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"We have," I agreed.
She bit her lips together for a moment as if debating whether or not she should say anything. "Anver was kinda pissed."
"What?" I asked. "That we're partners?"
"That you told him you didn't want the Path of the Body, and then ended up on it. He said that was proof that it's not all his fault. Look, I know you think he's too good for me, but I was there when you weren't, ok? I love him, but he's too hung up on you to take the next step."
"What next step?" I asked.
"He barely even kisses me," she hissed, shoving back her chair. "He says he doesn't want to, but I know it'syourfault. You broke his heart, Nari, and just because Eladehl's more popular."
"I'm not really popular," Eladehl told her.
She scoffed. "You were the hottest guy in our class. Of course you were popular. And you just stole Nariana away from him, but that's ok. Means I get him. Eventually, he'll realize how good I am to him."
I just dropped my head into my hands. "Tishlie, he doesn't like sex. He doesn't want to be touched like that. He'sasexual!"
"Everyone likes sex," she threw back. "It's why there's a Temple of Temptation. He's just scared of it. Well, was. Now he can't have it, but I'll show him other ways."
"Don't," Eladehl said. "You realize that getting hard is painful now, right? That ring they put on him? It prevents that. Like, completely."
"There's other parts," she snapped. "Believe it or not, I know what I'm doing."
And then she flounced away, leaving us both staring after her in shock. She didn't know. She had absolutely no clue, and no respect for her guardian. For a moment, I felt bad for Anver, but then I remembered that he'd done this to himself. In seeking someone he could take care of, he'd found someone who didn't care about him enough to understand.
"Can we do anything?" I asked.
Eladehl just shook his head. "Talk Tishlie into dropping down to the Path of Action? Except I don't think she will. She's too worried about what people might think of her, and being accepted on this Path is the biggest thing she's probably done in her life."
Using my fork, I pushed peas around on my plate. "I still miss him, you know?"
"Me too," Eladehl admitted. "Don't get me wrong, I love you more than anything, but it was nice to have a man around who thought of me like that. I mean, it seems Talin's into it, but I'm not sure about him yet."
"Me either," I agreed. "But I was mostly referring to just hanging out with Anver. The laughing together parts."
"Yeah, except that he now has some baggage I'd rather not deal with," Eladehl pointed out. "Tishlie gets on my last nerve. I swear, if her voice jumps up to that squeaky octave one more time, I'm going to break her little neck."
"And I'll let you." I gave up on my meal. "So, sounds like the High Priest doesn't believe my marks. Think I should be worried?"
He grabbed my plate and the one Tishlie had left, stacking them on top of his. "I think what you need to do is pray. Pretty sure you have the right guy on your side in this."
"You know I haven't really told Talin about all of that, right?"
"Didn't expect you to yet." He stood. "He's sexy, Nari, but he's a bit of an arrogant dick. And the baron's son? Well, this one's brother, but still! Make him earn your trust. He doesn't deserve it just because you slept with him. Kinda goes the other way around."
Maybe Eladehl was right, but Wraythe had earned not only my trust but also some pampering, and I still hadn't gone to check on him. While Eladehl returned our plates to be cleaned, I decided I needed to do something about that. We'd always been three, and the last two days had been a little weird without him.
Plus, I needed to come clean about Talin. Wraythe deserved to hear it from me. I'd slept with the man. I had no idea how he'd take the news, but he did deserve to know.
Chapter 43
Nariana
An hour later, I was tapping at Wraythe's door. I hadn't seen the big guy at all since Amerlee had led him away to get a ring. Eladehl had, but he wouldn't tell me much, just that it was harder for some men than others. When I'd mentioned that I wanted to talk to Wraythe, he warned me that it might not be a good idea.
I figured Wraythe could make that decision for himself, so I tapped again.
"What!" he growled from inside the room.
