As he looked around the room, he thought of his mother—calming his harried thoughts for the first time since arriving here. Many of these windows and statues reminded him of her and the few precious possessions she’d brought to Calaspia. He walked over to a stained-glass window depicting an image of a family huddled together beneath a star. "My mother told me many times how her people believed mating … er, marriage is a holy union meant to bring two people closer to God. A … sacrament … she called it. She says the imperfect love of mates, er … spouses," he corrected himself again, "is a reminder of God's perfect love for us all. It’s a conduit through which God delivers wisdom, comfort, and other graces." He turned back to Nancy. "I don’t consider mating to be simply an excuse to indulge i
