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"Why?" I asked.
The guys were all making their way over, taking the plates and setting them out so Drandir didn't have to. Then they started moving the covered platters and stacking them back up so Drandir wouldn't need to keep track of them. While he worked at that, Talin answered.
"The idea that every single priest in a very large Path just adores you?" He glanced over and lifted a brow. "It's unrealistic and would make me ask what Zeal is doing. This? It's just the unappreciated liking that someone appreciates them."
"And will stand up for us," Drandir clarified. "Trust me, the story about Nari risking her own grade for a Priest of Obligation she didn't get along with? Of telling a Priest of the Word that she out-ranked him and for him to sit down and shut up?" He grinned. "It's something most of us have always wanted to do."
"So why don't those few like her?" Ela asked, bringing back a stack of lids.
Drandir grunted out a sigh. "Yeah. Because they're still pissed that this is the Path they got, I think. All through Primary, we're told that Obligation is basically failure. It takes a very long time before we realize that we actually enjoy what we're doing. Then there's the group that doesn't want to be priests at all. They hate that they were surrendered, hate that they didn't get to be important, and hate that they might have to work for what they want, so they ended up working for what others want instead."
"We need to be more careful about what we say in front of priests we don't know," Talin pointed out. "I know the whole Path has been polite, but I'm starting to think that it would be too easy for someone to know too much and pass that to the High Priest."
My mind immediately jumped back to when I'd admitted that the guys were all my guardians. Sure, that could be explained away, but it could also be turned into a major problem. Considering that leaving the temple for an acceptable visit was what had been twisted into the reason for waiving both mine and Ela's initiate status last winter, Kinen had already proved that it wouldn't take much.
"I don't think anyone will spill your secrets," Drandir assured us. "That's the benefit of sharing one large room. There are no secrets on our Path. If someone talks to the High Priest at all, someone else will know about it. If you have an issue afterwards, it doesn't take a lot to put all of that together."
"Which still won't stop someone from doing it," Anver countered.
Drandir's lips curled into a menacing smirk. "No, but things are hard in the basement. It's pretty easy to make sure people aren't willing to cross certain lines, and a few of us have made it clear that when it comes to the Priestess of Temptation, we will make sure she's taken care of. Do you have any idea how solid soap can be?"
Fuck. I was honestly surprised at that, and yet it made a lot of sense. There would have to be some way to keep the peace, and violence was often an effective one. I was also starting to realize that Drandir had a lot more sway on his Path than I'd ever realized.
"Just don't kill anyone?" I begged just as the guys finished returning the last of the platters.
Drandir shook his head. "It hasn't needed to go that far. However, you should know that Kinen is pushing. He's noticed that you get extra attention. He wants to know why. A few of us have been flashing around those gold coins you five like to pass out as tithes, but the man is looking for something. I don't know what thing, but we are listening."
"He wants to get me kicked out," I explained. "Talin's sister-in-law is my friend. Maela is also the Primary Patron. Kinen is refusing to give her the financial records, which means that his request for this year's tithe doesn't exist. By the law, Maela needs to have the budget to assign the tithe. No budget..."
"No tithe," Drandir finished for me. "Well, fuck. That's why Ati can't get cherries. Things are starting to run out, and the Priests of the Word are saying there's no room in the budget for more."
"Which means someone has the numbers," Ela said. "Someone knows how the annual tithe is being spent, but they're trying to block the Primary Patron from knowing."
"Because most of it is going to the highest-ranked Priests of the Word," Drandir explained. "Kinen just had a shipment of white wine sent to his country house - "
"What?" I asked, breaking in. "He has a country house?"
Drandir sputtered for a moment. "Yeah. We were told that it's a residence for his yearly visits to the rural altars. I assumed there was going to be a function or something, but now I'm starting to have questions."
"Me too," I agreed.
The man clasped my arm. "I'll tell my friends. We'll listen for anything interesting. Is there anything else you need us to do to help?"
"Actually..." Ela said. "Um, this has nothing directly to do with Kinen, but if I wanted to get a message to a Priest of Perception, who would I talk to about that?"
Drandir just held out his hand. "Me. For anyone else, I'd assign it to a new graduate to run over, but for you five? No, I'll take it myself."
Ela just held up a finger and headed for the dressing room. "Nari, I'm using your stationary."
"Which means he hasn't written it yet," Drandir realized.
"We actually just came to a few decisions when you arrived," I told him. "The trick is making sure that nothing we do can be used against us. Not the things we actually do, nor the stuff we put off for later - like certifications for our own Paths."
Drandir ran his eyes over my body. "Which Path would that be, Nari? You have five, after all."
"Exactly," I agreed. "And any mistake might just be enough for Kinen to try to have me thrown out."
"And Zeal will never let it happen," he reminded me. "And if I have my way about it, Obligation will never let it get all the way up to our god. You're one of us. What matters is that unlike every other priest in this temple, the five of you never seem to forget that."
