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"I heard your ward is being a little pushy?" he asked.
My eyes narrowed. "My responsibility is to keep her happy, sir. I accept that."
"It's not." His hand fell away. "Anver, your duty is to keep her safe. That's all. You are not her pet. You aren't her servant. Your education in your Path is just as important as hers, maybe more so." He paused, his tongue darting out to moisten his lips. "I heard she's been hitting you?"
It was phrased as a question, but it sounded a lot more like an accusation. "From who?" I asked.
"Another student was concerned enough to come to me about it. No, I will not tell you who. I'm just curious how bad things are between the two of you. Is your bond weakening?"
"Excuse me?" I asked.
"Your pull to her," Ghale explained. "The infatuation, obsession, or overly protective urges. Do you still have them?"
"Sir, our bond isn't that strong. My matching mark is no bigger than my thumb. I..." A sigh fell out. "I'm trying to create that bond, but she's infatuated with a potential partner. I seem to be causing issues, and I'm trying to correct that."
"Uh huh." Ghale just lifted his hand and summoned another student over. "Grath?"
A tall, fit man with sandy-brown hair and a kind smile made his way over. "Yes, Priest Ghale?"
"I have another project for you. Grath, this is Anver. He's a first-year, and I think he needs some advice on working with his ward. You will be his partner in this class and any others you share."
"Sure," Grath said, clasping my shoulder to lead me away.
I just went, too tired to convince either him or our instructor that I was fine. I wasn't. I knew I wasn't, but telling them that my closest friend was a god? Yeah, that wouldn't exactly help.
"Who's your ward?" Grath asked when we were far enough away.
"Her name's Tishlie. Cute, short little thing with long curls." I gestured beside my head, trying to explain her latest hairstyle.
Grath nodded. "I'm with Valira. Tiny little thing too, with the darkest skin you've ever seen. She's amazing."
He said her name with such care, almost as if he was treasuring it. That was how Wraythe said Nari's name. It was how Talin acted around her. It was not at all how I said Tish's name anymore. Instead, I just grunted an acknowledgement at the guy, not sure what else was expected.
"Yeah," Grath chuckled, moving into his first stretch. "So, you two still trying to work things out or something?"
"No, I'm asexual," I told him. "Not exactly in love with my ward."
I bent to limber up my legs, knowing I'd be using them a lot in this class. Swordsmanship was kinda my thing. Now that Zeal had given me a blade worth using, I had every intention of making sure I could master it.
"Never heard of an aromantic priest," Grath said. "And so you know, that asexual excuse? Doesn't really work with me."
"We do exist," I assured him.
"Trust me, I know," Grath shot back. "I'm one. It's why I'm the top guardian in my year. Didn't have to learn to control my ring like a lot of these guys."
"You're asexual too?" Because he was the first person besides myself that I'd ever heard admit it.
Grath just nodded. "Yep. Picked the Path of Protection in fourth year when I realized that all the groping and sucking the others were doing held no interest for me. Val didn't care, though. She became my best friend, talked to me about her latest crushes, and I kinda liked the thing we had. She did too, because she not only declared for Body, but also made it clear that I was going to be her guardian. Happiest day of my life was when I saw her marks on my back. How'd you meet Tishlie?"
"I fucked up," I admitted. "That's how."
"Nah, gonna need more than that," Grath teased. "C'mon, I just laid my story out there."
I stood, turned, and faced him. "I found the right one. The most perfect woman ever, and I was going to be her guardian. This amazing woman whogotme. And there was this guy who looked like temptation made flesh and he loved that I was a willing audience. He didn't care if it was nothing more. I fell in love, thought I was doing the right thing, and fucked it all up. Is that what you wanted?"
"Paired at Choosing with Tishlie, then?" he asked, clearly pushing me to keep explaining.
"End of eighth year," I admitted. "Was a done deal in ninth when I broke the right girl's heart. I'm kinda a fuck-up, Grath. Pretty sure you don't want to be too close."
