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Chapter 2
Nariana
Talin hadn't been there when we'd met Peyron. We hadn't even known he existed at that time. Back then, I'd been trying to deal with the fact that Anver had attached himself to Tishlie and left us. Peyron had been a nice distraction, but the guy had grown up a lot nicer than I'd expected.
Unlike most Priests of Perception, he wasn't soft and lean. While his loose shirt hid his true physique, I could see that his arms were muscular, and his waist was definitely trim. His face was elegant, with high cheekbones and sensual lips that were meant to be kissed. Combined with the dark hair and deep brown eyes, Peyron was definitely my type. In other words, he was beautiful, and his blushing only made it more obvious that his interest in talking to us wasn't just to be polite.
But our attention was meant to be measured in sessions. My partner was the closest thing to a husband that a priest or priestess ever got. I might as well be his wife. My guardian was my other half. In theory, Talin should be mine and only mine. Wraythe should belong to Ela completely. In reality, however, it didn't work that way. The four of us were a family of sorts - since there was no better word to explain our bond.
I loved them. They loved me. They also loved each other. Wraythe's affection for the guys wasn't sexual, yet it also wasn't platonic. Eladehl and Talin were lovers, and I liked that they worked so well together. It made me feel less like Talin was some pet I was supposed to manage and more like we were just us. We were happy, we were all in love, and that was supposed to give us the mental and emotional support to be the embodiments of temptation that our god needed.
And yet Talin was jealous. In all of our training, our patrons were always the people we slept with for a purpose, never for enjoyment. That was something saved for each other. This was different. I knew I'd been smiling a little too much. Across from me, Ela was doing nothing to hide his interest in this guy. It wasn't shallow. It wasn't meaningless. It was also something Talin had never had to deal with before.
"Hey," I breathed, reaching over for his hand again.
He resisted for a second, and then laced his fingers with mine. "We're getting complacent."
It was a warning, and one meant to be overheard. Slowly, Wraythe nodded, getting his meaning. Ela glanced over for a second, but that was it. His focus was locked on Peyron, distracting the man in an attempt to let me sort out Talin's concerns.
"Why are we hiding this?" I countered. "You can't tell me that the three of you won't take your shirts off in training. Those marks across your chest aren't going away, Talin. Zeal made them obvious so we can't hide this."
"No, he has a point," Wraythe admitted. "Kinen's probably going to dunk all of us again as soon as he finds out."
"By then, we'll have enough priests request a reimmersion for him!" I hissed. "I'm done being scared of this. Zeal intends for us to make a change, and - "
"And they're trying to protect you," Peyron broke in, proving that he was just a little too perceptive. "Nariana - "
"Nari," Ela told him. "She's Nari. I'm Ela. Talin and Wraythe didn't get short versions, sadly."
"Pey," Peyron offered, saying it likePay. "My name always gets shortened to that. But what I was going to say is that your guardians have a point. No one understands what's going on with you. The rumors say there's only one Priestess of Temptation, and nothing about priests on that Path."
"Because we weren't until recently," Ela explained. "Our god decided that Nari doesn't need to do this on her own."
"I get the impression that he didn't expect us to be so invested," Wraythe explained.
Peyron's eyes narrowed. "When were you immersed?"
"Yeah," Ela mumbled. "It wasn't an official thing."
"And that," Peyron said, "is why Talin's worried. He's clearly a good guardian, and he's worried enough to be carrying a blade in his right boot. I have a feeling that Wraythe doesn't need a weapon to protect the two of you."
"She's also a guardian," Ela said, gesturing to me.
"So are you," I countered. "It's why he put marks on your back."
"I do my protecting in bed," Ela bragged. "Hence..." He looked at Talin pointedly. "...Why I'm not worried about a session with him. I'll make him fall in love."
Peyron ducked his head and chuckled. "I'm getting the impression that Talin's less worried about me trying to stab any of you and more that the feelings could go both ways."
"Fuck!" Talin groaned. "I'm putting Perception right at the top of my least favorite gods."
Peyron just lifted both hands. "Don't judge Savi based on my actions. I'm mostly here because I'm curious. Everyone is talking about the priestess who is breaking the rules. In six hundred years, there has never been a priest with more than one Path. Now you say there are five of you, and I can't help but want to know what's going on."
"And what would you do with that information?" Talin countered. "Look, you're a beautiful man. You know exactly how to get Ela's attention, and where he goes, so does Nari. That works in reverse as well. You came over here to flirt, yet you've been interested more in our secrets than their bodies. My gut says there's more to you than meets the eye."
Peyron shifted so he was leaning over his knees. "Six hundred years ago, the stories talk about our gods as if they walked among us. They mentioned their involvement as if it was nothing exceptional. Five hundred years ago, priests spoke of the gods as friends, but those outside the temple seemed awed at the idea of divine beings. Four hundred years ago, the presence of our gods was considered a privilege. Three hundred, it was rare, and mostly just on holidays. Two hundred, only the most devoted had visions of them. A hundred years ago, they became a myth." He gestured between us. "Until now. The four of you don't even realize it, but you speak of your god as if he's real, present, and a common part of your lives."
"And?" I asked.
