Page 119 of The Price We Pay (The Path of Temptation 1)

"Zeal!"

His face shifted to a look of disappointment. "Please. We both know those three are completely fixated on you. I also know that their rings are no longer a limitation. I can't say I'd mind the resulting show at all, but right now, my goal is to get them to see me as well."

"What are you talking about? I thought you said it was a bloodline thing."

But at the side, Wraythe was whispering to the guys. Eladehl nodded, then pointed to our kitchen-like area. Cooking wasn't really possible in there, but we had food storage, a few drinks, and a gas kettle to make coffee. Wraythe went for the latter.

"See how they're careful not to talk over me, even though they can't hear me?" Zeal asked. "It's a sign of their growing belief. Not just acceptance, but true belief that you are holding a conversation with a man they cannot see. And while those from your bloodlinecansee me, that doesn't mean you always know what you're seeing. Just like how you assumed I was a priest."

"Ok?"

Zeal patted the bench beside him. "Sit. Tell your guys to sit - preferably not on me."

"Guys?" I said, looking at them. "Sounds like he wants us to get comfortable." And I claimed the cushion Zeal had indicated. "So, what do the two things have to do with each other? I'm confused, Zeal."

"Sorry," he said. "It's hard to remember that you don't yet have a foundation to start from. Back when we gods were new, we walked the world. Everyone saw us - yet gods are far from perfect. We're people, Nariana, just like you. Often imperfect and always some variant of relatable. Unfortunately, the more normal we are, the less people believe. It didn't take long before some couldn't see us, then some only saw us occasionally, and then it was only our priests."

"Oh."

He nodded. "And we are not omnipotent. We have power over a small slice of what it means to be human, and no control over the rest. I cannot stop aging, as an example. We did not create you, but we were made to guide you. There are some gifts I can give, such as the marks, or even your revenge with that shallow twit and her hair. Well, the golden one's revenge." He looked over to Eladehl. "Although I'm not at all disappointed that he finally embraced his darker side."

I giggled. "Don't get distracted by him."

"By who?" Talin asked.

"Zeal's admiring Eladehl," I explained.

"I amsook with that," Eladehl promised. "Wait, he's into men, right?"

Zeal ducked his head to chuckle. "I'm into everything. Men, women, women who want to be men, men who want to be women, and even those lucky ones who have figured out a way to change when they were born wrong. I'm attracted to those who prefer talk to sex, those who prefer sex to talk, and everything in between. So, yes. I'm very much into the pleasures of the flesh."

"He says yes," I told Eladehl.

Zeal twisted his head without lifting it to smile at me. It was an almost conspiratorial look. "But before we get distracted, let me finish. The descendants of our first priest, the woman who cared for us all, were granted the ability to see. That would be you, and your father before you. He just never realized that the woman standing alone - or the man - were anything other than normal. Most of you don't, and no, you are not the only one, simply the only one who was surrendered to become a priestess." His eyes held me. "I had to fight for you, Nariana. For most children, their temple is easy to choose. It rolls inside them, the most basic part of their personality. Intelligence, wisdom, artistic ability, kindness, or even a drive for more. Then there are those who lean towards a slightly darker path. The ones who are not ashamed of their rage or sensuality. Your tantrum that day? It gave me a claim the others could not deny."

"I was just mad," I admitted.

He nodded slowly. "And unashamed of it. So I claimed you, marking your hands with my color instead of theirs. Conversely, there are people like your guardian. Talin, I believe? Mundane names are so hard to keep track of. He was born as mine. His family swore him to me long before his grandparents were born. His soul, however, is made of wisdom. He notices the smallest things and knows just how to act on them. He should have been the property of Bode, which is why his marks are in my brother's pattern."

I had no idea how that worked, but right now, there was one thing that mattered first. "Is Bode involved with him?"

"To a point," Zeal admitted. "He would like to be more involved later, but he does not want to confuse the man's education. He has a feeling it wouldn't be hard to steer him away from all of us if one of us pushes too hard."

"I actually agree with you on that. So what were you talking about with the seeing?"

"My priests," Zeal explained. "Whileyouwere born with the ability to see all gods, those who have surrendered their lives to a god can eventually see him or her. Justtheirgod, though. Me, in this case. It happens when they truly, deeply, and without a doubt believe in me. When they stop assuming there's a rational explanation for everything and start realizing there's a divine push on even the most rational things. When that happens, they will see me. The more of them who can, the more real I will be."

That one word caught my attention. "What do you mean, 'real?'"

Zeal leaned over his knees as if settling in for a hard subject. "Humans are born, you live, and you die. Life and death, that is your existence. For a god, it is reality or imagined, and faith is waning. Once, I had the strength to topple buildings and raise others. Power. Miracles. Now? I cannot even hold your hair unless the situation is just right. I am dying, Nariana, and I want you to save me. Us, actually, because when I go, so will my siblings. The big question is if you're willing to help us."

"How?" I asked.

He reached his arm over to lay his hand on my knee. I could feel it, but only barely. "I need the power to touch your world again. To do that, I first need your lovers to believe."

"What is your end goal?"

"To make you my tool. All four of you. To seduce, to damage, to allow rage to run its course. There is a reason why I send my priests to be abused. Look at that man who battered your mentor. Did you know that the rage he burned out on her would have been used to strangle his own wife? Or the women who beat her so badly you asked me to heal her? They are both still alive because their rampage was stopped by the guardian. I offer my priests up for areason. I do not risk you lightly, either. Giving your body to a stranger can give him the courage to find his own love. Sessions of shame can embolden the patron or restrain them. Doing those makes you my tool, can't you see? While I cannot affect the world, you still can. The difference is that I intend to make you the greatest priestess this world has ever seen. To make a moment with your body or the whip of your tongue so miraculous that peoplebelieveagain. The big question is if you'll do it?"

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