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But I ignored him. "Do not try to blame me because you can't keep records, Kinen. The reason the tithe is being withheld has nothing at all to do withme. You said it yourself: I'm just an initiate. I have no sway over the barony. I have no power here, because I'm just trying to learn the lessons my god requires of me." And I flicked an eyebrow up to make the point. "One of those is that lust isn't the only emotion our temple caters to."
"Louder," Zeal said, moving to stand by my arm.
"What about Merci's celebration?" Charisma asked.
"It's one thing I'm not worried about," Merci promised. "Not while my siblings are ignored."
Which was all the permission I needed. "If you want to bring me into this, thenbring me into this,Priest Kinen," I taunted. "Just say what you mean - that your management over the Temple of Temptation has resulted in something. You say it's that the tears of our gods - tears that have marked priests for over six hundred years - no longer work. I say that our god is the strongest of the six right now because his priests haven't forgotten that he is the reason for all of our daily miracles. Now you tell me why I'm wrong?"
"Because no one has ever had five Paths on them before!" he huffed.
"And no one had ever worn lace until Zeal gave it to the first Priest of Temptation," I countered. "What are you so scared of, Kinen? Me? An initiate priestess with more classes than most, who just wants to worship her god the way he deserves? Or is it something else?"
"Oh, don't act like you're so innocent," he shot back. "Ever since you've been attending the holidays with the baron - "
"Because yousentus," Talin reminded him. "We weren't given an option, and it isn't a vacation for us."
"You even went so far as to waive my initiate status for them," I reminded him. "That was not done bymyrequest, sir."
"And all I have asked for," Maela added, "are the required records that your temple is bound by law to provide. You have refused, leaving me no other option."
"Kinen!" a woman hissed, shoving forward to reveal her elegant red dress. "This is not the place to discuss your failings with temple business! People are listening!"
"I have not failed," Kinen countered. "You don't understand, Haylea. They - "
"No!" the High Priestess of Ambition told him, cutting him off. "Screaming about your management and financial issues in the middle of another temple? It does not make you look strong."
"And this is a holiday," said a man in white who had features like my sister. "Our place is to respect the Temple of Compassion, not destroy the beauty of their ceremony. You'reallbeing disrespectful!"
Viyan made his way over, patting the air as if trying to calm everyone, but I could see the number of faces turned towards us. This little debate had just become the most interesting thing of the night. It would probably be talked about for days to come, and as far as I cared, that meant more chances for people to wonder about me and my lace. That wondering would always end up with them talking about my god, which meant more chances for them to honestly believe in Zeal.
"High Priests," Viyan soothed. "I know that change is hard, but what we've seen with the Priestess of Temptation is exciting."
"It's a sign of our gods returning," Rebexa, the High Priestess of Perception added. "This is a historical thing, and something we should be embracing."
"The bigger concern is the suggestion that the tears of our gods are no longer working," said the man in yellow. "Maybe your temple has its doubts, Priest Kinen, but I promise that Intuition looks forward to the arrival of our god. If we were lucky enough to have a Priest of Intuition, I would gladly embrace him or her."
"Which doesn't matter, because it hasn't happened," the woman from Ambition pointed out. "The temples of the gods are sacred places. For the six of us to suggest that they're faulty or above reproach sets a bad precedent."
"So stop talking about it," Kinen grumbled at her. "How I manage my priests is no business of yours."
"But it is when it weakens my own temple," Haylea reminded him. "That is all you are doing here. Keep your reprimands in your own temple, not in Viyan's, and certainly not before society."
"Oh, but you seem to have no issue with the fact that he's refusing to supply his mandatory records to me, the Primary Patron of Temptation?" Maela asked. "This is the real concern. What are you hiding, Kinen? Is it a systemic problem?"
"I told you that I would deal with your husband, Lady Ranndor," Kinen reminded her.
"But the laws of Calseth say that the baroness has the same rights as the baron," I countered. "That's the real issue here, Priest Kinen. You aren't trying to evade the laws of Calseth, are you? Of your own barony?"
"This is not the place," the man in white said again.
"But it seems I have no other options," Maela told him. "Every time I have asked for the mandatory documents, the High Priest has been busy, unavailable, not ready, or celebrating a holiday. If I try to make an appointment with him, he doesn't have any open time to see me. What do you, the High Priests of the other temples, suggest that I should do?"
"Deal with this, Kinen," Haylea growled, a clear warning in her voice.
"I would be happy to mediate for the pair of you..." Viyan tried.
Rebexa caught my eye and almost smiled. The look was subtle, but she was making it clear that she still supported me. Considering that Savi was standing at her back, I understood why. My gaze shifted to the goddess, waiting until she noticed me, and then I tipped my head in respect.
