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Wraythe paused as the music ended, and leaned in. "Yeah, Nari, it is. If you're fighting for your family, you don't know how to fail. Zeal is a part of us." He reached up to touch the symbol on my chest. "Five heads to the snake, but we're lying on top of the twin triangles of all six gods. That is our family. That is what matters. The five of us might be the highest layer, but it doesn't mean we're the only one."
Chapter 7
Nariana
The music fell silent, the dancing stopped, and the lights around us continued to dim. I could see the gods moving towards the back of the room, each of them heading to a different set of windows. Wraythe looked down at me and smiled, then tilted his head to where Ela and the guys were waiting.
It had to be almost midnight, and the time had flown faster than I could keep up. We also weren't the only ones heading to rejoin our friends. Priests and priestesses in various colors began to cluster together. Nobility were picking up flutes of wine and champagne. The guests in the Temple of Compassion were the highest in society, and tonight, I would get to see how the most elite celebrated the Fresh Start.
With Wraythe behind me, people moved out of our way. That made it easy to reach Ela's side. Talin and Anver were with him, but they weren't the only ones. Maela and the baby were there, and Yamina had joined her. Xakiri, Kynsana, Jeerad, and Cesyr were waiting beside them. The entire group looked comfortable and friendly, making me think they'd done their own introductions while I'd been dancing.
"It's time," Cesyr said just as Wraythe and I paused before him. His gaze was pointed towards the fireplace. "This time, I can actually see Merci."
"And all the rest," Talin said softly, but he was looking at the windows.
Just as the gas-lights fell dark, the massive log on the fireplace flared brighter, bathing the room in a rich ochre glow. The hum of conversation stopped as everyone in the room turned to look. My eyes found Merci, and she nodded. Immediately, her siblings pushed open the five sets of large, hinged windows, and winter quickly rushed in. To those who couldn't see the gods, it had to look like a miracle, and I sighed in appreciation.
"Let go of the old," Jeerad whispered, sounding like that was mostly for himself.
Then High Priest Viyan stepped forward. "Every ending is a chance for a new beginning. As one year winds to a close, new opportunities will arise. Let us release the things of the past, learn from the mistakes we have made, be proud of the successes we've all had, and vow to do even better next year."
A gust of wind pushed tiny crystals of ice into the room. They were so small, they floated in the air, cooling the room while reflecting back the light of the fire just enough to sparkle like magic. My lips curled into an unconscious smile as I tried to take it all in. The beauty of the Temple of Compassion with its high ceilings and white marble walls. The orange light flickering against them, caught in even the air itself. The rich blue of the Priests of Compassion all around us. It was beautiful in a way that made me appreciate the little things.
"It's the moments like this," Merci said, lifting her voice to those who could hear her, "that remind us that life isn't something to rush through. Good times and bad, sorrow and joy, they all add together to make memories. Embrace the nostalgia of what came before, and then open yourself to the opportunities of tomorrow."
Priest Viyan smiled, even though most people in this room wouldn't know why. "As the chill of winter freezes our hearts, remember those who don't have the luxuries we take for granted, for next year we could each be the ones in need. Change comes and it goes. While we might be on top one moment, we could just as easily fall to the bottom the next. Have compassion for those who struggle and be merciful in the coming year so that when it is your turn to suffer, others will be merciful to you. This is our Fresh Start."
He threw up his hands with the last phrase, and the fire went dark immediately, bathing the entire room in shadows. No one spoke. People barely even moved. The whisper of fabric and the shuffling of bodies was the perfect complement to the pale - and now white - ice glittering in the air all around us.
In the peace of the moment, I hoped that my own future would be a good one, but I was scared to believe it. My life currently hung in the balance. The gods wanted to use me. The High Priest of my own temple wanted to remove me. I'd asked for none of this, except for my family, and they still stood beside me.
That group had been growing. Once, it had been just Jamik and Amerlee. Then Anver, Ela, and Wraythe had found a place in my heart. Talin had come next, and he had brought Maela and Yamina to me. Now, I'd found my siblings again. When I had first been surrendered, I'd been sure I was alone, but time after time, Zeal had encouraged me to change that. My own temptation was to love - and deeply. If this night was about embracing the past and looking toward the future, then my family was all of that and so much more.
"Thank you for all you have done, Zeal," I breathed, the words too quiet to be heard by anyone but the god I prayed to.
I turned to find him standing beside one of the windows, and he was looking right back at me. A subtle nod of his head convinced me that he'd heard my prayer, and it was all I needed. I'd never asked to be special. I'd simply asked for consent, and he respected that. He'd also paid me back tenfold.
Suddenly, the fire roared back to life, the rush of flames intense enough to have a sound. Women gasped and men chuckled, but the reddish-orange light felt even brighter after the darkness. As the crowd turned back to the fire, I watched Zeal and his siblings pull the windows closed, knowing that everyone else would think it had been some type of divine magic.
"To the future and the opportunities it brings," Priest Viyan called out.
"Happy Fresh Start!" we all replied, announcing the change of the year, and my voice was one of them.
As if that was some command, the musicians began playing again, the gas lamps on the walls flared up once more, and everyone started moving. The swell of voices returned, with clinks of glasses and bursts of laughter mixed in. Maela reached over to clasp my shoulder, looking like she was about to say something, but then my youngest brother's head suddenly snapped around.
"Ah, crap," he said. "I gotta go. That's my Prayers instructor, and if she realizes that I'm not in the student wing, I'm gonna be in so much trouble."
Cesyr gently pushed at his arm. "If she comes this way, I'll distract her with Nari. That means you've got ten minutes to get across the temple. Don't make me regret this." And yet he said it all with a smile.
Xak flashed me one last boyish grin and ducked through the crowd. I was actually impressed with how well my brother could blend in, considering that he was wearing a blue robe. Then again, most of the people in this room were in the same color. The heathen had likely been counting on that.
Maela giggled after him. "For some reason, he is not at all what I expected for your brother, Nari."
"But he's everything expected for mine," Jeerad said. "Our oldest brother, Ichiago, loved to play pranks. And don't let Cesyr fool you. He's just as bad as the rest of us."
"Well, it certainly explains how we met," Talin said softly as he moved in behind me. "I'm starting to think you should spend more time with your -"
He never got to finish the thought because someone stumbled into Maela. Haryth tilted in her arms. That made Yamina jump, and her glass slipped out of her fingers, falling to the floor. It shattered, and the sound was loud even in this room - which made the guests look. All eyes turned to the person who started it all, the priest who'd run into Maela.
