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When that was done, Wraythe went to get Amerlee and Jamik. Evidently, he gave them a quick update, so Jamik went to get Saval. From there, we all had a chat about how to deal with this. Talin made a point of telling Saval about his new mark. She casually mentioned that she still had the paperwork for everyone's inspection at Choosing, so it wouldn't be hard to add it to the description of marks.
But when Talin showed her the symbol, the Priestess of the Word sucked in a breath. "That's Zeal's mark. Well, mostly."
"What do you mean mostly?" he asked.
"In rural areas, each god or goddess is identified by a symbol in their color. Perception is a green hawk, Inspiration is a white flame, Compassion is a blue flower, Intuition is a yellow owl, Ambition is a red tree, and Temptation is a black snake. The snake is most often drawn in that exact style, but only one. Not..." She paused to count. "Five."
"Five," Jamik said, looking over at me. "The four of them and Zeal?"
"I wouldn't want to guess," Saval admitted. "I can tell you that the pair of overlapping triangles beneath the snakes is the symbol for all six gods. Three male, three female."
I curled up against Eladehl, and he casually dropped his arm around my shoulders, bringing me even closer. "So what do we do about this immersion test?" I asked.
"You pray," Amerlee said. "If Anver's right and they have the complaints filed against you, then you will likely get a notice later today or tomorrow. That will have a date, and I'm willing to bet there won't be a long wait. They'll want this settled before your real classes start."
"And if my marks don't meet the standard?" I asked. "And whatisthe standard I'm trying to meet?"
"Your marks will change," Saval explained. "Everyone who is tested has some change in their marks. Almost like a sign that we've grown, no different than dipping your hands at your surrender to again in the sixth year. The lace grew. The High Priest is hoping that settling into a Path will result in you only having marks from the Path of the Body. A sign that this is where you belong, and that you are completely normal."
"And if they don't?" I asked.
Jamik lifted a hand, stopping Saval and Amerlee before they could reassure me. "If he can find a reason to show your marks are not real, then you will be stripped of all lace and removed from the temple."
"And if my lace continues to show all five Paths?" I asked.
"Then pray that it changes drastically enough for everyone to see the difference." He leaned over his knees and ducked his head. "I don't want to tell you this, but you deserve to know, little sister. They're scared. Not just the High Priest, but others as well. People like things to stay consistent. They want to know what to expect, and you are making that hard. Instructors are worried about how to train someone with multiple Paths. Others feel like they're less worthy because they weren't the one with so much lace. You have disrupted the steady lifestyle of the temple, and it's already rippling through the other Paths."
"They'll kick me out, won't they?" I asked.
He nodded. "They will. And they will make a show of it, because that will make the rest feel like stability has returned. It's only been a couple of weeks, so not much damage has been done. The only way to stop that is for your lace to be for one Path."
"And then where will I go?" I asked, the words almost too soft to hear.
Talin made his way around the back of the couch to clasp my arm, bending over to do it. "It's not going to happen, but if it does, I will make sure you're taken care of. People owe me favors."
"And I have connections," Amerlee promised. "We will get you a safe place to stay, set you up with a job - "
But it felt like I could barely breathe. This was happening again. First, my father had left me, then Anver, and now I was being forced to leave behind everything I knew in my life. The worst part was that I hadn't asked for any of this!
I struggled not to break down, not with this many people watching me. Around me, the guys and my mentors made plans. They discussed options. I heard none of them. All I could think of was that no matter how hard I tried, whenever I finally managed to get it right, I always lost everything.
Not long after that, Amerlee, Saval, and Jamik left. They wanted to check the rules, gather witnesses, and more. I also got the feeling they wanted to give me a little privacy to deal with this, but that was not at all what I wanted.
So as soon as the door closed, I breathed, "Zeal, I need to talk to you. Please?"
"Shit," Talin gasped, jumping back. "Fuck."
And I heard Zeal chuckle in response. "Not quite the welcome I expected."
I turned on the couch to see him. "I need my marks to be one Path. Body, please?"
"No." He slowly walked around to claim the chair Jamik had recently vacated.
"What do you mean, 'no?'" I snapped. "You said you would give me the Path I needed."
He surged back to his feet. "I said no such thing. I said I would give you a Path that would keep you with your family, and I have!"
So I matched him, daring to glare into the face of a god. "Not if I'm stripped of my lace and kicked from the temple! That's the exact opposite of staying with them."
