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I could respect that she was strong and accept that she was able to walk, but leaving her like this? That was a completely different thing. In the back of my mind, I knew it was the bond between us, but that wasn't what it felt like. It felt like I was abandoning her when she needed me most, and I fucking hated it!
Never mind that we were in the middle of the temple. It didn't seem to matter at all that she wasn't being threatened right now. Nari had been hurt, and all I wanted was to wrap my arms around her and make her better. I still walked across the hall and back towards our class. I figured if I didn't look, then this should be easier. Besides, she was with Zeal, and if a god couldn't keep her safe, then nothing could.
Thankfully, Grath left the training room just in time to distract me before I turned back. "That the healer?" he asked, moving to my side.
I pushed both hands through my hair and forced out a breath. "Yeah. No. What?" Fuck, my mind felt like it couldn't quite settle.
Grath caught me by both biceps and made me face him. "She's really hurting, huh?"
"What?" I wasn't sure what he was talking about, or why he was asking me that right now.
"Because the one time my desire got hurt, I felt a lot like you look." He shook me lightly. "There's a priest with her. Your partner's with her. I'm also not going to let you go until she's fine, so if you need to hit something, hit me, ok?"
"That's not a priest," I grumbled.
"No?" He chuckled. "He's not in our class, and I don't know who else would be in the temple."
That was when I realized just what he was saying. He could see the man with Nari. Not only Wraythe, but Zeal too. "Dark-skinned guy?" I asked, just to be sure. "Like, a dark golden-brown shade? Short hair, beautiful eyes?"
"That's the one," Grath assured me.
"That's Zeal," I said, trying to turn.
But Grath held me, his fingers refusing to relax. "Say that again? Slower."
"Zeal," I told him again. "You know, the god that runs this place? Guess you're a believer."
"He is!" Zeal called over. "He's been nodding at me in the halls for about a month now. Grath, hold him, would you?"
Grath's grip tightened and then Nari cried out. The urge to kill for her intensified for a split second. Yet what I heard next was not at all what I expected.
"You fucker!" Wraythe roared.
Zeal just laughed. "Right. How are you feeling, Nari?"
"Oh, that's better," she moaned. "Hurts, but a good hurt now."
And Grath let go. The moment his hands were off me, I was headed back, needing to see that she was ok. The feeling was all-consuming, worse than any need I'd ever experienced in my life. Wraythe was knelt before her already, one hand splayed across her stomach. That was fine. No, that was even good. Ignoring him, I reached over his body to palm both sides of her face and make her look at me.
"Don't do that to me again?" I begged.
The smile that took over her face was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen, but she nodded. "Not until the next time," she promised.
Zeal just groaned. "Ok, both of you, hands off. I need to repair those muscles so she's not hurting all week. Someone push her shirt out of the way?"
"Got it," I said.
Evidently, Grath had followed us over. "Shouldn't she be iced?" he asked.
Zeal looked at him. "That will be next."
Grath was about to reply when his eyes found Zeal's. "My god," he breathed.
"Exactly," Zeal agreed. "No, Talin wasn't joking. Yes, I am real. No, not everyone can see me. Come to the Salle when you're ready, and I'll explain more. Right now, I really want to make her stop hurting before these two idiots go crazy with the feedback from their bonds."
"Their?" Grath asked. "She only has one guardian."
"No, she'smy Chosen," Zeal said even as he pressed at the soft spot in Nari's shoulder. "She has three guardians."
