label: 4 compile: 0 Anne stood at the altar. She wore the dress she'd worn earlier that day to work. Her hair was braided down her back, no longer left loose. She was a matron now. The church was austere. It had no decoration but the beams that shaped …

They sat for dinner together. The table and chairs bore the simple lines and rough edges of portal forging. It was hard to sit on. She hadn't made any cushions yet. They ate in silence but for the sound of fork on plate and the noise of human chewing …

It was dark outside. The candles were guttering. The two performed their nightly tithe. A drop of blood spilled into the bowl near their portal. Words murmured. Edmund's family had used a different phrase from hers. Their words collided over each other. She wasn't certain she had said …