He grinned again, the mischievous grin of a little boy in his eyes. “My brides.” He pointed to her and then me. “That’s the surprise I’ve been telling you about.”

Nobody ever talked about marriage anymore. Besides Margo and Will, everyone was mixed up, and it was tough to remember who went with who. It didn’t matter anymore. What was he suggesting?

Margo looked back at me, searching my eyes for answers, and I shrugged. He’d never said anything to me and clearly not to her either. She stepped back so he could come farther into the tent, coming to kneel next to my bed. She held her hand on her back. I could tell by the way her face was stretched thin that it’d been a difficult pain day for her. I turned my attention back to Abner. It didn’t matter what he had to say—nothing could ruin this day for me.

Everything I’d gone through on this journey. All the toil and sweat. The sacrifices. They’d all been worth it after I laid eyes on Shiloh’s sweet face.

I made myself focus on what he was saying as he rambled on about how we had created the first of the Lord’s children. “My seed created these children because of the Lord’s will. It is his life that came through me and into you, much like the way the Holy Spirit moved through the Virgin Mary. So I moved through you and will continue to move through you until our numbers are as vast as Abraham’s.” He spread his arms out wide, his face beaming with purpose and light. “After Margo has brought the next soldier into the world, we will have our ceremony. I will inform the family at the fire gathering tonight.”

“Wonderful,” I said as Shiloh stirred and searched for my breast, just like she’d done after she was born. I breathed a sigh of relief that she nursed easily.

“Margo?” Abner prompted.

“What about Will?” she asked.

“Will ceased being your husband a long time ago. You are aware of how we broke those earthly covenants.”

I wished I could shield Shiloh from the negative energy shifting between them. She didn’t need to be affected with any darkness so close to having left the light. I swore I could still see parts of it when I looked into her eyes as she nursed. She’d only opened them twice, but I’d been right there for each one.

“I just meant, you know, is he okay with this?”

“Margo, he is a servant of the Lord.”

Neither of them spoke. The silence stretched out until Margo’s voice finally cut into it. “That’s wonderful, Abner. I’m very excited to be your wife.”

I didn’t need to look up to know he was smiling. “I’ll be back again after fire gathering,” he said.