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The world hung. Time slowed. In his gaze, I saw so many possibilities, and all of them were waiting. The desires were countless, and the passions were many, but not all were harmless. Every emotion I'd ever felt was right there, begging me to embrace it. I could feel the rage when that man had slapped Nari. My jealousy flared out of control, aware that my lovers weren't just mine. The thrill of too much drink begged me to embrace it. Then there was the love. The way Ela gave in to my touch. The feel of Nari pulling me closer, begging so gently. Anver's arms wrapped around me as he slept, or the joy of a deep conversation with Wraythe. It was all right there, at the same time, rushing into my mind.
And then Zeal blinked.
"Don't do that," he warned. Then he turned those dangerous eyes onto Ela. "Your question is about what happens if the barons refuse to tithe to a temple that has turned over their financial records and budget?" he asked.
"Exactly," Ela agreed. "Because I think that's the way things are going."
"The courts," Zeal explained. "The High Priests can sue for the legal tithe. If they show copies of the documents, the money will be removed from the baron and handed over. It's a long process, it would be very messy, and the temples would all suffer, because it wouldn't only be one baron doing it. It's also why our laws are so important, and the thought of the High Priests changing them would be disastrous."
"How do we stop the barons from trying, though?" Nari asked. "I mean, I know I keep asking this, but is Maela doing the right thing? Do I need to tell her to give in?"
"Do not!" Zeal snapped, his attention shifting to her. "I need her to do this. There is a very fine line between taking a risk and solving a crisis. Kinen is destroying my temple. If Maela gives him that money, nothing will change for my priests. Kinen will simply stash it where no one will see it again while swearing that she never paid. Maela will continue to be the villain to the people, and Kinen will become a saint."
"Isn't that what's happening now?" Nari countered.
"But now," Zeal assured her, "she has the law on her side. If Kinen tries to sue her for that money, he will have to give the court his records. The court will verify them. In the end, Maela still wins, because she has not spent that money. She has not used it to pad her supposedly lavish lifestyle. She has used her husband's money for that."
So Nari swung her legs off the armrest, and sat up to face Zeal. "And the people have stopped trusting her."
"Which is an easy thing to fix," he pointed out. "Once Maela has the documents, she can publish them. She can show that they have been taxed unfairly, because the High Priest asked for more money than the temple needed. She will be able to prove that she was fighting for the citizens of her barony, and then she will lower the taxes and become the most popular baroness of the last four generations."
"Except for the men who will still be pissed that a woman did it," Wraythe said. "That's the problem, Zeal. This isn't just about rich and poor. It's about men and women's places in society."
"And faith," Anver added.
Zeal jerked his head, gesturing for me to move over. I didn't want to, but I did, and then our god took the spot between me and Nari. She smiled up at him and leaned in. Without hesitation, Zeal lifted his arm to wrap it around her shoulders, hugging her against his side.
"This," he told her, his voice shifting a little deeper, "is what happens when gods have dreams. Every time things feel like they are tearing apart at the seams, it's really the time when they're coming together. In order to make changes, we first have to tear down the old so there is a place for the new to stand."
"Yeah, but - " Nari tried.
Zeal just kissed the top of her head. "Women are seen as weak, Nari. You and Maela aren't weak at all. Let the world see it. Change one mind. Just one, and then another will follow. Look at what you've done in my temple. Think about how you convinced Peyron to see Savi, or your brothers to talk to Merci. Arion!" He laughed. "Nari, you made the High Priest of Intuition see my brother without trying."
"Which is nothing like this," she shot back. "You're taking huge risks, and you have no idea if this will work. How many times have you reminded us that you can't see the future? Useme, Zeal. I've agreed to that, and I will do everything I can to help you, but Maela? Her husband is tearing her apart and the world won't let her be with the woman she loves! How is that fair to her? Doesn't she deserve just a little bit of happiness after all she's done?"
"But happiness comes with a price," Zeal reminded her before glancing over to me. "Sometimes, it's a hard price. We have to do things we don't want, that might hurt those we care about." Then he looked at Ela. "Or stop fighting ourselves." His eyes found Wraythe next. "We need to accept that the darkness doesn't change anything." Finally, his attention reached Anver. "And truly believe that someone will catch us when we fall."
Around the room, we were all nodding in agreement. What Zeal was trying to say was that change didn't come easily, but that didn't mean that things didn't need to change. I knew they did, but I also understood what Nari was trying to say. Maela's price was too high. We were the priests, not her. We'd agreed to this when she hadn't.
"So use us," I told Zeal. "This is our responsibility, not Maela's. Nari surrendered. I know that I vowed to be the best priest for you that I can be."
"I offered everything if you kept us together," Wraythe said.
"Yeah," Ela agreed. "I said you could do what you wanted with me."
Anver just licked his lips. "I begged. I asked Zeal to find me a place where I belonged, and he did. It took a while for me to realize it, but he gave me what I truly wanted."
"But was it easy?" Zeal asked him.
"Not then," Anver admitted. "I thought you'd bound me to Tishlie for the rest of my life. I tried to convince myself that I could love her eventually."
"And when I break all of you again?" he asked. "Will you still be this willing to help me? How far can I push all of you before you turn your backs on me?"
"Won't happen," Nari swore. "You are my god, Zeal."
"Don't promise things for a future you can't imagine," Zeal warned her before pushing off the couch.
Nari just reached out to grab his hand. "And you will not leave like that," she told him, her grip holding him in this realm - or possibly risking him taking her with him.
