Page 5 of A Legacy of Stars (The Lost God Legacies)

5

TEDDY

L ooking down the long, white marble hallway of the Temple of Desiree, Teddy felt suddenly uncertain. Impulsivity did not come naturally to him, but it was now or never.

Seeing Arden Teripin tossed into a political marriage so publicly had been the wake-up call Teddy needed. He was not about to sit back and wait for the same thing to happen to him. Not when he was certain of who he wanted by his side for life.

On the surface, his decision might have looked rash, but really it was calculated and strategic.

Any doubt in his mind was wiped away when his partner in crime grinned up at him. Grace Farlan was meant for him.

They’d been waiting to get into the main temple for nearly an hour. They’d arrived before dark and were led to guest suites to change and eat before the ceremony. Now they were finally ready to be seen by the goddess.

Moonlight poured in through the tall windows that lined the hallway, casting Grace’s face ghostly white and her hair silver. She smoothed her elaborate fuchsia dress. It was a bit much for the occasion. Though she’d traveled in riding clothes, Grace insisted she wouldn’t meet the goddess in anything but her finest gown .

She caught him studying her. “I know that face. You’re hedging.”

The tension left Teddy’s shoulders. “I’m not. It’s not you. You’re perfect.”

There was a flicker of something in her eyes. “I’m not?—”

“You’re perfect for me,” he corrected.

For years he’d watched men of the Argarian court approach Grace like she was a rare jewel and not a person. Beauty made fools of men, but Teddy had been lucky enough to know her underneath the carefully curated facade. She was steady, kind, and mesmerizing at commanding a room. She always put Teddy at ease.

The line shifted forward.

Grace hesitated, staring out at the moon. “What if?—”

Teddy could practically read the thought. What if they weren’t meant for each other?

“Not possible,” he said, brushing a kiss to her temple. “There is no one else in this world better suited to me.”

She smiled, but there was still a nervous pinch of her brow. “Glad to hear you say it.”

Teddy chuckled. “You were testing me?”

“Well, simply suggesting we come here is very romantic,” Grace said. “But I wanted to make sure you’re actually ready to commit. No use subjecting myself to this process if you have reservations.”

In that moment, Grace’s grin wiped away every fear that clouded his mind. Her sense of humor kept him on his toes. It came with the territory of being the daughter of the Argarian spymaster and the Olney ambassador. Years ago, her parents Evan Farlan and Lady Sylvie Brett had helped Teddy’s father wrestle control of his kingdom out from under an usurper. Grace read people as well as her father and manipulated them with the same cleverness as her mother.

This had to work. The life stretched out before Teddy, as the husband to a stranger, doing every single thing that was expected of him, being perfect in a way that no one else had to be, would be miserable. An heir belonged to their kingdom. He would never get to be his own person, never get to choose his path forward, and every move he made would be scrutinized .

The people of Argaria didn’t care what could be proven. They only cared what seemed true and the rumors of his father’s parentage hadn’t dissipated no matter how long he was king or how much good he did for the kingdom. It was an easy blade for any lord Xander offended to wield whenever he did something that chipped away at their power.

That was all compounded with the rising popularity of the Sons of Endros. The only thing that had kept the Saveros secure in their rule was their alliances with Novum and Olney and the support of the common people. But if Teddy could give them a sweeping love story, perhaps they’d buy into it with the same vigor they’d brought to other romantic stories in their history.

The line surged forward again and Teddy’s stomach twisted with excited apprehension.

Grace squeezed his hand and leaned in close. “And if by some chance we aren’t matched, all will still be well.”

Earlier she was thinking of his reservations, but now he wondered if she had her own. It was a huge commitment to be connected to someone so intimately. If the priestesses offered them a heart bond, he would sense all of Grace’s emotions and she would sense his. Gods knew that would be a lot for anyone to take.

She squeezed his hand again. “Don’t look at me like that. I respect the gods, but I need you to know that I don’t need their approval and neither do you. We can never be certain of their motives. I just don’t want you to be blindsided if this doesn’t go according to your plan.”

