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Ela, however, was smiling a little too big. "That's really it, isn't it?" he asked Zeal. "You made this Path to impress her."
Zeal's eyes jumped to me. "It was a little more complicated than that."
"Not so much," Ela countered. "You're a god! You could've pushed the issue."
"She asked for consent!" Zeal snapped. "She wanted to have a say in her own future. All I did was give it to her!"
Ela wasn't going to let him out of this so easily. He also didn't seem the least bit intimidated by Zeal's fury. "So you sent her out to fuck Talin. What was that, if not consent?"
"I needed to bring him back into the fold. It served two purposes."
"And it didn't mean that you had to give her every single thing she wanted," Ela insisted. "But youdid,and we all know better. I mean, I get it. When she looks at you with those big golden eyes of hers? Never mind when she pouts with those lips?"
"I know," Zeal groaned. "Not even a god is immune to that."
"Good to know," I teased.
Zeal flashed me a warning look. "I gave you the Path of Temptation because it's what you wanted. I am also not looking for a puppet. I want a partner, which means you should be allowed to make your own decisions, and what good is any of my power if I can't at least give you that?"
"But that doesn't mean he can make it easy," Wraythe said, sounding like he'd just figured it out. "He's not that powerful yet."
"I'm not," Zeal admitted, his words an almost sulky grumble. "I get stronger with every priest you convince to believe, and I try to help, but my miracles are still small. Well, unless I decide to stop the things that keep this entire system running, like the lace on your skin or the Book of Rules."
"What do you want in return?" I asked. "For making me your partner? I'm sure you have some end goal in mind, right?"
"Not exactly," Zeal said, glancing over to Anver.
"Just tell her," he said. "She's not stupid."
"Pretty sure she already knows," Talin told him as he walked in with the last pair of cups. "Ela?"
"Thanks."
Then the entire room fell quiet. Zeal sat in his chair without moving, but his hypnotic eyes were locked on the floor, right where the coffee table met the rug. Once, he licked his lips, but he didn't talk for far too long.
Then, "I want a partner - or a few."
"I'm already helping," I reminded him.
He lifted his cup and took a small sip of his coffee. "Wrong kind of partner."
"Can't say I mind sharing with a god," Ela said, his words just a little too casual. "I'm just curious if that goes both ways?"
"It could," Zeal assured him. "But the decision is hers. It's always been hers, and I've waited far too long to find someone like her who hasn't already been claimed."
"She's been claimed," Wraythe said. "Over and over, Zeal, she's been claimed. That doesn't mean you can't."
Cradling my cup, I curled up on my cushion. "I told them all about the night in my room."
"All of it?" he asked.
I nodded. "All of it, because that's the only way this works. No secrets."
"That," he said, "is one thing I cannot promise. I hold too many that aren't mine to share."
"Between us," I corrected. "No lies, no deception, and no secrets when it comes to each other. If you want to be a patron, then fine. If you want to be a partner, thenthat'smy requirement."
"Call it what it really is," Zeal said.
