Page 145 of The Games We Play (The Path of Temptation 3)

Istood against the wall, watching while Tishlie slapped Osas across the face again. The man was handsome, and I could see why Eladehl liked him so much. He had elegant features, but something about him reminded me of Wraythe too. He wasn't as big - no one was - but his nature reminded me a bit of a plush bear. Something that would be nice to hold onto and squeeze.

Osas turned his head with the blow, taking it much too easily. "I'm sorry, mistress," he said as he turned back to her again.

So Tishlie hit him harder. Sadly, my ward had no ideahowto hit. She was using her open palm and flailing. There was no real power behind it. She wasn't using any of the sexual aids. I got the impression that she wanted to prove she didn't need them, but the truth was that she did.

Just as her hand connected with the man's cheek again, every mark across my body flared to life, tingling with an uncomfortable warmth, as if electricity rushed through the lace. My body jerked straight, and just like that, I knew. Without a shadow of a doubt in my mind, I knew that Nariana needed me.

Fuck Tishlie. Fuck my grade. Fuck everything else. That pull was so strong that I turned, but I didn't even make it a step before something rushed through me. My thoughts grew jumbled, my senses became numbed, and my body began to move on its own. One single thought hammered my mind:my love.

Not mine. Zeal's, and I was no longer in control. Within the space of a heartbeat, he'd taken me over, and we were headed for the door. I quickly thought how to work the lock, then my hands did it, a hint of appreciation trickling through my mind. Zeal wrenched open the door and together, we stormed out, knowing exactly which way to go.

I hadn't been told what room she was in, but Zeal knew. I could see the rooms passing by. I could hear something in the distance. None of it mattered, because my head wouldn't turn to look. Fear slammed into my brain, but it was the fear of a god. The intensity of the feeling was so thick that I could barely breathe. Nari was hurt. Talin was dying. We needed to move a whole lot faster.

Run, I told him.

We ran, but Zeal couldn't contain himself anymore. "I need them all!" he roared, his voice burning my throat with its power.

The sound boomed through the open area under the dome. Somehow, I knew that Wraythe couldn't leave Ela. He had to get him free first. That meant I needed someone else. My mind latched onto a guardian, then another, and still another. I'd make them burn. I'd force them to obey. I needed more, and I would never leave her alone. She was mine! I wasn't ready to lose her before I even had her, and she'd never forgive me if the Blade was lost.

No, those were Zeal's thoughts. Not mine, but I could follow them - barely. They moved so fast, so much information hitting me at once, but above it all was the fear. For her, for him, for us. Talin's body was too red. I knew that even if I didn't know what it meant. Someone would pay. My priests - no, his - were to be treasured.

People were running from every direction, but I reached the door first. Zeal tried to open it, but the thing was locked from the inside, yet this was only wood. I was a god, but the body was flesh. It might break. When I realized he meant me, I promised him that I didn't care. If Zeal could use me to open that, then I would heal. He needed to do it.

My shoulder slammed into the wood, and it hurt, but the pain was far away. The second hit was harder. The third made something splinter, and thankfully it wasn't my body. I could feel the impacts bruising my body, but it wasn't enough to stop a god. Zeal pushed through the broken door and turned right for Talin.

"Nari?" we begged.

She wailed something behind the gag in her mouth, but I understood.He's dying. She meant Talin, and that was where Zeal was going. From the corner of my eye, I saw someone else rush into the room behind us, then another, but Zeal was locked onto Talin's crumpled body. The red, it was blood, and it poured down Talin's body, onto the floor. Locked away in my own mind, I screamed in fear.

There was a deep wound on the side of Talin's neck. Zeal dropped us down beside him and pressed our hand to it, and then something happened. Some force rushed through me, channeled by a god. Souls, power, and more. I couldn't even comprehend what he was doing, but I knew he had to. I knew it was all surging into Talin.

"Live," we breathed, our voice combined to be more.

Which was when the others slammed into the priest and his guardian. I focused on that, unable to move my own eyes away from Talin's neck, but I could watch from my peripheral vision. Harlin shoved the guardian against the wall, but the other guy, Nyrren, was fighting with someone. Jamik! Yet Nyrren had no intention of giving up. In his hand was a blade, one meant for seduction, but the blood on it explained Talin's neck.

He slashed at Jamik, and it wasn't a feint. Jamik ducked back, dodged, and surged back in. I saw when he pulled the dagger from his belt. I knew there was no other choice, but the god inside me felt nothing but anguish. Nyrren slashed again, and Jamik did the only thing he could. He thrust, shoving that dagger deep into the man's chest, stopping the frenzy, protecting a god's desire - ending the insanity before anyone else could be hurt.

Wobem shoved at the guardian on him desperately. Harlin caught his arms, using his mass to press the leaner man against the wall just as the fight left Wobem completely. The redhead wailed, his eyes locked on his desire when Nyrren wilted to the ground, his eyes still open but seeing nothing.

"This is not what I wanted!" Zeal roared. "This is not a lesson. This is not protecting them. These are my priests, and I expect them to be treasured!"

Yet all I cared about was whether Talin would live and if Nari was ok. The way we were facing, I couldn't see her, but I heard Jamik rushing to her side. I could hear her muffled sounds.

"I got you," Jamik promised.

"Nari!" Wraythe roared as he rushed into the room.

"She's safe now," Jamik said.

But Wobem was still wailing. His grief was turning hysterical, which meant Nyrren was dead. The sound drew more people, and they were all crowding around the door. I heard gasps and whispers. I could feel their presence, yet that power was still pouring through me and into Talin, taking Zeal's concentration.

"Can we save him?" I asked, surprised when the words came out of my mouth.

"It will burn," Zeal told me, his voice thicker than mine, trying to force my vocal cords to accommodate him.

"I don't fucking care."

For a split second, peace washed over me, but the pain followed right behind it. I wanted to say it felt like fire, but that wasn't true. It was simply the closest thing I could think of. This felt like the world was turned inside out, tilted on its side, and ripping me apart. It felt like something I should never be able to experience. It also felt a lot like a chance, and beneath my hand, my soul was dragged into Talin's body.

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