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Talin pulled out a chair, gesturing for me to take it. "Show her your legs, Nari."
Taking a seat, I lifted my skirts enough to show the swirls running up the sides of my calves, and then turned a bit more to make it clear there was more on the back. "I also have bands across the tops of my thighs, and from my pelvis to just beneath my breasts," I told her. "More lace than has ever been recorded on a single priest in the history of the temple."
"Why?" she asked.
I gestured for Talin to pour me a drink. "It seems my bloodlines were once impressive. I'm descended from the very first priestess. Not the first priestess of Zeal, but the first oneever. She cared for all the gods when they were born from the body of a single man, or so Zeal says. And to repay her for teaching them love, they allowed her to see."
"See what?"
"Gods," Talin said. "My desire can see Zeal. Now I can. No, I'm not making this up."
"Then what does the God of Temptation look like?" she asked. "I'm going to guess he's seven feet tall, muscled like a mountain, and the most amazingly beautiful man anyone has seen before, right?"
"No..." I said, struggling not to laugh. "He's about five foot ten, maybe eleven?" I looked back to Talin to see if he had a better idea.
"He's taller than you, but not by much," he admitted.
"Ok, then about five-eleven. His skin is this beautiful dark color - "
"Like caramel," Talin said. "Maybe even dark buttered toffee. Golden and brown at the same time."
"And his eyes are like kaleidoscopes," I said. "There are flecks of all colors human eyes can be. Blue, grey, green, so many shades of brown, and all just little flecks that make a color that's impossible to describe."
"It's almost iridescent," Talin told her. "And he has beautiful, full lips. A common nose, thin brows, a square jaw. He's handsome, but no different than anyone else in his temple. From a distance, he looks exactly like you'd expect any priest to look."
"It's when you get closer," I said, picking up where he left off, "that you realize he's perfect. No scars on his body, no lines around his eyes. He looks timeless, and almost oddly flawless. When you're close enough to see the color of his eyes, the whole of him is overwhelming in his glory."
Lina was looking from one of us to the other. "Not at all what I expected," she said. "But clearly you've both seen him."
"And been kissed by him," Talin said, shucking off his jacket to release the button at his wrist. "Lina, I spoke to a priest in the nave. He kissed me, and then I had this." And he pushed his shirt sleeve higher, exposing the five-headed snake on the inside of his right bicep.
"You kissed a man?" she asked a little too carefully.
Talin chuckled. "He's a god, so it's not quite the same. I'm also not foolish enough to push my god away. He calls Nariana his Chosen. My job is to watch over her. I'm also not the only one. Her partner and his guardian? A guy whoisnearly seven feet tall and built like a mountain, but not at all divine? Well, they're bound to protect her as well. Now, you tell me why a god assigns three people to the same priestess?"
She nodded in understanding. "Because trouble is coming. Can you just keep our house out of it?"
"I'm going to try," he promised. "That's all I can do, but now do you see why I need the pistols?"
Lina leaned over and grabbed my hands. "Never before has my brother looked at anyone the way he looks at you. Please do not abuse that, Priestess. And I'm sorry if I did interrupt anything, but I promised to get the pistols if he returned to the temple."
"Why?" I asked her. "Why was it so important to you for him to serve his god?"
She stood and smoothed down her skirts. "Because if he didn't, I'm not sure Tath wouldn't find a way to kill him. Now, I know he's also happy there." She smiled at me. "I'll see you both at breakfast, I hope. My husband should arrive around then."
"Night, Lina," Talin told her.
"Lock the doors," she called back.
Talin followed her out, doing just that, but when he came back, he looked almost guilty. "Look," he said. "I know I gave her the wrong impression about that kiss, but - "
I lifted a hand stopping him. "Sit down, Talin. Have a drink with me. Please?"
He dropped into the chair Lina had vacated. "I told you things are different outside the temple."
"I know." I grabbed the decanter and poured him an inch in the bottom of a glass. "It's the same reason I didn't tell any of you that I kissed Zeal."
"We know you did. He kissed all of us."