Teddy studied her face for any hint of apprehension, but she only smiled and nodded determinedly toward the priestess waiting in front of them. It was their turn.

Just beyond the doorway where the priestess stood was the temple where the ceremony would be performed. He placed his hand on Grace’s lower back and guided her forward.

The priestess wore blush-pink robes, her tight curls twisted up on top of her head and wrapped in a crown of bright florals. She had luminous dark brown skin and full lips that were painted a dark berry color. Teddy had always heard that Goddess Desiree had the most beautiful priestesses, and this woman was even more striking than he’d imagined.

Grace elbowed him, clearly noticing his gawking.

“Welcome, lovers. I’m sure you’re eager to get started, but first I need to be sure you’re aware of the rules,” the priestess said in a low, sultry voice. “If you cut your hand here and spill your blood in the bowl, you’ll be bound to the results inside. This means if you aren’t a match, then you’ll be sent away without a bond. You can still be together, of course. Plenty of people are happy together long-term without their hearts bound, but if you are heart-fated, then you’ll receive a temporary bond that will last until the new moon in two weeks. If you still want the bond at that point, it will become permanent. If you don’t solidify it, the bond will fade by the end of the month.”

“How do we solidify it?” Grace asked.

The priestess gave her a smirk. “Every bond is as individual as its duo, but you will know when it happens and once it’s solidified, it’s permanent, and even we cannot break it.”

“Not even with severing?” Teddy asked.

Grace scowled at him for even asking, but the question was a reflex of morbid curiosity. Isla had once witnessed a severing and had told Teddy how the process was excruciating physically, emotionally, and mentally.

“Not even with severing. We don’t have a way of doing so with this type of bond as of now because it’s borne out of more free will than the guardian and witch soul bonds of old,” the priestess said.

“Are you sure you want to be tied to me, Grace?” Teddy asked. “That you want to be queen? I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t.”

Her face softened. “Don’t doubt me now. Whether you feel like you were meant to be king or not, I think we both agree that I am made to be queen.”

He studied her. It wasn’t a direct answer, but she had a habit of deflecting when she was nervous.

Grace looked at him expectantly. She was waiting for him to go first .

Teddy held out his hand, and the priestess grasped it. She drew her ceremonial blade across his palm. It was so sharp he didn’t feel the cut. Blood bloomed in a bright line over his skin. The priestess followed suit with Grace and then pressed their two palms together, allowing the blood to drip into the bowl. The droplets spread like smoke in the water and then dissipated completely.

When the priestess was satisfied, she released his hand and gave him a piece of linen. Teddy blotted the blood and used his magic to heal his palm.

His stomach grumbled loudly as he finished. Channeling healing burned through his energy quickly. If he was wise, he would have had more to eat earlier, but he’d been too nervous for the ceremony.

Healing was one of the first elemental magics he had learned to summon, right after his primary affinity of storms. For a young prince in a conflicted kingdom, there were few skills more practical than the ability to heal. The power to channel magic from the natural world passed through bloodlines, as did elemental affinities. Plenty of people in Olney and Argaria were born with no magic, even if they had witch ancestors. Teddy had been relieved when he took to summoning storms with the same ease his father had. It took longer to learn the other elements, and he would never wield them with the same efficiency, but that was true for every other witch in the two kingdoms.

Primary affinities were always the most efficient use of magic. Secondary affinities burned through a witch’s energy stores in swift and chaotic ways, and if they didn’t eat or rest enough, they could easily find themselves fainting on the battlefield.

Grace wiped the blood from her palm and healed the wound with her magic so that, when she drew the linen away, there was no sign of the cut. Though she was most adept with earth magic, she’d spent a great deal of time refining her healing, because her father had drilled into her the importance of being prepared for the worst.

Teddy met Grace’s icy blue eyes. She smiled and the whole world narrowed to her. He’d known her his whole life, and now she was vowing to spend the rest of hers connected to him. She was his constant, his light that always guided him home when he felt lost.

