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Sitting in the same place he had before, Zeal was turning an empty vase in his hand. "Catch," he said, lobbing it in a gentle arc to Eladehl.
Eladehl did. "You are the most beautiful man I have ever laid eyes on," he managed to get out.
"And you," Zeal told him, "can see me."
"I think we all can," Wraythe admitted, easing Talin down into the chair. "You good?" he asked.
"Feel like I haven't slept in a week," Talin admitted. "So you canallsee him now?"
I nodded. "And he could touch the vase with everyone here."
"Exactly," Zeal said. "I can feel the first hints of their belief, Nariana. I'm strong enough to appear to the four of you, and I believe the lost one saw me as well."
"Lost one?" Eladehl asked.
The god smiled. "The fifth. The one with the smile so sweet you want to tell him everything. The man who wants to love but is scared to be loved because he cannot understand that it is not a physical thing. The boy who stumbled on the wrong temptation."
"Anver," Talin said. "I think he saw Zeal before we headed down for the immersion."
"That's what he meant!" Eladehl said. "He asked who the other priest was, and seemed confused when I said it was only Kinen, Nari, and Talin."
"Because Zeal was behind Talin," I told them. "He also saved my life."
"I could fucking kiss you for that," Eladehl teased the god.
Zeal pushed himself off the couch. "Offer accepted," he said, crossing the distance in two steps.
Zeal's hand caught the side of Eladehl's face, turning it up for the god's mouth to claim Eladehl's. My partner didn't resist, parting his lips to accept the temptation. Wraythe, Talin, and I stared, shocked at the intensity of it, but it didn't last long. Zeal leaned back, met Eladehl's eyes, and then smiled.
"And now you have been claimed too." His eyes dropped to Eladehl's crotch. "You will find your mark among the others."
"Mark?" Eladehl asked, following Zeal's eyes down. "My lace?"
"The snakes," Wraythe said. "Nari has it on her chest now, in her pattern for the Path of the Word."
"Exactly," Zeal said, then he turned to Wraythe. "Sorry about this."
"Sorry about wha - " Wraythe tried to ask, but Zeal stepped into him.
For a moment, their eyes met, my large friend tall enough to look down at his god, but then he nodded. Gently this time, Zeal palmed the back of Wraythe's neck, bending the man down to meet his lips. Wraythe was tense, but Zeal teased the seam of his lips, demanding entrance, and Wraythe gave in. Their tongues met for a single moment before Zeal pulled back.
"Well?" Eladehl asked. "How was it?"
"That's... different," Wraythe admitted.
"Check your arm," Zeal told him before turning to me. "You may be my Chosen, but they are yours. Each kiss is an acceptance. That acceptance binds them to me." He moved closer, his hands gently parting the too-large robe over my chest only to tap the symbol on my sternum. "Each one of you has this where it truly belongs. You, Nariana, will be my voice. The golden - " He paused. "Eladehl will be my temptation. Talin will be my blade, and Wraythe will be my shield. They will also be yours.EverythingI have is yours, and I will destroy my own temple before I take it back."
That was a powerful statement, but the look in his eyes made it clear he meant it. All of it. Zeal had built my life to suit his purposes, but he'd never once forgotten me. In so many ways, he'd spoiled me, but my friends? He could barely remember their names, and yet my gut said that he was fond of them.
Yet playing with gods wasn't exactly safe. I clearly remembered when he'd used my body as a child. Now this? A million questions spun through my mind, but one fell from my lips. I couldn't have stopped it if I'd wanted to.
"But what do those titles even mean?" I asked. "Blade, shield, temptation, your voice? What does any of that mean forus,Zeal?"
"It means you are my family. I have five siblings, but this is not that kind of bond. This is the kind we find, grow, and love. It means that so long as you cling to me, I will cling back. More than all of that, it means that you are all wanted. You werenevergarbage to be thrown away. You were the prize that every god fought for."
I reached up to cup his cheek, the same way he had with the guys. "But how am I supposed to learn this Path of Temptation you put me on?"
"Follow the Path of the Body," Zeal said. "I made it larger than the others for a reason. They can see that it is your main Path, and understand that much, but it will allow you to practice the other aspects. To explain our faith like those of the Word. To help others like those of Action. To protect, like the guardians. And most of all, to serve, because you have done that for me since the first time we met."
