The summons came at dawn – a formal scroll bearing the seal of the Temple Elders. Lia's hands trembled as she read the terse message commanding her presence for "matters of grave spiritual concern."

  She found Ezra waiting outside the council chamber, his usual serenity repced by visible distress. "They know," he said simply. "About our connection. The energy we generate together has become... noticeable."

  Before she could respond, the massive doors swung open. Five elders sat in a semicircle, their white robes and stern expressions making them appear like judges at a divine tribunal.

  "Lady Allura," the eldest intoned. "Your presence in our temple has created unprecedented disruption. High Priest Ezra's spiritual readings have become erratic. Sacred fmes burn too bright in your presence. The very foundations of our order tremble."

  "I meant no harm," Lia began, but they silenced her with raised hands.

  "High Priest Ezra," another elder addressed him. "You have served faithfully for fifteen years. Yet now you stand accused of breaking your sacred vows. What say you?"

  Ezra stepped forward, back straight despite his obvious turmoil. "I have broken no vows of celibacy. But I cannot deny that my spirit has become... entangled with Lady Allura's in ways I never thought possible."

  "Then you must choose," the eldest decred. "Sever this connection and reaffirm your dedication to the temple, or surrender your position and face exile from the only home you've known."

  Lia's heart clenched. "No! This is my fault. I'll leave. I'll never return to the temple. Please don't punish him for my presence."

  "The choice is his," the elder said coldly.

  All eyes turned to Ezra. He looked at Lia, amber eyes filled with conflict, then back at the elders who had raised him. The silence stretched unbearably.

  "I..." His voice cracked. "I choose my duty. My vows. The temple has been my life, my purpose. I cannot abandon it."

  The words hit Lia like physical blows. She stumbled back, feeling their spiritual connection tear like ripping silk. The pain was indescribable – not just emotional, but a spiritual wound that left her gasping.

  "So be it," the eldest nodded. "Lady Allura, you are henceforth banned from temple grounds. High Priest Ezra, you will undergo purification rituals to cleanse your spirit of this attachment."

  Lia fled before they could see her tears. She ran blindly through marble corridors, past startled acolytes, until she burst into the temple gardens. Colpsing beside a fountain, she sobbed for the connection lost, for the rejection that cut deeper than any physical wound.

  "Lia."

  She looked up to find Ezra standing there, his own face wet with tears.

  "Don't," she choked out. "You made your choice."

  "I was wrong." He fell to his knees before her. "The moment you left, I felt it – a hollowness worse than any loneliness I've known. The divine presence I've served all my life felt distant, cold. But you... you are my connection to everything sacred."

  "Ezra, your position, your home..."

  "Mean nothing without you." He caught her hands. "I told them I was leaving. That my path to the divine lies not in ancient vows but in the love we share."

  "But you chose—"

  "Fear. Habit. The only life I'd known." His grip tightened. "Forgive me for hurting you, even for a moment. I choose you, Lia. Now and always. Temple or no temple, vows or freedom – my soul has already chosen yours."

  Through their rejoined hands, their spiritual connection reignited, stronger than before. Golden light enveloped them as their energies merged completely.

  "I love you," he confessed, voice breaking. "Not just spiritually, but with every part of my being. Let me spend my life proving it."

  Their kiss tasted of tears and redemption. Around them, the garden bloomed unseasonal flowers, responding to the divine energy of two souls finally united without reservation.

  "Major route development," ALICE noted ter. "Ezra has chosen love over duty. Significant consequences for temple politics and spiritual hierarchy incoming."

  But consequences seemed distant as Lia held her former priest, now simply a man who'd chosen love over everything he'd ever known. Some bonds, she realized, were worth any sacrifice to preserve.