He was suddenly overcome with relief that she’d gone along with his crazy plan. Dragging her to this temple in the middle of the night was a lot to ask, but she’d done it without hesitation. Now she stood before him, looking weary but so lovely that he had to fight the urge to kiss her out in the open. If all went well, they’d be set up in a retreat room post-bonding so they could learn to manage the new impulses and emotions that came with the connection. He’d have plenty of time to express his gratitude then.

“Please continue into the main temple and proceed around the edge of the room to line up next to the other visitors,” the priestess said.

Teddy nodded and led Grace into the large space. As they crossed the threshold, he glanced at the starry sky through the circular opening in the center of the temple ceiling. There was no going back now.

A holy woodsmoke haze clouded the dim space, nearly overpowering the smell of roses and freshwater emanating from the spring that ran through the center of the temple floor. Several other couples huddled around the edges of the room, their wide eyes focused on a group of priestesses seated on cushions at the center of the room. Their eyes were closed, their faces relaxed in meditation.

Teddy ushered Grace to the edge of the room behind the rest of the lovers. He kissed the place on her palm where the mark had been. “I know I sprung this on you and that’s unlike me, but I hope you’ll take it as a sign of my seriousness about you and not just a brash decision with my back against the wall.”

Grace brushed a lock of his hair back from his forehead. “I know your heart, Teddy. I’ve always known it and I have no doubt that you have thought this over—likely for a great deal longer than you should have. You need not agonize for me, too.”

She knew him so well. Though he’d decided yesterday, he’d spent the following twenty-four hours talking himself through every possibility—Grace rejecting him, their parents catching them, his father’s fury. No matter how he turned the problem over, though, the answer was clear. He wanted Grace more than he wanted to make anyone else in his life happy.

For once, he was choosing himself. The kingdom and all its alliances would be better for it. Grace would not only be a good partner to him, but a wise queen.

“Don’t worry so much,” Grace whispered. “If there’s one thing even your father can’t argue with, it’s a magical bond.”

Although the heart bonds created by the priestesses of Desiree were different from the soul bonds that were occasionally granted to witches and their guardians during the war, the people of Olney and Argaria had come to value them just the same thanks to tales of the heroics and romance of Cecilia Reznik and Rainer McKay.

A priestess in pale pink robes waved them forward. “Names, please?”

“Grace Cecilia Farlan.”

Teddy cleared his throat. Most of the other couples in line around the edge of the wall seemed to be out of earshot, but he was still a little worried about what scandal he might cause. “Theodore Davide Savero.”

The priestess gave him a knowing smile and wrote his name in the book.

“What is this for?” Teddy asked.

“We always keep records of who visits. A guest book of sorts. If you’re bonded, you’ll also be entered into the book of bonds so we can accurately trace the history of all duos.”

“How many bonds do you grant in a day?” Grace asked.

“It depends on how many couples in the room have true heart bond potential,” the priestess said, brushing her auburn hair behind her shoulder. “On a good night, we might have ten or fifteen percent of those who show up, but hearts can be fickle. And a heart bond is hardly necessary to have a happy relationship.”

Grace nodded. “And how many of those couples solidify their bond?”

“Such a curious one,” the priestess said with a smile. “It’s a deeply personal choice. Perhaps half of them. For some, the connectedness is too overwhelming. It’s not like when guardians and witches were bonded for the Gauntlet. Those bonds were created when the duos were just children. Children adapt so quickly. It’s harder for adults to adjust to the intensity.”

Teddy’s curiosity got the better of him. “How does the heart bond differ from a soul bond? Will I feel everything Grace feels?”

The priestess folded her hands. “Heart bonds are very similar in the way they allow you to locate each other easily in a crowd and feel what the other does, but they don’t usually run as deep as soul bonds and they cannot retrieve a soul that’s lost, as in some of the more famous soul bond stories.”

