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"No," Maela said, shock filling her voice. "Yamina, the name..."
"What?" Yamina begged. "If it's not Thiemo..." Then her eyes landed on me. "Oh, no. No, no, no. He can't take him from you." And the young woman turned to the back of the room, proving that she knew Zeal was there.
Except that our god had made his way closer. His face was still filled with regret, but in two steps, he closed the distance and dropped his hands on both of Yamina's shoulders. I wanted to beg Zeal to not make it Talin, to find some other way to make this work. All I could think about was how much he'd been hurting yesterday, how he'd been worried that Talin would pull away, and now I was afraid I knew why.
But Zeal just lowered his face to meet Yamina's eyes. "I'm sorry. I told you I had plans for you, but I never expected them so soon. I never thought Nari could do this so fast, and I had to take the chance."
"With Talin?" Yamina asked, her voice quavering. "But he loves Nari!"
"With you," Zeal said. "I need a baron strong enough to help me fix this. I need you to be that person, Baron Yamina Ranndor."
"Fuck," Yamina breathed.
Chapter 76
Nariana
"No!" Kinen roared. "This is more proof. The relics no longer work."
"They work," Rebexa called out. "You simply refuse the results our gods have written."
And through the crowd flowed the same questions, over and over.
"Who is it?"
"Who's the baron?"
"What name was written?"
"Was a name written?"
Zeal just kept talking to Yamina, ignoring it all. "The more power that man takes from my temple, the more I have to put in the citizens. This time, it's women, Yamina. I need you to do this. I am trusting you, and I know you can do it. Maela's told you about the priestesses, right?"
"She has," Yamina promised.
Zeal just held the girl's eyes for a little too long. "Good. I think you understand." And then he stepped back.
Which was when Kinen's voice boomed through the room. "This is proof!" That made the crowd fall silent and shift back, so Kinen just gestured at the glass box. "The tears no longer mark priests for one Path. Now the book can't choose a proper baron?"
"My name is written there," Yamina called back. "My name, Priest Kinen. I am the daughter of Tarben Ranndor. I am in the line of succession, whether you like it or not, and my god has asked me to do this."
"You're a woman!" Kinen shot back.
And Yamina's lips curled in the kind of smile I would expect to see on Ela's face. The dangerous kind. "I'm so glad you noticed. I also don't see where that's prohibited in the Book of Laws." She tipped her head to the case just as the pages began to turn. "Go ahead. Show me. Or maybe you should just accept that all the power you strip from the priestesses in the temple has to go somewhere. Our god is real, High Priest. Zeal is the one who has named me, and I will take my place as the Baron of Temptation."
"Oh, I knew I liked her," Wraythe purred beside my ear. "Zeal did good."
If only it were so easy. With each word Yamina called out, the faces of the crowd changed. Some began to smile proudly, like Rebexa and my brother, Jeerad. Others scowled. Among those was Kinen, but Pia reacted first.
"Are you trying to ruin us?" she demanded, pushing her way closer to Yamina. "You stop this nonsense right now."
But Maela moved in front of Yamina, shielding the woman she loved with her own body and Pia's grandson. "You're the one making a mockery of our family, Pia."
"You're not a part of this family!" Pia screamed. "I want you out of Sandrest. I want you gone, and her!" Pia's finger stabbed right towards me.
"Mother," Talin growled, making his way over. "You're overcome by shock. The grief is making you say things you'll regret." He struggled to reach his mother's side, but the press of bodies was just too thick.
"You... you..." And Pia waved her arms at all of us. "It was fine before you women forgot your place. How dare you destroy my son? What are you thinking, taking what should be your brother's by right?"
