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I cared about helping my girl. I cared about taking care of my ward. I would make sure I took care of Anver and Talin because they were my family. Yeah, I wanted to see the gods have power again, but the reason I was so willing to do all of this was because Nari and Ela needed us to. It wasn't for my own fame or glory. It was because I would fight through even gods to take care of the ones I loved, and these people were the only ones who fit that description - including Zeal.
I barely thought that before something in the air around us changed. I could feel pressure on my shoulders, but it was gentle. My ears wanted to pop. The room grew a little warmer and almost humid just as my head felt like it began to spin. I clenched my eyes shut a little tighter, not quite sure if that was reality or simply vertigo, but these were gods around us, so anything was possible.
I could hear Nari breathing. I could feel Anver shift in place. Ela was trying not to smile, and Talin wanted to reach for Nari's hand. I couldn't see them. I couldn't know any of that, and yet I couldfeelit. The sensation was a more subtle version of that time we'd all fucked together, when Zeal had pulled at our souls, giving us a glimpse of each other's most true side.
And I leaned into it.
These four were mine. I might not love the guys the way they loved each other, but my love for them was just as true. I respected my god. I worshipped Nari. I wasn't trying to hide any of that, not after what we'd been through that morning. Just the thought of Tath trying to force himself on our woman made the rage flare back up, and three other souls matched it. The fourth was Talin, and while he was also angry, it was wrapped around regret and guilt.
Because we'd abused his brother. Nari had turned Ela loose, and I'd helped him embrace the monster that he really was. Anver hadn't been there, but I could feel his support through the swirling in my head. He knew. He understood. He agreed. The temple might try to keep him away from us, but I could feel how determined he was to make sure that the line between us and him was never anything more than a facade.
He was back. He was ours. Like this, the five of us were one, bound together in some way I'd never be able to explain to others. It also didn't matter. This was the price of playing with gods, and I would gladly pay it for the benefits Zeal had given us time and time again. For me, that was being able to have both Ela and Nari. It was never needing to choose between them. It was Talin being such a good match for us and Anver finding his way back. These were the only things I'd ever wanted in my life.
But as the pressure in my head grew, shifting and changing like a whirlwind trapped inside my imagination, I felt that last thought nudged a little more. I deserved more than being the silent guardian - but I already got that. I'd never expected it, and yet I'd been gifted it. I'd given in to temptation, and my price was this. The cost was something I would've done anyway, and yet I wanted just a little more.
I wanted to feel Nari in my arms. I wanted respect from the other guardians. I deserved these things, and I'd already done the work to earn it. The only reason I hadn't been noticed in the Temple was because I'd held back, refusing to make things harder for our girl. She was the Chosen of Zeal, the most important priestess in all seven temples. I could wait for the recognition I deserved and still work for it because, ugly or not, I was very good at what I did.
I kept the ones I loved safe. I protected them, body, mind, and soul. I loved as strong as these guys, and I deserved every single thing they gave me back. That was why we worked. There was no pity here. It wasn't guilt or habit that made them love me. It was because I was a man worthy of not only a god's attention, but also sharing the woman Zeal had fallen in love with. The woman I had loved first.
With that thought, the intensity faded. The room began to cool again and the spinning sensation slowed. I wanted to open my eyes and look up, but I remembered that time with Zeal and how easy it would've been to get lost in the mists of the gods. Patience was a part of my power, so I waited. Then I waited a little more, feeling the weight begin to grow on my shoulders. It was a gentle pressure. No, those were hands. Someone was clasping me the same way Zeal had been holding Nari.
I barely had time to realize that before a woman's kind voice said, "And now you may open your eyes, our devoted."
Slowly, I lifted my lids to find the ground in the center of our circle. In it were a set of legs wrapped in a long blue dress. I followed that up to find a beautiful woman with dark golden skin, the color Nari always described as wet sand. The goddess's hair was long and silky, in a shade of brown that verged on black, but wasn't quite that dark. Her face was exquisite, almost as pretty as Nari's, but her eyes were hypnotic.
They were made of all the shades human eyes could be. Flecks of grey, green, blue and so many shades of brown were there. I felt myself smiling at the sight of them and quickly pulled my gaze away to see a similarly-colored man behind Talin. Standing with Ela was a woman, but her hair was short, curly, and faded from black at the roots to white at the ends, no more than a handspan down. Looking the other way, I found another woman. Her hair was longer, in tawny-colored spirals that puffed off her shoulders beautifully.
Curious, I turned a little more to find the last god standing behind me. Like the rest, his skin was that dark golden shade, but his hair was short and his beard was long, trimmed to a point just under his chin. Where Zeal's eyes always made me think grey, this man's were blue, yet made of so much more than that.
"Will," I breathed.
He smiled and stepped back. "You recognize us that easily?"
Because they were all wearing blue instead of their own colors. Tonight was Merci's holiday, and blue washercolor. Clearly, they were dressed to respect that, and yet I'd heard Nari describe the gods. No one else came close to Will's description.
"I've heard about you," I explained while around me the guys spoke softly to the god who'd been holding them.
I heard Anver ask the name of the woman who'd helped him. Ela was flirting with Charisma shamelessly. Talin already knew Bode from the Day of Blessing. We all knew Zeal, but now we could see them. No longer would we have to fake it when Nari did her thing. Wait...
I turned to the woman in the middle. "Will this stay?" I asked.
"It will," Merci assured me. "It is a gift, freely given. It is the price we must pay for your help."
"That Zeal must pay," Will corrected. "He's the one who spent his divinity to make this possible."
"None of you complained," Zeal snapped.
Will just smiled. "No, but your devoted deserve to know just how far you will go for them." Lifting his hands, he took a step back. "Believe it or not, I'm helping you, brother."
"Don't hit him again," Bode warned.
"We already agreed not to kiss her," Savi assured him. "Her soul is safe from us. Will even chose the one you're not in love with. Every so often, Zeal, you have to control your own passions. This is one of those times."
"And, speaking of such," Merci said, "I do have my own temple to worry about tonight. I'm sorry to gift and run, but..." She paused, turning to look at Talin.
"It's ok," he assured her. "It's your holiday, Merci."
"And you need your own second chance," she said, watching him intently. "Your sister-in-law is on the second floor. She can ease your fears, but only to a point. I'm sorry, but tonight is not about erasing the past. It's about learning from it."
