AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Oh, I think Kinen is more interested in proving his power," the priest in yellow said with a wry twist to his lips. "I have a feeling he assumed these ladies would back down instead of step up."
"Which also makes our leadership abilities look weak," the High Priestess of Ambition reminded the others.
"All of you have made enough of a scene," Inspiration's leader groaned, reaching up to rub at his eyes. "Tonight is supposed to be a time for reflection and thought. Not petty drama and stories that will fill the city news tomorrow!"
"And by even being here," Kinen told them, "you're giving credence to this girl. Her lace is nothing more than a mistake. The fact that you talk about her in your own temples is an embarrassment for me. Control your own priests before you talk about how I control mine!" Then he turned to me. "I will not allow you to cause a scene like this again, Nariana."
"True power isn't made from denying the rights of others," I told him. "You want to make this all my fault, but you refuse to accept any of your own responsibility. I didn't start this. You did, but you're shocked that I won't allow you to berate me constantly? I thought we'd found a balance. I stayed out of your way. I did nothing to threaten your position in the temple!"
"You think this isn't doing just that?" he roared, his voice much too loud. "I will make sure that you are not a long-term problem, girl. Do you understand me?"
"Even though she talks to gods?" Rebexa asked.
Her calm words cut through the insanity of this ordeal like ice. Heads turned to her. Whispers fell silent. There was nothing more shocking she could've said, and I knew it would be repeated over and over until it was the talk of not just our city, but the entire nation.
"Excuse me?" Kinen asked.
"She speaks to the gods," Rebexa said again. "All six of them. You want to know why she is marked with all the Paths? Well, you should have asked either Arion or myself. You see, she is descended from the priestess the gods called the mother. Six hundred years ago, our histories recorded the interactions with the gods as if they were real and commonplace. Entire conversations have been transcribed. Five hundred years ago, they were rare. Four hundred, even more so. And yet, that doesn't keep us from knowing that the children of the very first priestess, the one who served all the gods equally, have the ability to see them when the rest of us cannot." Then she pointed at me. "And Nariana's ancestry leads right to her."
"You are researching my priestess?" Kinen asked.
The High Priest of Intuition, Arion, nodded his head slowly. "Of course we are. She is unique. An outlier. What else is the purpose of perception and intuition if not to understand things better - and she is something we all want to understand." He looked over at Rebexa. "Send me the titles of the records you found?"
"I'll have someone give you a copy of all my research," she assured him.
"Well," Kinen said. "That still does not excuse her behavior tonight. Now, if you will allexcuseme, I have an initiate to deal with."
Then he grabbed my arm, hard, dragging me towards the door. I went with him, negating his desire to haul me along, and Talin followed. I saw Wraythe lean like he was going to as well, but Zeal lifted a hand, stopping him. Then, just before we reached the archway that was the exit for this room, Talin moved around us and pressed a hand to Kinen's chest.
"That's enough," he said, one hand on the hilt of his dagger in a clear warning. "She's still my desire."
So Kinen turned to me. "Do this again, and I will have no choice but to remove you from the temple, Nariana."
"Idid not do this," I shot back. "I wanted nothing more than a holiday with my family - one I haven't seen much of since I was surrendered. But if you want to start throwing out threats, then fine. Try to get rid of me, Kinen. I promise that you will go first. You see, I really do have a god on my side. We could've worked together. I could've made you the most important High Priest in history, but your fears tempted you to make all the wrong decisions."
He grabbed my cheeks in one hand and shoved his face at mine. "And initiates are still under my control. This ismytemple. I don't care if you like it or not. I am the one with the power here, and I intend to keep it."
"So does Zeal," I assured him. "I am nothing more than his voice. If you get rid of me, another will rise up to replace me." And I tapped the symbol on my chest. "The snake has five heads, Kinen. For now."
The man growled like an enraged beast, shoved my face away from his, then turned and stormed from the room. Immediately, Talin rushed closer to me, making sure I was ok. I was. I'd also just picked a fight I knew I couldn't win.
Not yet.
Chapter 9
Wraythe
After Kinen left, the celebration continued on. Nari filled us in on what happened, and it wasn't good. Zeal reassured us all that the man couldn't simply get rid of her, though. Not yet. Nari's uniqueness had made her too visible, and if she was suddenly removed from the temple, those questions would be harder for Kinen than ignoring her.
It was a gamble, and we all knew it. In theory, he could remove her lace. Once that was gone, he'd have the right to kick her out of the temple. The reality, Zeal promised, was that he wouldn't take her lace. He would change it. He would grow it. He would never leave her skin bare again, which negated that threat.
But the party continued on. The moment Nari began to mingle, she became a favorite of the crowd as everyone tried to find out what had the High Priests of six temples in a tizzy. Priests, barons, and wealthy merchants all wanted to dance with her, hoping she'd tell them. Then, the moment she left the dance floor, someone else tried to corner her to ask about the symbol on her chest, her dress, or any other excuse they could find to get her to talk.
Thankfully, Talin stayed close by her side. When he couldn't, Anver found a way to hover in her general vicinity. I tried my best to help, but it seemed that I had gained a small fan club of my own. Both Yamina and Kynsana wanted to dance with me. While Kynsana took the chance to press me for any information she could get on her sister, Yamina was more concerned about what we were going to do about Tath talking to Kinen. Unfortunately, I didn't have good answers for either of them.
But when the night slipped from late and started verging on early-morning, the guests finally began to leave. Many were drunk, having enjoyed the free-flowing alcohol around the room. Thankfully, Ela wasn't one of them. He drank just enough to put a smile on his face and relax him, but not enough to turn his brain to mush. Nari simply looked tired.
The five of us left the Temple of Compassion using the same door we'd entered. The cold air woke us up enough to make us walk quickly across the grassy area between the temples, but the heat inside the Temple of Temptation began to lull us right back to sleep. As we made our way through the halls back towards our room, Nari hung on Ela's arm, but Talin walked beside her with his hand against her back. I could tell she was tired. I wasn't exactly sure, but it was almost like I could feel it - which meant it had to be my bond with her growing even more.
