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"Ela's the dominant." I was completely confused now.
"No," Talin corrected, "he's the punisher. He canbethe dominant, but that's not what drives him. Ela is a sadist. He's less worried about being in charge and more concerned with causing pain. True pain, Nari. Wraythe was talking to me in our classes, and he said that your partner has no limits at all. His mentor hasn't found a line he won't cross. He also has the ability to convince her that shewantshim to cross them. Hard limits? They don't exist when he's around. Eladehl removes the desire to say no."
"Is that bad?" I asked.
Talin shook his head. "No. It's powerful, but I don't think it'sbad.I think it's his way of keeping you safe, and I feel for anyone who tries to use him to get to you. They won't live through it."
"Yeah," I agreed.
"But while he can act like the dominant," Talin went on, "he would be just as happy to have you giving the orders. The question is if you could do it."
A little smile began to curl my lips. "Yeah, I kinda think I could. I was planning to specialize in Sensuality, but this is just a more intense aspect of that, isn't it?"
"Think about it," Talin said. "You don't need to choose a specialization until next year, but most who work in pain play are dominant and submissive pairings. I'm pretty sure a dominant and punisher would get a lot of requests. Talk to Amerlee. Fuck, talk to Saval. Between the two of them, I'm sure they could give you more ideas."
"And then we'll have to convince Ela that this is ok," I pointed out.
"If you're working as a dominant," Talin said, "that's easy. Tell Ela to bite me. Have him hold Wraythe down for you. Give the orders, Nari. You are the center of our group. We're already listening to you anyway, and I have a feeling he'd never notice."
"Willing to help?" I asked.
"Always," Talin promised. "And your first step if you want to try this out? Stop being submissive to Oryll."
I nodded. "I'll try."
"You'll fail a few times, but that's ok."
"No one steps out of Zeal's tears as an adept," I said softly. "We all have to be initiates first. Just... this is going to be hard, Talin."
"And I'm right here to push you," he promised. "Think of it as doing my part to protect you."
Chapter 18
Anver
On our way to class the next morning, Tishlie and Ciella were giggling about Oryll making a fool out of Nari and their latest rumor to destroy "the Four." Ryshie and I followed behind them like whipped dogs. Once, I'd hated the guy who was basically my partner. Now, I just felt sorry for him. Kald had come out of Choosing marked with the Path of Action. That left Ryshie to bond with Ciella. They'd grown up together, experimenting with their sexuality, and now he was tied to her for the next few decades, at least.
Ciella was even worse than Tish. Where my ward was a self-absorbed and brainless little bitch, Ciella was intentionally manipulative. She taunted Ryshie, doing her best to get him aroused, then laughed when he was in pain because of his ring. To her, it was the best game she'd ever imagined.
Needless to say, it hadn't taken long before the poor guy broke. Over the last semester, it felt like he'd just stopped caring. His will was crushed, yet he continued on with his duties simply because he had nothing else. We weren't friends. We were merely sharing our misery. If I didn't have Zeal, I'd probably be just like him.
Every instinct in my body wanted to demand to know what I'd done to deserve this. Sadly, I knew that answer. Day in and day out, it spun through my mind. It had all started with one little mistake. I'd offered to learn about the God of Compassion, ignoring the fact that Nari wasn't ready for that.
The three had closed ranks almost immediately. Hurting Nariana was not allowed, and that was when they'd started shutting me out. All I'd been trying to do was be a nice guy. My plan had been to keep Tish from whining during the lessons, because I knew that would annoy Wraythe to no end, and Eladehl would snap at her. If that happened, Tish would cry, then I'd spend hours trying to reassure her that it was ok.
Which meantI'ddone this. Over and over, I'd built that simpering little twit up, convincing her that she was beautiful, kind, and amazing. Well, the first was true. The others? Not so much. Tish was selfish and shallow. Eladehl was right when he said she was an idiot. Her biggest and brightest plans were the ones Ciella gave her. But since she was willing to jump in with both feet, Ciella kept dragging Tish back to her. Mostly because Ciella's other cronies had all found other Paths.
Once we reached the door of their class, the girls walked in without even a glance at Ryshie or me. Beside me, he sighed, then both of us turned and walked as fast as we could towards our own class. Halfway there, Ryshie grabbed my arm and started jogging. In other words, we were going to be late.
The two of us made it in the door exactly one minute and seventeen seconds after our class started. Both of our eyes jumped up to the clock on the wall, hoping we could get away with this, but Ghale was standing right inside the entrance.
"Get lost, you two?" he asked.
"No, sir," Ryshie told him. "Our desires just needed an escort."
"Uh huh." Ghale pointed deeper into the room. "Go warm up. Anver? A moment?"
My guts twisted, and I could only imagine how bad this was going to be. Ghale gestured to the side and I walked with him, just far enough away that the other students couldn't listen in. Then the man reached up to clasp my arm, the friendliest gesture I'd ever seen him make to anyone besides Oryll.
