power for the sake of doing so.
He followed the priestess and Stella down the white marble hallway, past tall vases full of bright pink roses and pale peonies.
The priestess guided Stella and Teddy into suites beside each other.
“We will drop off refreshments momentarily,” the priestess said.
Then, the door closed behind Teddy and he was finally, blessedly alone. The room was small but beautiful, appointed with cream linens on a large bed, a pitcher of water with sliced lemons in it on the nightstand beside a vase full of a dozen pale pink roses. Orange early evening sunlight poured in through the sliding glass doors that led out to a stone patio and a private bath.
Teddy peeled off his clothes, dropped them in a pile, and immediately walked outside and descended into the bathing pool. He was so eager for the relief of the cool water that he didn’t even test to see how deep it was. He crossed the pool, heading straight for the small trickling waterfall on the far end of the alcove, letting the water pour over his head.
