Broken Together by K. S. Ruff

like onion,
garlic, white wine, and salty fish stock. Colossal size shrimp and white chunks
of fish dominated the rice. “Is this why you brought me here?” I looked at
Rafael.
    He
nodded, somewhat miserably. “I would have told you sooner, but I was forbidden.
We are not allowed to reveal our identity to just anyone. The women we choose
to marry must be approved by the grand master, and we cannot reveal our
identity until she’s agreed to marry us.”
    “The
woman must be deemed worthy, demonstrate selflessness and a willingness to
serve others, and she must show loyalty by making a commitment to her betrothed,”
Benjamim elaborated. “We cannot expose our identity in advance of that
commitment because we cannot risk women pursuing a relationship with our
brethren in an effort to infiltrate or destroy the Order.”
    Brethren?
Betrothed? I couldn’t shake the feeling I’d been dropped into
the 12th century.
    “We
were persecuted once,” Rafael reminded me. “The secrecy and the uncertainty surrounding
our existence help keep us safe. We can work more effectively this way.”
    My
stomach churned nervously. “So the grand master, the President of Portugal, has
to approve of me?”
    “He
already has.”
    “Impossible,”
I breathed.
    Rafael
shrugged. “Maxim did not present the obstacle I thought he would. Inexplicably,
the man passes scrutiny.”
    My
eyes narrowed. “Maxim is selfless to a fault. He’s devoted his entire life to
helping the poor and the oppressed.”
    “As
have you,” Rafael noted softly.
    Like
a deer in headlights, I stilled.
    He
grasped my hand. “Think about it, Kristine. The advocacy work you did in Montana,
the legislation you pursued in the Senate, and the peacebuilding you’re doing through
Seeds for Peace. You couldn’t be a more perfect candidate.”
    “Candidate?”
    “For
marriage,” Rafael clarified.
    “She
doesn’t understand,” Benjamim interjected. “You are not doing a very good job
of explaining this.”
    “Neither
did you,” Eva chided. “This is not an easy thing to explain or comprehend.”
    It
was Rafael’s turn to blow out a breath. “This is why I hadn’t considered the
religious requirements you mentioned on the airplane. I was focused entirely on
these requirements, the requirements imposed by the Knights Templar.” He took a
deep breath before continuing. “The grand master has approved my petition to
marry you, but you will be required to swear an oath to the Order before I’m
permitted to marry you.”
    Rafael,
Eva, and Benjamim eyed me expectantly.
    I
fidgeted nervously. “I think I can do that.” I wasn’t entirely sure what I was
getting myself into, but if I was swearing an oath to a long standing security
organization with a charitable component based on Christian principles, how bad
could it be? I turned the idea in my head. “There’s a catch, isn’t there?”
    This
marked the moment when Rafael looked truly worried. “You must swear this oath
to the same faction I serve, otherwise I will not be permitted to marry you.”
    I
stared at him incredulously. “Are you asking me to swear loyalty to a foreign
government… to relinquish my citizenship… my nationality?” The grand master was
the President of Portugal. How could I declare my allegiance to the President
of Portugal?
    “You’ll
be granted dual citizenship,” Eva interjected. “Like me.”
    “You’ll
be swearing loyalty to the Templar, not the government, and you won’t be forced
to choose between Portugal and the United States,” Benjamim added.
    “But
if the President of the United States does something the President of Portugal
disagrees with, then what? Will I be forced to choose?” I was assuming, of
course, that the President of the United States was the grand master of the
United States.
    “No,
Kristine. They would work out their differences. There are mechanisms in place.
All of the grand masters would come together to ensure the situation was
resolved in