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"But Nari needs to make sure she stays away from Kinen," Shalsa said. "The harder we push, the more he's going to blame her."
"So what do I do?" I asked. "I mean, I'm not overly worried about passing my classes, and the gods just gave the guys the sight - "
"What?" Amerlee asked, breaking in. "What sight?"
"Like I have," I told her. "That's what the High Priest of Compassion wanted from me. The gods were in his office."
"All six of them," Talin explained. "They did some sort of ritual, and now Wraythe, Ela, Anver, and I can see them just as easily as Nari. They said this is something she shouldn't have to do on her own."
"But what are you supposed to do?" Amerlee pressed. "Gods don't do things without a reason. I'm sure they have a plan for this."
"They said they're dying," I admitted. "While Zeal is thriving lately, not all of them are. One priest is enough to keep them alive, but only barely, and they're still powerless. They need believers. They need that like we need air, and not all of them have it."
"Merci seemed stronger," Talin admitted. "She has all of Nari's siblings, plus Priest Viyan, and I got the impression they aren't all. Savi has Peyron and Priestess Rebexa."
"And Edrik," I added. "So at least three, if not more by now."
"But Bode, Will, and Charisma are still desperate," Talin explained. "They can't come into Zeal's temple. They simply do not have the power for that."
"Each temple was made to be a sanctuary," I told them. "Now, they have become prisons, because the extra power the gods get is all that seems to be keeping them alive."
"Real," Talin corrected. "Zeal said that gods are real or imagined, not alive or dead. That's how they judge their existence."
"So, real," I corrected myself. "But the point is that the power of Zeal's home is more than the others can overcome right now. Well, I'm not sure about all of them, but the weakest three I know can't come in here. They wanted all five of us to be able to see them so that I don't have to run all over to do it."
"Which makes me think they might need something," Talin said. "The way I see it, Nari, they did this so you can worry about what's going on in this temple and the rest of us can deal with their issues. There are five of us and six gods. You focus on Zeal and making sure Kinen can't keep him from gaining even more power, and we'll handle everything else."
"You guys handle the gods and we will deal with the politics," Jamik agreed.
"And together, we'll find a way to make all of this happen," Amerlee said. "This is what parents do, Nari. You four shouldn't have to worry about anything but your classes and avoiding Kinen, and we'll try to make this as easy on you as possible."
"Five," I corrected. "Anver's with us again. With the extra space, we even have room to make sure he stays this time."
"Five," Amerlee agreed. "And you make sure that Anver knows he's welcome over here too. He's as much ours as the rest of your boys."
"Men," Talin mumbled under his breath.
"So long as you are with my daughter," Jamik told him, "you will deal with being a boy. I don't care if you're eighty. That's the way this works, Talin. Sorry."
"Sure, Dad," Talin joked, but his words just made all four of our mentors smile proudly.
Chapter 13
Nariana
We spent the rest of the weekend debating what we wanted to do with our new extra-large suite. Naturally, Ela wanted to make one of the living rooms into a fuck den. Wraythe thought it would make a great place to store the weapons and other bulky supplies. Anver suggested that we make it a study area, furnishing it with comfortable chairs and pillows so we could recline on the floor.
It was Talin who figured out how to make the most of it. He suggested we do all of those things in a single room. With the right furniture, kinky sex would be easier. With plush pillows, we could relax on the floor to read or use them to protect our knees if someone ended up kneeling. There was no reason we couldn't hang the weapons on the walls, and if we got an extra table, then we would have a place for casual meals and writing out our homework.
Although if we were going to redecorate one room, then we might as well redo the other. The couches and chairs we'd inherited with our suite weren't exactly the most attractive. The former occupants who'd left them had no taste. They'd decorated the living room in pink. The dressing room still had hints of orange. Since the Priests of Obligation were so willing to help us, then it only made sense that we should let them paint as well.
Naturally, the guys wanted to do everything in earth tones and subdued colors, but I was having none of it. I wanted my home to be bright and happy, and that meant using at least a little color. It wasn't hard to convince the guys that our old living room should become a more formal area for when we had company over. Considering that Amerlee, Jamik, Irila, and Shalsa would be frequent guests, they agreed easily. Never mind Saval, Roek, Harlin, or any of our other friends who might stop by.
The hard part was convincing them that just because we were Priests of Temptation, we didn't have to do everything in Zeal's black or the purple and teal of the gods. Wraythe thought purple furniture would count as color. I thought it might be a little excessive. Instead, I convinced them that our couches and chairs should be black, and that a purple rug would be nice. It would be even better if we could find a rug in a pattern that only had some purple in it.
Once they agreed to that, it was easy to decide that the dressing room should be repainted in shades of greens and blues. I gave in and accepted that we'd be doing the bedroom in darker colors. Wraythe, Talin, and Anver all wanted charcoal gray. That worked, though, since it meant that our bedding could be anything we wanted. Ela's only requirement was that we replace the atrocious paintings. I thought it was a brilliant idea.
Unfortunately, the next week came much too quickly, and with it, the return of our classes. On the upside, this was our last semester as initiate priests. As long as we could pass our classes - even with low grades - we would all graduate to disciple and half of Kinen's threats would evaporate. With Saval and Roek as our main instructors, we were finally being treated fairly, so that was one thing I didn't have to worry about.