Teddy nodded stiffly, apprehension twisting in his stomach. Would Grace love him less if she felt his constant nervousness, or the way envy flooded him every time he watched his three siblings do little more than fight, fuck, and flirt while he carried the weight of a kingdom on his back? Would she love him if she could sense the depth of his pettiness? The rare moments when he lacked confidence?

Grace slid her hand into his and squeezed as they followed the line of fifteen other couples hoping for a bond. Finally, they came to a stop and he and Grace turned to face the center of the room. From their place along the wall, Teddy took in the starlight pouring through the open roof that shone down on the meditating priestesses at the center of the room. On the far side of the space, pink and red flowers and white taper candles in candelabras covered a large white marble altar.

Teddy glanced back at the door. There were a few couples behind them, bringing the total number to twenty couples.

A commotion at the door caught his attention. The priestesses in the room who had been in meditation looked up and began to whisper to each other. They rose to their feet and two of them split away from the group to go to the door.

Teddy’s hand went to his dagger. Out of respect, he’d left most of his weapons outside the temple, but it was very foolish of him to be traveling without the protection of guards, and even more insane to be unarmed. There was always a murmur of discontent leading up to the Gauntlet Games, but it seemed at a fever pitch this year. Someone could have seen him slip away. The Sons of Endros could have tracked them.

Sweat rose on his lower back as he scanned the room again.

Several priestesses had positioned themselves around the room, their pink robes making them easy to identify, but they seemed calm and unconcerned by the commotion. Perhaps this was just how the goddess made an entrance.

The whispers swelled in the hallway. Teddy tucked Grace behind him.

But it wasn’t attackers who stumbled into the room.

It was Stella McKay and Prince Arden Teripin.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Teddy grumbled.

The priestesses fawned over Stella, rushing to greet her. At least she had the sense to look mortified by the attention.

“I don’t need any special accommodations, but if Aunt Desiree is here—I mean, if the goddess is in, I would love to speak with her,” Stella said.

Arden brought a hand to the small of her back and gave her an indulgent smile that faded the moment his gaze snagged Teddy’s.

Teddy was shocked to see Arden there. They’d grown up together, and while Arden was kind and intelligent, he wasn’t terribly serious about relationships—or much else, as far as Teddy had seen. He certainly didn’t seem the type to be courting the daughter of the famed fairy-tale couple of Rainer McKay and Cecilia Reznik. That kind of example had clearly set Stella up for some huge expectations in relationships, and Teddy was shocked that she thought Arden was the one to fulfill them.

Arden arched a brow and smirked as he crossed the temple.

“And here I thought your betrothal to someone else was announced just last night,” Teddy said.

Arden shrugged sheepishly. “I see I’m not the only prince unwilling to leave his spousal decision-making up to his parents. ”

Stella stepped up beside him, rolling her eyes as she noticed Teddy. “Oh, thank goodness. I thought I sensed a dark, brooding energy in the temple. I was worried there was a haunting, but your presence explains everything.”

Her contempt was confounding. As if she wasn’t as much a thorn in his side. She seemed to be under the impression that his life was so easy. Clueless, impossible woman .

Teddy gritted his teeth. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Stella cocked her head to the side. “Oh, excuse me, Your Highness, I didn’t realize you had singular claim on love.” She grabbed Arden’s hand and tugged him back to their place at the end of the line, glaring daggers at Teddy as if he were an interloper.

Grace squeezed Teddy’s hand again, offering a conspiratorial smile. “I don’t know why you let her bother you. We’re friends. She’s always going to be a part of our lives. I’ve watched you get along with truly detestable nobles at court. Why does Stella get under your skin so easily?”

Teddy crossed his arms. There had been a time when they were children that they’d been friendly. But somewhere in their teen years Stella had turned into a boisterous, wild thing of a woman, and he’d turned into the heir to the Argarian throne. It seemed she always had as much freedom as Teddy had structure, and even though that was the way he preferred it, her sheer exhaustive whimsy irritated him.

Stella had never been crushed under a kingdom’s worth of expectations. She had never been humbled by impossible shoes to fill. She should have felt the heat the way he did, having inherited such a similar history, but it all seemed to slide right off of her. She was so unaffected, when he was so shackled by it.

