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"Wait, there's more?"
So I showed him both of my hands, bending each finger as I named it. "Eladehl, Talin, Wraythe."
"And the one on your wedding finger?" he asked.
"You won't believe me."
He smiled. "Try me, because I have a feeling you're going to say Zeal."
I just nodded. "Yeah. And the person in the know? It's him."
"Fuck," Anver groaned. "The girl who walks in shadows. The golden boy. The giant. The blade. Shit, how did I not see this?"
"What?" I asked, because we were all talking in partial sentences now. "What are you talking about, Anver?"
"In my Choosing, a voice that sounded like something I can't describe told me my penance would be short because I was needed. The girl who walks in shadows couldn't always do it alone. The golden boy had to be steered away from danger. The giant couldn't be allowed to fall. The blade would cut without a mark." He licked at his lips. "I thought it was some esoteric shit. Like, some line from one of the books I read, and that the isolation was getting to me."
"That," I told him, "was Zeal. Anver, I think we're going to need you. Maybe it's time to try again?"
"I'd like that," he told me, his voice soft. "So much more than you know."
Chapter 49
Nariana
At some point during the week, the High Priest accepted Saval's proposal for me to only take two additional courses. Evidently, my newest mentor had started with none, begrudgingly said she could fit in one extra in the allotted time, and made two sound almost impossible. She got the High Priest to agree that I could follow the Path of the Body and take a core class each year from two other Paths. This year, those would be Obligation and Protection.
Then it was time for our orientation. The Paths of Protection and the Body shared many things, from the facilities we lived in to the courses we'd be taking. Because of this, all of the new students in both Paths would start their orientation together. On the eighth day after Choosing, the four of us set off to the instruction hall together.
Today was the first day of my first year as an initiate priestess in the Temple of Temptation. Just thinking about it like that was somewhat awe-inspiring. The title sounded impressive, even though it meant next to nothing. Still, I'd moved from being a child to a woman, and now I was starting the next phase of my life.
But when the four of us stepped into the classroom, the conversation dimmed. A few heads turned toward us. I was holding Eladehl's hand, not thinking about it, and the guys were behind us. Mainly because only two people could fit through the door at a time. Still, the change made me wonder if Anver had said something. Everyone in here was from my year - the others would join us in a week when the real classes started - which meant we weren't new faces. Well, except Talin.
Like he was reading my mind, Talin waved. "Hi, I'm the guy who got held back for bad grades."
Then I heard the first whisper. "They're officially partnered!"
"Are you really surprised? The three have been inseparable for years."
"And the new one ishot.I would so jump on his dick."
"You can't, moron. He's the guardian."
"Whyare all the sexy ones ringed?"
Which meant Anver hadn't said a thing. It was simply the fact that we had a suite already, and that people weren't trying to warn us that we'd grow apart like I'd heard them say to other couples in recent years. I knew we wouldn't, though. The four of us were different in so many ways, but all of us fit together to make something amazing. It was the acceptance that had held us together.
We'd barely claimed our seats - taking a set right off the aisle - when a man walked to the front of the room. He was built like a guardian and, just like the rest of us, wearing the black robes of our god. The man stood there for a moment, yet nothing changed. It did when he let out a piercing whistle.
"Listen up! I'm Priest Ghale. I am the instructor for all Protection initiates. This..." And he gestured to a lean, beautifully effeminate man. "...is Priest Oryll. He will be instructing those on the Path of the Body. We're both dedicated to the Path of the Word. Today, we will discuss the courses you may choose from, and the various preferences for the Priests of the Body. Oryll?"
"Throughout your student years," Oryll said, his voice sultry and disarming, "you were prohibited from penetration. By now, all of you know the limitations of the Path of Protection. The ring is to assist you though, guardians. It will prevent you from being pulled into a session, potentially letting your guard down, or misinterpreting the sort of affection Zeal wants you to have for your ward."
"Such a crock of shit!"
The words were loud enough that I sat up straight, but no one else seemed to have heard it. Looking to the source, I found Zeal leaning against the wall. He looked over at me and shrugged.
"I'm always amused by this speech. It's the same every year, and always just as pointless."
