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Chapter 51
Talin
The man grabbed Nari, and I reached for my sword. Just before I could pull it, a priest caught my arm, holding it in place. I turned to tell him to fuck off, but then I saw his eyes. Beautiful, iridescent eyes, set in a tawny face, on a man with a square jaw, a prominent dimple, and narrow lips. A god wearing yellow.
"Bode?" I asked, torn between looking at his amazing eyes or making sure Nari was ok.
"Trust her," Bode said. "You know she has this. You are enough my priest that you should be able to feel it, but your fears of failing her scream louder than your own intuition."
Then Nari threw her arms around Cormak's neck, hugging him hard. "It's ok," she told the man. "You're a good father. Let Kaidan have a day to remember. If the worst happens and you can't keep him, then he'll remember this moment with you. If the best happens and your situation improves, then he'll know the gods do listen to prayers."
"I've prayed," Cormak said, but his body was already softening, the man leaning into her embrace. "I've asked Merci to be kind. I've begged Will to show me the way."
"And he never prayed to me," Bode said, tilting his head as if we were sharing some secret. "It's my holiday and everything. I'm supposed to be a passive god, but people forget I can answer prayers too."
I just looked over at him while watching Nari from the edge of my vision. "Why can I see you and couldn't see Merci?"
"She's not your god," Bode explained. "I am. Well, I should've been." Placing his hand in the center of my back, he urged me to follow Nari and her date, but he didn't stop speaking. "Every person has a dominant part of their personality. All of you can cycle through the aspects, but most people are seen as one main thing. A kind person, a driven person, a wise person, and so on. You, Talin, are intuitive. The main part of your personality is mine, and by all rights you would've been my priest. A good one, too. However, your bloodline overrules that."
"Because I'm the Ranndor tithe," I realized.
"Mhm," he agreed. "So, that makes you promised to Zeal, but my brother isn't a greedy man. You should've been mine, so we agreed to share. The marks on your body are mine. When my brother decided to give all of you that mess of markings, he asked me to design yours. I do like the harsher shapes in black. It looks a lot better than I imagined."
Well, since I was speaking to the God of Intuition, I might as well see how focused I needed to be. "So, is this guy going to be a problem for Nari?"
Bode smirked at me. "What do you think, Talin?"
"I think he's a proud man. I think he wants to intimidate her to prove he's not worthless, but he's trying too hard to be a good father."
"Exactly," Bode agreed. "He's ashamed of his financial state. He's not impoverished, but he also hasn't found success. The man has dreams, and he has an amazing intuition - yes, that's why I know - for business. His problem is a lack of capital. He also will never succeed so long as he's more focused on his son than his finances. He will never find happiness so long as he focuses on his finances instead of his son."
"Can you help him?" I asked.
Bode gave me a wry look. "Do you intend to ask the gods to help every person who passes through our temples?"
"Yes." I left no room for argument in that word. "What good are gods if you do anything else? You may have a small power over one thing, but why wouldn't you use it to help your faithful?"
"He's not my faithful," Bode pointed out. "I'm the one god he hasn't prayed to."
"And he will neverbeyour faithful unless you give him a reason."
Bode's expression turned into a proud grin. "Exactly. See, youarea Priest of Intuition. You also would've made a very bad baron. You're too caring, even if you try to hide that."
"Not from my lovers," I countered.
"Wraythe isn't a lover," Bode pointed out
This time, I was the one smiling knowingly. "Are you sure about that? He's not just a friend. Anver can be a lover without being sexual, and I don't have a better word for our relationship."
"I like how you think," Bode decided. "So, let's negotiate an agreement for this man's happiness."
"Nari's trying to get people to believe in all of you," I said, assuming that would be what he wanted.
Bode just shook his head. "No, not that. I will work with my siblings to make this man's future a little brighter, but only if you help encourage a solution that would be best for all involved."
"Trust my gut," I realized. "So, you're testing me?"
"Teaching you," he corrected, taking a step back. "Today is my day. It's the best chance I have to do this, so if you want to make sure your desire's grade is an excellent, then you'll have to be more than a simple guardian. Take a risk, Talin. Stop thinking you're going to fail her, and startpushingher for more."
