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Chapter 19
Zeal
Ididn't have time to think. The rush of fear and the unspoken prayers hitting me from my most important people meant something was wrong. Between one moment and the next, I pushed to them, stepping into reality in the middle of a set of stairs. Nari was falling, but another push put me under her just in time to catch her body.
Her arms wrapped around me out of desperation, clinging to anything that would keep her in place. Her golden eyes found mine just as I took her weight, and I was the one getting lost in her gaze. There was fear in her eyes and I wanted nothing more than to make it go away. That meant figuring out what had happened, but that was easy enough.
The thoughts of my five chosen ones were spinning, all of them replaying the same instant in time at different speeds. Each angle gave me different memories. Anver had noticed things Wraythe hadn't, and Talin was hating himself for being a failure. Ela's rage was building, and it fueled my own, because one thing stood out in all of this.
"Who dared to touch my Chosen?!" I roared.
"Zeal," Nari breathed, pulling my attention back to her.
I eased her to her feet, not wanting to let go in case she wasn't ready. "Are you ok? Did she hurt you?" And I cupped her face, needing to touch her. "Can you stand on your own?"
"I'm fine," she promised. "You caught me before I hit anything."
"You could have died," I growled, looking up to where the fool was held between Anver and Wraythe.
Talin was looking back, breathing hard as if he couldn't believe his eyes, desperate to know Nari was actually standing there. Once he was sure that Nari was fine, he looked at me, and I nodded once. That was all he needed. The man trusted her with me. As strong as I'd made his bond, he'd somehow managed to leave room in that for me, and it was not a feeling I was used to.
"Stay here," I told Nari. "On your feet - or ass, preferably." And then I stormed up the rest of the stairs.
But the commotion was growing. The incident had been noticed, and we were in the most highly trafficked area of the temple. I wasn't ready to show myself like this. I wasn't convinced my priests could handle seeing more than the kindest aspects of their god, but this idiot had taken that out of my hands.
Rage was driving me. Fear, and the awareness of how precarious my plans were, was fueling it. If I hadn't been paying attention, Nari would have tumbled down the staircase, most likely breaking bones, possibly dying. I'd named her as my Chosen. I'd marked her well enough that there should be no doubt, and this bitch dared to think thatshewas more important?
"I warned you once!" I bellowed as I reached the top of the stairs, aware of the footsteps hurrying up behind me.
I expected that to be Nari, but there were far too many. The sound of Amerlee's voice a little further back meant Nari was still there. The rest were coming. My most devoted were here. The family I'd cultivated so carefully to take care of the priestess who'd save us all were proving their worth. I knew it. I was aware of it - and right now I cared about nothing at all except my vengeance.
"Ciella Wright!" I kept walking, and Anver moved back to let me see my target. "I give you back your surname. I take from you the lace of my favor. You are nothing. You willbenothing, and I will not have you in my temple!"
But the girl didn't hear a word of it. She was so self-absorbed that she didn't have room for faith. Having gods among them would mean she wasn't the best thing in her world. Not the strongest, not the most intelligent, and not even the most beautiful. All this girl wanted was a reason to convince herself that she wasn't worthless, but she was wrong.
"Zeal." A gentle hand touched my arm, and the voice belonged to Saval.
I looked over to find nothing but understanding. "Let me handle this for you? She can't see you."
"I don't fucking care," I growled, flicking a hand at where my disciples restrained the girl. "The lace is a gift. It's not something to be taken for granted. It's not an expectation. It is mygiftto my priests. In exchange for your last names, I give it to you, making youmyfamily, and I no longer want her."
"Her lace is fading," Wraythe breathed.
"She fucking well deserves it," Ela snapped.
"No!" Ciella screamed. "What did you do, Eladehl?"
"That's your god, you fucking idiot. You know the rules. He gives, and he fucking just took yours away. You made the wrong call when you decided to fuck with Nari."
"Because she'smine!" I roared, intending to slap that bitch across the face.
But Saval dared to grab me again, holding me back. "Maela's coming," she breathed. "Lady Ranndor, Zeal. Let me deal with this. Make sure Nari's ok, because she's the one that will bring that woman to this temple."
"You dare to command me?" I asked, my voice rumbling with power.
Saval lifted her chin as she looked right into my eyes. "I'm offering to serve you, Zeal. I'm giving you the chance to take care of the girl you love, because human women sometimes need a little pampering. Let me deal with this. You stripped Ciella's lace. I'll haul her to the High Priest myself and have him throw her out. That way it won't come back on Nari."
And the whole time, Ciella continued to scream about her missing markings. She blamed Eladehl. She flailed at Wraythe. She kicked out at Anver and spit at Talin. Not once did she mention my name. In all of her frenzy, her eyes never found me at all. Her disbelief was so strong that I couldn't feel her soul. I couldn't hear her thoughts. Not a single prayer - intentional or otherwise - trickled into the back of my mind.
