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I leveled my eyes on him. "I think that it would be hard to explain marching me naked through the temple to cast me out with my completely bare skin visible. No false marks for any of those people gathered up there to see. It would probably do more harm to your reputation than to mine."
He simply turned, storming toward the table to grab the candle. For a moment, I was convinced he was headed to the door, preparing to leave. Immediately, I regretted being so blunt about that. I should've pretended like I had no idea why he wanted to do this. Instead, had I forced his hand?
But Kinen passed the door and kept going to the other side, where another basin was revealed as the candle got closer. Not wanting to be left behind in the darkness, I scampered to keep up. A difficult task on the slick, wet stones.
Keeping to the edge of the outer wall, Kinen found another table to set the candle. Then he turned to the basin, making his way over to it. Unlike the natural depression that collected Zeal's tears of sorrow, this one had a channel carved to it from the lake beyond. Oddly, there were none of those clear globs of sorrow mixed in, almost as if they were filtered out by the path to get there.
Then I figured out why Kinen would only come close to this. If the tears of sorrow stripped off marks, he wouldn't want to take that risk. If some of those tears were in the lake, then he could accidentally lose a piece of his all-important lace. Granted, he could just immerse himself again, but his pride would be destroyed if someone he considered inferior - like me - happened to see it.
"Step into the basin," he ordered. "I want to see the marks appear, to make sure they are real."
A million smart remarks tried to come off my tongue. That he would see they were real when I stepped out, or how exactly he thought a naked girl in a pool of tears would be able to fake anything, as examples. But I said nothing. I was already walking on thin ice with this man, and I got the feeling that it wouldn't take much to push him over the edge.
Still naked, all I had to do was make my way around to the side with what looked like steps. Zeal paused at the edge and dropped his robe. All of his dark lace seemed to swirl in the lamplight, but it couldn't hide the view of his divinely perfect body. Just as I reached the first step, Zeal slipped over the side, holding out a hand in invitation.
"Please move slowly," Kinen instructed. "I would like to observe the lace as it forms."
"Yes, Priest Kinen," I said obediently, and stepped into the water.
Lace immediately appeared on my foot. A breath of relief fell out, but I put the other foot down on the same step. Two feet, both with lace-filled swirls running along the outside. I took one more step down and watched it climb up my legs, focused near the back. Yes, I twisted to see, but I had a feeling Kinen wasn't opposed to my delay.
"Looks like a Priestess of Action," Kinen almost purred. "You may step out now."
"But I have not been completely submerged," I told him. "I don't even have the lace on my hands yet."
"Then dip your hands," he snapped. "Look, you aren't a fool. I suggest you make this easy on yourself and accept the Path you've been given. The Temple of Temptation does not need the confusion you're making in it. So take the marks to your knees, and stain your hands if you want, then let us call this a success, hm?"
"That is not your Path," Zeal told me. "You know there is more lace."
I looked up at Kinen and lifted my chin. "I am a god's pawn, not yours."
Then I surged forward, bending my knees so I could drop beneath the surface in one step. As quickly as I'd jumped in, I stood up, meaning to say something about my Path being temptation, but I barely grabbed a breath of air before Kinen roared in anger.
"You stupid little bitch," he snarled, lunging across the edge to grab my arm.
Then he pulled me back. The man had dropped to a knee to reach me, so he had balance, and I wasn't expecting it. I slipped, the water rushing over me again, but Kinen shoved his other hand down on my chest, holding me under. I tried to push his hand away, but he simply let go of my arm and grabbed my shoulder instead, forcefully holding me under.
"Breathe!" Zeal yelled through the tears. "You can still breathe it, Nari. You will always be able to." Then he turned to Kinen.
So I sucked in a breath. Just like before, it burned as the water rushed in, but this time it didn't scare me as bad. It was simply thick air, the essence of my god, and my own personal miracle. That didn't mean I stopped fighting. Using my feet, I tried to push away from the side, but he yanked, pulling me enough so I couldn't get purchase. I'd only pushed myself closer to him.
And then I saw his hands. The sleeves of his robe floated in the water, leaving his arms bare to the elbows. Marks darkened from the middle of his forearm up, but his hands had turned bare. Everyone had lace on their hands, so why didn't he?
"Kinen!" Zeal roared, doing his best to shove against a man who refused to believe in him. "I will strip your marks for this, you fool. I gave you every chance to learn, but betraying my chosen? You will pay for this!"
I saw it all, but surrounded by the essence of my god, everything seemed slower. Clearer, maybe. Kinen's hands were bare. Zeal said he would strip his marks. Not all the lines were vanishing, which meant some of them were fake. Zeal couldn't take them because he hadn't made them. That was why Kinen knew all about how to fake marks. Not because he'd seen it on others, but because he'd done it to himself.
It also meant there was one thing he really didn't want to happen.
I'd been trying to get my feet under me to push up, to pull his arms away, and struggling as if I needed to breathe, but I didn't. Iwasbreathing. Zeal was all but helpless thanks to our weakened faith, but I could do this. I knew how to save myself.
Just get the door open,I thought to Zeal, praying he'd hear it - and then I reached up and wrapped my hands in Kinen's robe. I pulled. The one motion the man didn't expect I used to tumble him over the edge and into the water with me. He splashed down on top of me, but that moment was enough to get free. I came up to the surface - but Zeal was gone.
A thunderous boom resonated against the door. Hard enough that the bar holding it closed sounded like it splintered, yet still held. Then another. Coughing out the water, I tried to make it to the edge, but Kinen grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled me back under. This time, he wasn't taking any chances. He'd pulled hard, and my head cracked against the side.
Stunned, I continued to fight as hard as I could, but I was now blind, dazed, and locked in a room with this man. I still had the advantage. Not only could I breathe when he held me under, but somewhere out there, I had a god.
Chapter 60
