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"We've been trying," I told her, "but it's not easy. We don't all have the same classes, and I'm kinda the only girl."
She nodded. "Well, if you think there's trouble brewing, find a priest.Anypriest. Tell them you're reporting like I told you and have them bring you to this office. I hope this will end it, but I willnottolerate my students bullying each other. We are all here for the same purpose."
"To be Zeal's Temptation," I said softly.
"Exactly," Saval agreed. "Now, spend the rest of the night talking about this. I will have your evening coursework excused."
Anver and I didn't say a thing until we were out of the office and halfway up the hall. Somewhere in there, I'd found his hand again. He squeezed my fingers reassuringly once, but when we got to the hall that led to our rooms, he paused.
"I really am ok. I didn't mean to push her, but I didn't think it would turn into that."
I just sighed and stepped into him so I could press my face against his shoulder. "Being ok doesn't make it right, Anver. Being different doesn't make you a freak or a joke. You spend so much time trying to make sure that no one hurts me, but you know what? Being a friend means that I get to do the same."
He wrapped his arms around my back. "Thank you. I feel like the worst guardian in the world right now."
"You're not. When Jamik gets hurt, Amerlee fusses all over him. That's how it's supposed to work. You get to be strong, and I get to be sweet."
He kissed the top of my head. "You are going to be an amazing priestess, you know that? Zeal must be proud."
"Of you too." I looked up into his face. "I know it would've been a lot easier to ignore it, pretend it didn't happen, or say it was ok. Instead, you fought, and isn't that exactly what a guardian is supposed to do?"
"And I will fight even harder for you," he promised.
"Yeah, I know."
I stepped back, tugging him with me, but my destination wasn't his room. It was Eladehl's, because our friends deserved to know he was ok. I just hoped he really was.
Chapter 16
Nariana
Ciella was good for almost a month after that, but when she struck again, it was with a vengeance. After making sure Anver really was as ok as he said, the four of us made the mistake of letting down our guard. Ciella had been called out; none of us thought she'd be crazy enough to try again.
That was why Eladehl thought nothing of running downstairs to the kitchen late at night for a snack. There was always something left out for the kids, and growing boys took a lot of food. He didn't come back. Luckily, Wraythe was studying with him, so when half an hour passed, he headed to my room to see if he'd gotten distracted.
The banging woke me up. I cracked open the door in my pajamas, which told Wraythe enough. He huffed out something about Eladehl being missing and turned for Anver's door. Like me, he'd been asleep. Unlike me, his chest was bare, but once he heard that Eladehl had gone for a snack and never came back, he didn't care.
The three of us hurried toward the kitchen. It was down a floor, one level under the student rooms. We didn't even make it all the way before we heard the whimpering. It sounded like a boy begging, "Please," so we all moved faster.
Anver had the sense to turn on the lights. The gas flared up, a few of the wall sconces popping as they caught, but it was enough to see Eladehl. Laying across the middle table in the room, he was covered in what looked like candle wax. For a moment, I couldn't figure out what he'd been doing, then I noticed the unnatural position of his hands. Curled up over his head, his elbows pointed to the ceiling, and his wrists were hidden below the edge of the table.
"By Zeal's fury," I breathed. "He's been tied!"
We all raced for a different side. When I reached him, I realized that not only were his hands bound, but there was also a rope across his neck. Working on that one first, I left the tightened knot around his wrists for Wraythe's strong hands, but that one glimpse told me everything. Eladehl's shirt had been torn open. His pants had slipped down - hopefully when he was struggling - to expose the close-cropped golden hair across the top of his pelvis. A wet mark stained his pants, but it wasn't large enough to be from pee.
It felt like all of us got him loose at the same time, and Eladehl immediately sat up, reaching for the person closest. That was Anver. The boy wrapped him up in his arms and held him while Eladehl sobbed. Cracked pieces of wax dropped from his body, and I could see the red marks they'd left behind.
"There were too many," he whimpered. "I couldn't fight them all, and there were just too many. They all had candles, which was why they could see, but I hadn't planned on staying. I was just going to get a snack, and then they were all holding me, and when it hurt..." He paused to swallow, his eyes shifting over to me. "I prayed, Nari. It hurt so bad that I prayed, and then it started to feel good."
"What did they do?" I asked.
He shook his head. "They just poured wax on me and laughed. When I..." He looked down at his lap. "When I came, they laughed harder."
I couldn't even find words to soothe him because I was so angry. Thankfully, Anver had that. Wraythe was hovering over them both. Eladehl would be ok, but the pranks had gone too far with Anver. This time, I wouldn't ignore it.
Before anyone could stop me, I backed away. Pure, raw fury was brewing in my mind, and I desired nothing more than to give in to this temptation. I wanted to hurt someone. I wanted to shame them the way they'd just shamed my friend. All I needed was a direction, and Eladehl accidentally gave it.
"I recognized Ciella and Ryshie," he said. "I couldn't make out all the others, but I'm pretty sure I saw Kald. There were at least ten, though, and I couldn't push them all off. I tried."
