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"I think so," I told him. "He's the one that stepped in to act as my guardian when Talin was in class."
"Ah, that's where I remember his face from." Jamik nodded. "Tell Talin to invite him to practice with us when he's ready. I say Talin because he will not risk you in any way. You? You'll be too nice or too mean. Downside of your Path."
"What are you doing?" I asked him.
"Zeal made you a target. I'm making sure you have a few protectors. Believe it or not, Talin doesn't have to do this on his own."
"And all of them can see Zeal, right?" I asked.
He just smiled. "Mhm. Now tell me what's going on with your instructor?"
I just groaned, because it felt like I couldn't even get the chance to enjoy one tiny little victory before I needed to tackle the next hurdle. And still, I told Jamik all about my Path of the Body instructor, how badly I was doing, and hoped he'd have a little advice for me. The whole time, Jamik listened, only interrupting to remind me that I needed to eat too.
In truth, what I needed was a vacation.
Chapter 20
Nariana
The next time I saw Grath, he told me he and Anver were talking. That was it. Granted, he made it sound like a good thing, so I figured it was none of my business. It really wasn't. Not anymore. That was the downside of walking away from someone. My heart was convinced that Anver was still important to me, but I'd lost that. In truth, I kinda missed it.
I just missed him.
Then, near the end of the week, I got something else to distract me from Anver's problems. The instructor for my Obligation course informed the class that we were finally going to get the chance to see what our duties were all about. Each of us was given a schedule and told to choose a time for practical experience that fit with the rest of our courses. When I got the page, I found there was only one slot that I could even consider: the evening.
So I signed my name and kissed one day a week of guardian practice goodbye. Evidently our final exams would be based on whichever task we learned. Mine? Cooking. For most priests on this Path, they'd eventually try all the options, but I was only being given one class in this Path. Still, of all the things Obligation did, cooking sounded like the most interesting to me.
During our scheduled class, we'd been learning how to respect the time of the other priests in the temple. Manners were stressed and invisibility was essential. The duties of this Path were the most basic aspects of the temple. Things like laundry, construction, and delivery service made up most people's day. Obligation fed us, cleaned up after us, and kept the entire temple running.
It wasn't a small task, and one that I'd always taken for granted. So when I met up with the guys, I let them know they'd be going to the Salle without me. Eladehl and Wraythe understood. They didn't look happy about it, but we'd all seen that my classes were getting harder, and something had to give.
Talin, however, wasn't going to make this easy. "I'm going with you."
"No," I told him. "This is for my Obligation class."
"And?" he asked. "Nari, I'm your guardian. There's no way I'd send you down to the kitchen for an official reason and not tag along."
"It's a class, not a summons," I told him. "It's no different than what we do all day."
"All day, you're in a hall with about a dozen guardians in it, which means someone will step in if things go wrong. In the basement of the temple, you can't say the same, and how many of those priests aren't impressed by a Priestess of Temptation working beside them?"
"They actually think it's kinda funny that I have to learn the same shit-work they're doing," I admitted. "The high and mighty reduced to washing cum off sheets, right?"
He chuckled at that, because I had a point. "Still. I'll explain to the instructor that my bond won't allow it, and I'll stay out of the way."
All I could do was give in. When the time finally came, I put on my most comfortable clothes and a pair of practical shoes, then headed where the directions indicated. Talin followed. I couldn't see any weapons on him, but I had a funny feeling he'd found a way to carry at least a dagger.
I knew he had a valid point. It seemed half the temple was amused by the idea of a priestess with five Paths. The other half was convinced that I was somehow destroying every tradition our faith had ever known. While most of my Obligation peers seemed ok, I didn't know if this cooking class was going to be made up of the initiates I normally saw and had already met.
The moment I stepped into the kitchen, I realized it wasn't. At least a dozen new faces turned to look as we walked through the door. Clearly, this set of stairs was not the way they got here. A split-second later, a plump woman hurried over, wiping her hands on her apron as she came toward us.
"Priestess," she gushed. "What can we do for you?"
"Um, I'm supposed to be in the cooking class?" I said, completely confused.
"This is for students of Obligation, Priestess," she told me. "If you're interested in a hobby, we can schedule someone to - "
"No," I said, interrupting. "I'm a Priestess of Obligation. I signed up for this class for my Service of Others final."
