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Jamik looked up to offer me a kind smile. "Also explains the party in here last night, in case anyone noticed that your men never made it home." He lifted a hand. "And they already told me. But when Saval gets here, I'm taking the guys for breakfast."
"I'm staying," Talin said.
"They expect this to be a private thing," Jamik warned him.
Talin lifted a shoulder, shrugging like he didn't care. "My ward, my responsibility. At any time she will be vulnerable around others, I am bound to watch over her. That is the duty, Jamik. Doesn't hurt that it also reminds them that she is on the Path of the Body right now."
"They'll try to kick you out," Amerlee warned. "Well, the priestess coming for the High Priest will."
"Don't care," he said. "I grew up playing these games. I'm actually pretty good at them."
"Yeah..." I said, "but Talin? Can you... You know?"
"Keep my dick from getting hard? I'll manage. I'm also starting to see what Zeal was talking about. The rules are being twisted not to keep us safe or train us, but to maintain power and require less effort. Kicking me out makes you vulnerable. That weakens your resolve, and a friendly attitude makes you more likely to talk, just to ease the awkwardness of the whole thing. If the wrong thing is said, then it will be held against you forever." He tugged at his sleeves, because it seemed all the guys had found shirts while I bathed. "Also helps your cause that my marks are from Intuition."
"They are?" Jamik asked.
"Oh, yeah," I said. "Straight, solid black lines? The only lace he has is on his hands and my marks on his back."
Jamik looked up at Amerlee. "I think we need to use that."
"Not if it's going to have him reassigned," she replied.
"Can't," Talin said. "I'm the promised child. The sacrifice from the baron to Zeal. I'm the proof of that bond, and no child of the six houses haseverbeen accepted by any other than the one their house tithes to."
Amerlee smiled. "So a priestess with too much acceptance from our god, and a priest who barely belongs. What if we play Nari's marks off as a counter to Talin's?"
"It might cause problems for him," Jamik pointed out.
"Pretty sure I can deal," Talin assured them. "But if we play this off as Zeal's way of bringing the Ranndor house back into the fold, it might let the High Priest relax a bit. Considering that my brother recently inherited the title, it's even more plausible. Like I said, I grew up doing this."
"Nari, can you work that into casual conversation?"
"I'll try," I said. "I'm not sure how without making it appear I don't respect my priest."
"We're new together," Talin reminded me. "I'm also not easily offended. I promise I won't be mad if you lash out while they're here. Use the things you know about me, and push."
"Ok," I agreed. "When are they supposed to be here?"
"Any minute," Jamik said, looking over at Eladehl and Wraythe. "Breakfast?"
"I'm starving," Eladehl admitted.
Jamik huffed at that. "Considering you didn't even get to the drinks? Yeah, I'm not surprised. Let's go."
Wraythe paused, looking over at me. "We'll make sure this works out."
"Thank you, giant," I said, stealing Zeal's nickname for him.
It made his face soften, but didn't quite get me a smile. But as they headed out, Jamik greeted someone on the other side. I heard him explain that he'd made sure the suite wasn't distracting, greeted Saval by name, but the other earned a generic "Priestess." Amerlee headed over to invite them in, but I just sat on the couch with my hands laced in my lap, trying to decide if I should pray.
"Nervous?" Saval asked when she walked in.
I nodded. "You have no idea. When I said I wanted Zeal to choose my Path for me, I had no idea it would end up like this."
"Excuse me?" the priestess asked, following Saval into my suite. "Did you say you didn't choose?"
The woman was beautiful. Her skin was as dark as Zeal's, but her long hair was thick and silky. Her eyes were nearly black, and she was older, maybe in her late forties or early fifties, and still wonderfully sensual. I had a feeling she'd once walked the Path of the Body and had moved up when she tired of it, not because she was no longer desired by patrons.