A hush went over the room as a priestess in a deep scarlet robe appeared from the doorway that led to the waterfall outside the temple. Immediately, all of the other priestesses fell to their knees. In a wave of movement, they touched their fingers to their foreheads, lips, and then hearts before opening their palms before the woman in scarlet .

Several of the couples in line fell to their knees as well, heads bowed in reverence.

“What’s happening—” Teddy started, but then the woman in the scarlet robe stepped into the moonlight and the air rushed from his lungs as prickling magic hit him.

Grace went rigid beside him and lowered to her knees just as he shook himself from his stupor and knelt beside her.

Teddy kept his eyes down. The scent of roses filled the air, magic pressing in on him from all sides, but he held perfectly still like prey caught in the sights of a predator. All witches could sense magic, and he’d never felt something so strong all at once like this goddess fully in her element.

A soft hand came to his chin. “Rise, Your Highness. I can’t imagine you’re a man often on your knees.”

Teddy met the bright blue eyes of the strikingly lovely goddess. Her dark, curly hair was wild around her shoulders and her brown skin glowed as if reflecting the moonlight.

Teddy rose to his feet. “Goddess.”

Her red lips tugged into a grin. “You look like your father.”

Teddy fought not to frown. He knew it was a good thing. Ladies of the kingdom still fawned over his father, but Xander had never mentioned meeting the goddess of love and beauty. It was just like the king to skip over something that important.

Desiree tilted Teddy’s chin up into a slash of moonlight. “Less humor in the eyes, though. That must come from your mother’s side. What does a young, handsome prince have to be so serious about?” Her eyes slid to Grace, who still had her face cast down toward the floor in reverence. “Lady Farlan, you may rise.”

Grace rose to her feet, her eyes wide.

Desiree smiled and brushed a hand over Grace’s cheek. “Long ago I blessed the Brett line with beauty. Your mother made good use of it. Seems you’ve done the same.”

Grace nodded emphatically. “Of course, goddess.”

Satisfied with their deference, Desiree turned her attention to the end of the line, where Stella stood bouncing on her toes, a wide smile on her face.

“There’s my beautiful girl.” Desiree held out her arms and everyone in the room held their collective breaths as Stella threw herself at the goddess.

“It’s been too long,” the goddess said, pulling back to look at Stella’s face. “Have you seen your other aunties? Am I still your favorite?”

Stella grinned. “Of course you are.”

Desiree looked over her shoulder. “And who have you brought me?”

Stella waved Arden forward. He bowed his head to the goddess.

Desiree pursed her lips. “Ah, I see.”

Teddy waited for her to say more, but her smile morphed from welcoming to playful before she turned and walked back to the center of the room.

Stella and Arden returned to their place in the line of lovers. The curved shape of the temple meant that Teddy could see almost everyone who was present and he was relieved when he didn’t recognize a single face in the group aside from Arden and Stella. Hopefully that meant no one would recognize him and this would stay a secret for now.

Desiree spun in a circle at the center of the room and clapped her hands. “Yes, yes. You’re all humble subjects, but please rise. We have quite a crowd tonight and I want to be certain I get a good look at all of you. I appreciate you all being here this evening and offering up your blood in exchange for my vision. Because I can’t hold my physical form in this realm long, I will bless my priestesses with my vision for tonight’s event, but I will be watching and guiding you as your bonds are formed.”

The room filled with the potent scent of crushed rose petals, and the priestesses in pink robes moved toward the center of the room. The goddess touched each one of them on their foreheads and, one by one, they returned to their section of the room.

Teddy watched as one of them spoke in quiet tones to a couple. She stared at them for a long moment, then took each of their hands. Her eyes seemed to glow momentarily. Then she dropped their hands and shook her head. The man and woman looked crestfallen, but another priestess quickly came to escort them from the room.

Teddy stared after the retreating couple. His stomach flipped. In a moment, their dreams had been dashed.

