Page 65 of The Ways We Betray (The Path of Temptation 4)

Chapter 23

Nariana

The mattress dipped as weight appeared on it. Looking back, I saw Zeal lying on my bed with his hands crossed behind his head, resting comfortably on the pillows. He smiled at me and then tilted his head in an invitation to join him. Turning, I crawled up the bed to lie beside him on my side so I could see his face.

"I heard," he admitted. "My name was mentioned enough that it was hard not to listen in."

"You mean me talking to the guys?"

He nodded. "And them being ok with it. I also happen to know that Anver is so happy right now. You four might not realize it, but including him as if he never left means so much to him. It makes him feel like he knows where he stands, and right now, he's thinking about kissing Ela again. Earlier today, he thought about how nice it would be to kiss Talin."

"Nice," I breathed.

"Mm," he murmured, sounding content. "And I happen to know that you care about me, but I have to try a little harder to convince you to fall in love."

I ducked my head into the bed. "It's less about harder and more about time, Zeal. When we're together, it's usually you inside my skin. I need to know the man who is my god, not just the god who appears to me as a man." Then I grunted and lifted my head. "But that's not why I called. Saval couldn't get Ciella thrown out. Kinen says she stays."

"What?!" Zeal asked, sitting up. "How did I not know this?"

"Probably because Amerlee, Shalsa, Irila, Jamik, Saval, and all the other priests helping them have been too scared of your reaction to even consider a prayer. We're scared that you'll blame Saval, but she's trying to make this right, even at the expense of her own sleep."

"Like fuck she is," Zeal grumbled before simply vanishing.

I sat up, not completely sure what had just happened. Was he going to chew her out? It sure hadn't sounded like that. Just when I was about to leave the room, Zeal was back, reappearing in the same spot and position he'd left in.

"What the fuck?" I asked.

He lowered his arms so he could push himself higher. "I told them to stop, let it go, and go to sleep," he admitted.

"And you could have warned me!" I shot back. "I wasn't sure if you'd strip Saval's lace over this."

Zeal's eyes narrowed and his head twitched. "But I can't. That's our deal. Your family is safe from me, Nari, and Saval is your mentor. That counts to you, which means it has to count to me. I'm not going to punish her for trying! It's not her fault that Kinen is a non-believer who's getting more desperate by the day. She's a good priestess, and I need her for more than teaching you."

"Like what?" I asked.

His lips curled into a smile. "She also needs to teach Yamina, but that's all I'll say. It's a secret that isn't mine to share with you."

With that, I crawled back onto the bed, but this time I used his shoulder to pillow my head. "That? It was a good answer."

"Yeah?" His arm curled around my back. "I feel bad when I can't - or shouldn't - tell you."

"But you're a god," I reminded him. "You are responsible for more people than me. I'm ok with that."

He murmured again, sinking down a little lower in the bed so our faces were closer. "I never meant to make you a target, you know."

"But you had to get noticed," I countered. "All this lace on me does that. I also know that if Kinen believed, you'd tempt him to help, or get out of the way, or something else - just like you did with all the other priests in this temple. How strong are you now, Zeal?"

"Stronger, but not strong enough."

"Which tells me almost nothing," I pointed out.

He chuckled. "How do I measure it? I'm no longer dying, but I'm also not able to do what I want freely. Is that better?"

"Yeah, because I'm trying to figure out how careful I need to be. Kinen forgave Ciella as soon as he heard I was involved. I think that means he's drawing lines, making it an us against them situation. He can't just tell the non-believers that he's lost his lace, though. Too many would use that to lift themselves up in the temple, and some of them have nowhere to go but into his position."

"Which works well for us," Zeal agreed. "But he could also create a situation of whose belief is right. They are serving to help the people. We are serving to help a god, not caring what happens to those lesser than us. It's an easy story to spin, and one that sets them up to be the 'good guys' while we're the villains."

"Is he smart enough for that?" I asked.

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