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Part of me expected to see the gods waiting there, but they weren't. Considering that they'd been down in the middle of that, I had a funny feeling the six of them were currently debating what to do amongst themselves. As for me, I stepped into the temple, looked around to make sure my return wasn't too obvious, and then headed straight for Amerlee's suite.
Zeal had mentioned that I was the Shadow. Today, Savi had called me the same thing - even though she'd used Peyron to do it. Supposedly Kinen didn't realize how close I was with Nari, Ela, Wraythe, and Talin. In his mind, I was merely Tishlie's guardian. Since Tishlie was Ciella's partner, andclearlyinvolved in Kinen's plans, the man had to assume I was safe. Mostly because I couldn't imagine Tishlie admitting that her own guardian despised her. The fool's pride would never recover from such a thing.
Yet I couldn't help but wonder if that was why Zeal had paired me with the girl. He knew my soul, so he would've known that I had never loved her. I felt bad for her, and I'd always wanted to help her, but the only people I'd ever truly loved were the ones I lived with now. And while Zeal had said that Tishlie was my penance, I had a funny feeling that gods did things for more than one reason. That made all these years of loneliness seem worth it somehow.
Those thoughts spun through my mind as I marched through the temple. The moment I reached Amerlee's suite, I thumped my fist against the door. Mere seconds later, it opened to reveal Jamik on the other side. Confusion was written all over his face as he looked over my shoulder, probably searching for Nari.
"Is everything okay?" he asked.
"I was just at the Temple of All Gods where all six High Priests were in a meeting. Zeal sent me, and what I heard…" I shook my head, unable to sum all of this up while standing in the middle of an open hall. "I have a funny feeling that Amerlee needs to know about this, but I also need to tell Nari and everyone at our place. Just… bring them over?"
"Five minutes," Jamik assured me, and then he closed the door. On the other side, I could hear the rumble of his voice as he told his women what was going on.
Our suite was only four doors further down, and when I walked in, it was quiet. For a moment, I was worried they'd gone somewhere, then I heard a voice in the sitting room. Heading that way, I was relieved to find all four of them lounging around the new furniture while working on homework. They all looked up the moment I stepped in the room.
"We were starting to get worried," Wraythe told me.
"How bad is it?" Ela asked at the same time.
I just lifted a hand, stopping them before the rest added their questions as well. "I just told Jamik to get Amerlee and come over because… this is big." Pushing out a breath, I scrubbed at my face, trying to reset. "Okay, let me start with the fact that I met a priest from the Temple of All Gods named Makis. The patterns on his hands are green, which means that he was originally with Perception, but he now wears the grey robe of All Gods. He also knew to watch for a shadow because this morning Peyron told him to, saying that Savi said it was important."
Nari was nodding her head. "Which means all the gods knew you were going to be there. So how does Makis play into whatever Zeal had you doing?"
"He can see both Savi and Bode." Again, I was getting ahead of myself. "There was a meeting. All six High Priests were there. All six of the gods were also there, but not all the High Priests were aware of that. Makis showed me to an open hallway that overlooked the meeting room, which was where I stayed to listen. In the process of all of that, he was asking how to see the gods, and I mentioned they were down there, then he looked over, and he said he saw two of them."
"Two?" Talin asked, sounding impressed.
"Which means," Wraythe said, pausing when someone knocked at the door. He stood and headed that way to answer it while still talking. "The priest has enough faith to see gods, which they probably knew. Then he put you in a position to do what Zeal needed you to. Does that make him the Chosen One from the Temple of All Gods?"
"That's actually a good point," Ela said. "We always just assumed that each god would have one 'Chosen One,' but I'm starting to wonder if maybe the temples are also important on their own."
I didn't get the chance to answer, because that was when Wraythe led Amerlee into the sitting room, explaining that I'd been watching a meeting between the High Priests and how that had happened. Since that was basically all Wraythe knew, it caught them up enough for me to keep going. But the moment she stepped inside our sitting room, Amerlee stopped hard and a smile took over her face.
"Oh, this is beautiful," she breathed. "I absolutely love the color."
Shalsa walked in right behind her. "I think it's the paintings that make it all work so well. The flowers soften the bold colors just enough."
"I'm not even going to ask if the furniture is safe to sit on. All of you are going to let me live in ignorance," Irila teased as she caught Jamik's arm and led him to the closest couch.
"So," Jamik said, sitting on the middle cushion and gesturing for Amerlee and Shalsa to join him, "it's not unheard of for all of the High Priests to have meetings. It's how they make agreements on utilizing new technology, adapting to cultural changes, and basically keeping the temples relevant."
"Does that include debating whether the temples are beholden to the barons or the barons are beholden to the temples?" I asked.
"It's actually an old argument," Amerlee told me. "It's also one that they can't do much about. The laws of Calseth -"
"Are locked in a glass case," I finished for her. "A glass case that can be opened with six different keys, it seems. Each High Priest has one. Kinen insists that the tears are no longer working, which is a sign that it's their duty to take over the responsibilities that were formally considered miraculous. Things likealtering the laws."
"Fuck," Shalsa breathe. "That can't be good."
"More than that," I continued, "Temptation, Ambition, and Inspiration believe the annual financial reports are a waste of time. Barons should be giving the entire tithe to the temples and then getting an allowance for the civil services that each barony needs. That would remove the entire problem of their wives potentially taking over the way Maela has done." I lifted a brow and looked around the room to make sure they noticed that part. "Needless to say, Rebexa did not agree. And here's the most shocking part. Kinen told the High Priestess of Perception that she should be glad they hadn't had her removed yet because, as a woman, she had been an irrational and incompetent leader of her temple."
"That's bold," Shalsa huffed.
"Because she's a woman?" Nari asked, sounding horrified.
I nodded, but Amerlee waved that off. "Most priests believe that men and women are equal. It's something that's taught throughout our primary courses. Even the shared bathing facilities when we're younger encourage that mentality. The sexes may be different, but one is not necessarily better than the other. Kinen, however, began to promote more men to his advisory council after spending time with high society."
"It's an alluring idea," Ela pointed out. "Being told that we're better because we can piss standing? It takes a lot less effort than actually being better. It also gives power to a man who is clearly desperate for as much as he can latch on to. Tath is no different. He expected Maela to be a little trinket that he could show off who would produce heirs on command. When she tried to help him with his responsibilities, instead of being appreciative, he not only pushed her away and abused her, he also refused to do his own work, acting as if it had been tainted."