A thrilled squeal on the other side of the temple drew his gaze. A short red-haired woman and a tall, lanky hunter were hugging each other tightly, a priestess standing back and smiling serenely at them.

The joy of their union bolstered Teddy. That would be him and Grace, just as soon as it was their turn. He was certain of so few things, but that was something he knew down to his bones. The priestess nearest them was busy with another couple, so Teddy took his time assessing the space. It was an old hunter’s habit drilled into him by his parents and Isla.

Always know all the exits in a room. Always have a plan for the easiest way to fight your way out. Never let your guard down.

The closest exit was behind a large flower-covered altar. He didn’t know where the doorway led—likely to the private residence of the priestesses.

There was also the exit on the far side of the room that led to the swimming hole and waterfall outside, and the hallway they’d entered through, which was the most likely place an attacker would enter. Teddy kept his eyes trained there. It settled his mind to have something to do.

A man rounded the corner, striding across the temple with purpose. Teddy brought his hand to the dagger at his hip. There was no telling what kind of trouble a hunter might want to start in this temple, but Teddy was ready to spring into action.

The man came to a stop on the far side of the room in front of a petite, dark-haired woman. She stared at him, wide-eyed, and Teddy took a step in their direction. Then, the woman threw herself into the man’s arms and he spun her in a circle.

Teddy relaxed and blew out a breath.

Hushed whispers broke out to his left .

“No, you don’t understand. Goddess, please. You’re making a mistake. He’s here with me.”

Teddy turned toward Stella’s voice.

The goddess clicked her tongue. “Ah, my darling. He is meant to be here. Just not with you.”

Teddy sucked in a breath at the brutal, casual tone of the goddess’s voice. It was in such stark contrast to the devastation on Stella’s face.

Desiree was leading Arden away from Stella as the prince looked over his shoulder helplessly.

Teddy shouldn’t have found it satisfying, but there was something calming about being right about Arden and Stella. It was a relief to trust that he could read people well.

The same priestess who had welcomed them all into the temple stepped up beside the goddess and looked over the crowd. A soft smile appeared on her face when her gaze locked on someone.

“Do you see what I see?” she asked the goddess.

Desiree nodded. She grabbed Arden’s wrist and dragged him forward. Time slowed as they came to a stop. It wasn’t until the goddess placed her hand over the woman’s heart that Teddy realized she was touching Grace. His Grace.

“ No .” The word was a death gasp on Teddy’s lips.

It took a moment for the shock to wear off and the reality of the situation to register.

Teddy stared at them. He kept waiting for Grace to argue, to turn and look to him for help, but her gaze was locked with Arden’s. A silvery-pink aura glowed around them.

“Yes, these two are a perfect match,” Desiree said.

“I agree,” the priestess said. “You can see it all around them.”

“And their heartbeats sync,” said Desiree. “I just knew it was going to be an exciting night. I gathered all of my essence to stay present as long as possible.”

Teddy knew that ascended gods could only stay corporeal in the mortal realm for limited periods of time. They drew strength from their worshippers, and they could wield a hint of the power they’d once possessed as gods. That was how Desiree created heart bonds. But he had not considered that the goddess might use that limited corporeal time to connect Grace to someone else.

It was a gross miscalculation. A wild bit of hubris that had led him to the conclusion he should have considered. Heart bonds were so rare that he’d assumed they would either be matched to each other or not matched at all. Teddy had never imagined she’d be bonded to someone else, let alone someone they’d both known their whole lives.

It was all wrong. Teddy could hear his father’s voice in his head chiding him for making assumptions, but this had seemed a safe one.

Teddy wanted to yank Grace away from Arden. He had nothing against his Olney counterpart, but he wasn’t ready to surrender his queen to the man.

Arden looked entranced by Grace. The two of them had spent plenty of time together at court parties over the years, but now they stared as if seeing each other for the first time, as if drawn together by some invisible magnetism.

Desiree placed a hand over each of their hearts and Teddy watched in mute horror as the goddess of love bound Grace’s heart to Prince Arden Teripin’s.