Page 120 of The Games We Play (The Path of Temptation 3)

"It's like every doubt I have starts screaming at me," I explained, turning so my back was to Wraythe and her back could lean against my chest. Then I wrapped my arms around her shoulders. "It's this exhaustion, but not a lack of physical energy. It's all mental. About ten minutes after one of those sessions, I feel like I've spent my life trying so hard just to fail."

"You don't fail," she promised me, reaching up to lace her fingers with mine. "You were amazing in there, and now I know what Wraythe means when he says that you never lose control. Not even a slip."

Talin moved to sit on the edge of the tub, his eyes on me, not Nari. "I don't like that you were left wanting."

I waved that away. "Not really a sexual thing for me, babe."

"Then what is it?" he asked. "I'm not judging, Ela. I'm honestly curious."

All I could do was sigh. "It's more like soul purging. It's as sexual for me as your weapons classes are for you. You might love them, and you can feel the rush of winning a match, but you aren't doing it for an orgasm. You're looking for something else, right?"

"Pride," he said.

I nodded. "Revenge, in my case. No, I can't tell you why, but that's what it feels like."

"And you, Nari?" he asked.

She tilted her head back to look up at me. "Power, I think," she admitted. "Possibly control, but that's just a form of power, isn't it?"

"Ithink so," I told her. "And so you all know, this?" I hugged Nari a little closer. "This helps. It makes the fears go away. It stops the dark whispers. It..." I searched my mind for the right words. "You all make me feel like I'm honestly loved. Like I'm fine just the way I am. The fact that you touch me after that?"

"It refills everything you just burned off," Nari said softly. "Yeah, I think that's why Zeal gave us both partnersandguardians. He knew we'd need a little support."

"So does Anver," I pointed out, bringing us back to the real issue here.

Nari sighed, her body relaxing into me. "He never left us. She may have stolen him away, but in his heart, he never left."

"Yeah," I breathed, because she'd said that perfectly.

"We betrayed him," she added. "When he needed us the most, we cut him out and left him adrift. Everything I was mad at him about, we did too. The difference is that all this time, Anver carried the blame and never threw it back in our faces."

"So we'll bring him back," Talin said.

Behind me, Wraythe was nodding. "And if Tishlie doesn't like it, fuck her," he grumbled.

Talin leaned in to kiss my brow. "Which means this was a success, Ela." Then he moved to do the same to Nari. "And I have a feeling Anver will make fucking sure you don't fail."

"I don't even care anymore," she admitted. "I feel like every day I stumble across some new way that this entire system is broken. Fuck my grades. Fuck them trying to keep me on one Path. The temple is broken, and that's what Zeal wants us to fix. I'm the Priestess of Temptation, and I'm supposed to repair his faith. Well, that starts here, doesn't it?"

"I honestly don't know," I told her.

"Step one," she said, "we get Anver back. Step two, we make sure Oryll knows I'm not scared of him anymore. Step three, I pass my classes - whether they like it or not."

"There's my girl," Talin said. "So, I guess seeing Ela get all sadist lit a fire under you, huh?"

"In me," she corrected. "Watching him with Tishlie, I realized that temptation isn't about asking. It's about forcing someone to bend their will to mine. It's about manipulating, pulling strings, and refusing to sit down, shut up, or be the meek one."

"Which is why Zeal keeps telling you to rage," I breathed, putting the pieces together. "Then we'll rage together, Nari."

"And I will always hold you when you need to crash," she promised. "It's the least I can do for everything you do for me."

Those words were all it took to make the last of my fears and doubts dissolve like mist. I could do this. Together, we would become unstoppable. We were her chosen, and she was Zeal's. Maybe we weren't like everyone else, but they also hadn't been noticed by a god. We had, and I was starting to figure out why.

Because we weren't the kind and gentle ones. We were just loyal, and that mattered more than anything else.

Chapter 45

Nariana

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