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Around the table, everyone offered their congratulations. It was the quiet kind, because women didn't normally announce a pregnancy until much later, but Maela looked like she didn't care. After all, she had a god on her side.
"Will telling Tath bring him out of his depression?" Talin asked.
"No," Zeal assured us. "I'm sorry, Maela, but he doesn't care about another child. He cares that everyone knows he's not the man he pretended to be. His place in society was shaped by the idea that strong men must be in control at all times, have a long list of women at their beck and call, and that a real man would never desire anything but more power and standing in society. No one is just that, though. Men and women both feel things. It's what fuels the power of temptation, but he tries to block that out. In his mind, he has to be perfect at all times, embodying the Baron of Temptation, and nothing else at all."
"In other words," Maela grumbled, "that he should use people to get ahead."
"Among other things," Zeal agreed. "Tath convinced himself that his title mattered more than his humanity. He can either learn how to accept his own faults - and thus the faults of others - or he can spend the rest of his days in that room, ashamed of being nothing more than a mere human."
"But I should tell the rest of the household?" Maela asked.
"I think it's time," Zeal said. "Give Pia something else to focus on instead of Yamina. And tell Tath. I could be wrong. I do not see the future, but I know the souls, and that makes it easier to guess."
"Ok," Maela decided. Then she bobbed her head a few times. "I'm having a daughter, my husband doesn't care, and my lover might be married off, but I am going to have a daughter. Someone please tell me this is a good thing?"
I reached over and grabbed her hand. "It is a great thing," I promised. "You deserve to be excited about having a daughter."
She wrapped her fingers around mine and smiled. "And now, we need to talk about something fun. Someone please change the subject?"
Amerlee immediately brought up her tailor's newest line of clothing and what she wanted to wear to Yamina's party. Without hesitation, Ela joined in. Faylie was a split second later. When I suggested that we should wear something besides black or purple, Wraythe immediately suggested red, and Faylie loved the idea. Amerlee shook her head, so Anver told her to wear gold. And just like that, our problems slipped away for a moment. Smiles claimed faces. Laughter broke out at times.
I had a funny feeling that our god might be helping.
Chapter 29
Nariana
On the way home from our lunch date, Ela spotted a young boy selling newsletters. Waving the kid over, he bought two. When the boy held his hand out even longer, Ela added a whole silver as a tip. Then, Ela passed one of the papers to me. I read through it as we walked, hanging on Talin's arm to make sure I didn't stumble into the street at the wrong time.
Just like Maela had said, I was a source of interest. One man claimed that after being granted a session with me, his entire life had turned around. Someone else said that they had gone to the Temple of Intuition and prayed. Now, they were organizing a labor group where they worked and demanding higher pay.
Dozens of stories were below that, but all of them cited taking a chance on the gods, because if I could talk to them, then they had to be real. Others felt that news of me arguing with the Baroness of Temptation was proof that the people should refuse the unfair taxes the nation demanded. Never mind that Maela and I were on the same side - that didn't seem to matter to them.
When we got home, I kept reading. The pamphlet was made from four total pages, folded in half. I couldn't call this a newspaper, but that was clearly what it was trying to mimic. Even worse, none of the testimonials were attributed to a name. Not a first name, a surname, or anything else. That made it impossible to know how true - or not - they were.
Sadly, I couldn't spend all my time obsessing over stories about me. I still had homework to take care of. We took a break together to eat dinner in the dining hall, and then headed back to our suite to finish up. At some point, Talin got up and started messing with something in our new spare room. I made a mental note to ask Amerlee about furniture. Drandir had given me a list of things he could bring up, and I hadn't gone through that either.
But when Anver stood and made a production about heading to bed, I realized it was later than I thought. Ela said something about grabbing a shower, and Wraythe said that he wanted to sleep on the edge this time. I chuckled at them and started putting away my things, intending to join them - when the door opened to the second living area.
"I decided," Talin said as he walked through it, "that since I cancelled your session, that means I have to hold up to my end of the bargain."
It took me a moment before I could figure out what he was talking about. When I remembered teasing him about a bed in front of the fireplace, a smile took over my face. Leaving my books on the table, I stood and headed toward him.
"Does this count as a date?" I asked.
He held out his hand. "I would prefer a date over a session."
Then he guided me into the room. Their weapons were all stacked in the corner. We had a long and narrow table set against the wall that separated this room from the bedroom. The ugly paintings Ela hated had been stacked over beside the door that led to the hall - that I couldn't convince myself to call a front door, but really was. And there, placed before the fireplace, was the largest pile of blankets that I'd ever seen.
Talin had stacked enough up to make something like a mattress. A small fire burned in the hearth. A collection of pillows had been stolen from the bed. Nothing about this was fancy or elegant, but I loved it anyway. This was real, finding a moment alone in a life where we shared everything with three others.
Biting my lower lip, I turned back to him. "It's perfect, Talin."
"Good." Then he turned off the gas lamps, leaving the room dark, lit only by the crackling fire. "Because for tonight, you are not a priestess." He stepped toward me and his hands found my waist, turning me until I faced him completely. "You are not a temptress to take over and ensure my pleasure." Then he began working my dress open from the top down. "Until the sun comes up, you are nothing more than the woman I am in love with."
I felt the front of my dress part, exposing my breasts, so I reached to pull his shirt from his pants. A devious smile curled Talin's lips a split second before he spun me around, stopping my hands and putting my back to his chest. Held against him like that, Talin continued to open the myriad of buttons.
"Take, Nari," he whispered against my ear. "Just once, stop giving and simply take."
