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It was Ela who answered. "Well, you fell asleep, so we decided to not wake you. Talin explained to me about Kinen's little tantrum - "
"It wasn't really a tantrum," I corrected. "More gloating as if he'd caught us red-handed."
"Tantrum," Ela said, making it clear that's what he thought of it. "And Tath!" He grunted in disgust. "Idiot. So, Maela's not happy to hear that her husband intends to have a sexual servant in her house. And yes, that's what she thinks he's treating you like. So she intends to teach him a lesson. If he thinks he can embarrass her like that in their home, then she'll use the same rules against him."
"Ela's going," Talin said as he placed a cup before me.
Ela gave him a dirty look. "Let me tell the story." Then he turned back to me. "Well, Maela was pissed. I mean, beautifully angry. I told her that I'd be more than happy to make a scene with her. She just had to get me invited to her home for the holidays. Naturally, we ended lunch early, and she marched her cute little ass right into the High Priest's office and made a scene. It was loud enough to hear from the nave!"
"Maela?" I asked.
Zeal chuckled. "And this is my part. You see, Kinen can't see me. Maela can. A few of his advisers can. I helped her demand the exact same exception for Ela as Tath got for you. For the duration of the winter holidays, the pair of you are allowed to have sessions with anyone in the Ranndor household."
"Maela and Tath," I breathed.
"And Thiemo," Talin added. "Yamina, my mother - anyone, Nari. The butler even!"
"Oh." Well, that did give us a little more control, but I wasn't sure how we'd use it. "Ok."
So Ela leaned his elbows on the table and smirked at me. "If Tath tries to fuck you, I will fuck Maela. I will make that woman scream so loudly the entire household knows. She's done with being treated like Tath's possession, and I think she trusts me enough to actually follow through with this now."
"So," Amerlee said. "That means all four of you will be spending two weeks at Sandrest."
"What about Anver?" I asked.
She shook her head, but from the living room, Jamik called over, "I'll be keeping an eye on him. Irila and I will invite him to dinner, spend time in the Salle sparring with him, and make sure he's not trapped alone."
"Grath," I suggested. "He and Anver are friends, and I'm sure Grath's desire would be happy to encourage that friendship. I just don't want him alone with Ciella and Tishlie."
"Promise," Jamik assured me. "I might even take the guy to the tailor for some better suits. He's going to need them if he'll be attending functions with you."
"Thanks, Dad."
Zeal chuckled even as he claimed the chair on Amerlee's other side. "The problem is that I can't spend two weeks at Sandrest. Not these two weeks, Nari. With the Darkest Night celebration coming up, many priests will need me. I don't want to ignore them again."
"We'll be fine," I promised. "The four of us are used to making do."
"But," Zeal went on, all but ignoring that, "if any of you need me, I will come. If you are in danger, I will step in. I can't be with you constantly, my Chosen, but I will never leave you alone."
Amerlee reached over to rub his shoulder. "She's a strong woman, Zeal. She'll be fine. We've raised her to be the kind of priestess who can handle this without batting an eye."
"Yeah," Zeal agreed. "You did good with her, Amerlee. Thank you."
"I didn't do it for you," she assured him. Then she turned back to tap her paper. "The guardians will be easy to plan for. Black. Talin, everything you and Wraythe wear will be black, casual or not. We'll get cravats and pocket squares to match each of Ela and Nari's outfits, though. The two of you? I'm going to need a list of your preferred colors."
I waved her off. "Let Nalph pick. He knows what works best for me."
"I want black on everything," Ela said. "I don't care if that's just the buttons. I do not want to imitate a noble. I want it to be clear that I am a priest. Tie pins, embroidered lapels or vests. I don't care, Amerlee."
She nodded. "Ok, while you both study for your tests, Jamik and I will take care of this."
"Get Wraythe more suits like the one he wore to the Day of Planning," I suggested.
"Hey!" Wraythe huffed. "One's enough."
"It's really not," I told Amerlee. "He looked amazing in that. The kind of amazing that will make Tath think twice before doing something stupid."
"Which suit?" Amerlee asked. "Was it from Nalph?"
