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"No, it's communal," she explained. "Under the student wing, we have a large hall. Beds are lined up. Each of us gets three changes of clothes, a trunk to keep them in, and a cabinet for personal items."
"That's not right," I mumbled.
Odette just shrugged. "It's better than being thrown out."
"But you're the ones doing all the hard work," I countered.
"And now you are, Nari. You don't act like you're better than us, though, so it's fine. We all knew what would happen if we didn't study hard enough. They didn't exactly hide that. I just... I never really... When I read, the things don't always make sense, and sometimes I get the letters flipped around, you know? So I kinda knew this would be my Path ever since third year. Besides, I like cooking. Well, the idea, at least. I've never exactly done it before, but that's what I'm trying to specialize in."
"Then it looks like I made the right friend," I decided.
But I just couldn't stop thinking about how wrong this was. She didn't read well, so instead of teaching her, the temple had put her in the basement, living like she was worth less than me? Clearly, it wasn't just rings on guardians that were the problem. It sounded like the entire temple system had turned into something that was not at all what Zeal had designed.
I just didn't know what I was supposed to do about it.
Chapter 21
Wraythe
Iwas reading through my homework on Calseth laws when the door opened. Looking up, I saw Nari walk in, looking like she was exhausted. There was a smile on her face, but every line of her body was slumped and worn. Talin followed behind her, his hand gently on her back, keeping her moving. In the other, he carried a cloth napkin wrapped around something.
"Obligation sent cookies," he announced, heading over to set those on the table.
"Oh, nice!" Ela immediately reached for one.
I couldn't pull my eyes off Nari. She reached back to clasp Talin's arm in thanks, and then simply headed for the bedroom. Without a conscious thought, I pushed back my chair and found myself standing. There was flour in her hair, her clothes were a mess, and I knew she'd need a little help with that.
"I got her," I said to Talin as I turned that way.
He caught my wrist. "Give her a second. She's fine, and she likes her class, but it's all piling up."
"How bad?" I asked him.
He pushed out a heavy breath. "She's doing the work of two students and she's in three Paths. It's a lot, Wraythe. With Oryll's shit added on top?"
"Gotcha." But I couldn't look away from the door.
The moment Talin let go, I followed after my girl, not even sure what I could do. Getting her to talk to me would be a start. Everyone needed to vent. Some of us did it differently than others, but not Nari. She just hunkered down and tried to push herself a little harder, and I had a feeling that was most of her problem.
When I stepped into the bedroom, she was working off her clothes. White powder drifted to the floor around her, and she looked at it like some kind of offense. Because she knew she'd have to clean it up, I realized. Yet instead of saying anything, I headed into the bathroom and turned on the shower to flush out the cold water.
"Long day?" I asked when I finally got back. "I can have dinner brought to the room if you want."
"No," she breathed. "I'm not hungry, Wraythe."
"Too tired?"
Those perfectly golden eyes of hers jumped up to meet mine. "That obvious, huh?"
"Yeah." So I moved closer to help her get those clothes off. "Last semester was easier. They just wanted to let us adjust to our Paths. This semester, they're pushing us, and you're doing even more. Plus Anver, Ciella, Oryll, and Zeal?"
"Zeal's not a problem," she insisted.
I laughed once. "Maybe not, but he's not making your life easier. I'm just saying that you're carrying a lot. I'm also willing to help."
"You can't," she insisted. "Wraythe, this is my Path. This is my burden. I asked for it, and now I'm paying the price."
"Pretty sure this wasn't what Zeal intended." I tossed the last piece of her clothing toward the corner. "Ela! Come deal with the floor?"
