AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 64
Nariana
Maela stayed for a while. At one point, I got on the floor to play with Haryth, giving the guys a chance to change in the attached bathroom. Twice, Maela offered to leave so we could have privacy, but Talin assured her it was fine. They were changing in the other room simply so they didn't embarrass her, nothing more.
Then, that night, we got to try out the extra-large bed. Each half was the size of our bed at home. The crease in the middle made for a few amusing moments, but when we finally fell asleep, no one had any clothes on and all of us were worn out enough to drift off quickly. I was lying halfway across Wraythe's chest, soaking up his body heat in the chilled room. On the mattress closer to the fireplace, Talin and Ela fell asleep in each other's arms. The next morning, a knock at the door jerked me awake.
"What?" Talin called out.
The person on the other side must've assumed that was a sign to come in, because the door opened. Branstan stepped through, stopping immediately. For a second, I was sure he was about to turn around and leave again, but the older man simply dropped his eyes to the ground, closed the door behind him, and headed to the table near the foot of the bed.
"Sir, your brother has sent a letter, and he made it clear I was to make sure you received it before breakfast." Branstan cleared his throat, still staring at the ground. "Would you like me to refresh the hearth, Priest Talin?"
But it was Ela who answered. "Please," he said, tossing off the blankets to head for his luggage. "Talin, I bet that letter is a list of limits."
"Probably," Talin agreed.
Wraythe shifted higher in bed, tugging the blankets up around me. "Is this normal? People just walk into your room?"
"Our room," Talin corrected, "and yes."
"It's a high society thing," Ela called back. "We learned about it in class. Evidently, Branstan's supposed to pretend like he's blind and never speak of the improper things he sees."
"Like you cuddling up with me," Talin teased, pointing to his own luggage. "Pants, please." Then he turned to Bran. "You're fine. I'm a priest, it's nothing scandalous, and I really don't care if anyone approves."
Last year, Talin had been very careful not to say anything about his attraction to men in front of his family. This year, he sounded exhausted with the whole idea. He'd already given his family enough hints that it was no longer a secret. It felt like he'd finally picked sides, and if someone couldn't accept him as he was, he was willing to forget they'd ever mattered. It was enough to make me reach out and rub his arm in sympathy.
"I just didn't want to interrupt anything, sir," Branstan mumbled.
"Bullshit," Wraythe said, nudging me toward Talin before throwing off the blanket. "You're polite, I'll give you that, but you're currently trying to figure out if where we sleep and who we touch means something. The real question is what difference it makes if it does? If we're ok with it, then why shouldn't you be?"
Bran chuckled at that. "I like you, Priest Wraythe. What you don't understand is that someone's lover should be treated with a certain decorum - even if subtly - that differs from a friend. I've been a valet for almost forty years now, and what I'm trying to figure out is what the proper protocol is for the unique situation in this room."
Wraythe grabbed the first pair of pants he found and began pulling them on. "That's easy. In here, we don't care. Out there, we're all priests. Period. That's it, sir. Zeal bonds us together and we get to enjoy that when we're not on display. When we are, we have to play by the same rules you do. Be seen and not heard, make sure we're effective without being disruptive, and most of all, look pleasing while we do it."
"He's my favorite," Branstan told Talin, making a laugh burst from my lips.
"I feel left out, Bran."
"You're the lady in the room," Bran countered. "Miss Nari - I mean Priestess Nariana - "
"I like Miss Nari better from you," I assured him.
He actually looked up, letting his eyes meet mine. "Miss Nari, should I send up some tea? Anything else?"
"We'll take breakfast in here," Talin told him. "A real one for all of us, please. And Bran? Thanks for understanding."
"You always did smile at the boys, sir. I've already heard the staff's opinion of Priest Eladehl. I simply don't know how Priest Wraythe is tied to you."
"He's straight," Ela said. "I mean, barely, but he's straight. He's also my guardian, Branstan, so he's pretty used to deviant behavior, and he's in love with Nari, same as the rest of us."
"Sounds like Zeal has blessed you all. I'll bring tea." And with that, Bran made his way right out of the room.
The four of us got dressed quickly. Talin was still pulling on his shirt when he headed over to open the letter. As he unfolded the pages, there was a card inside, along with a single page that only had a few lines of writing on it. The problem was the look on Talin's face. His jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed. Letting out a grumble, he headed over to hand the mess to me.
"He wants a session today. There's his appointment time, which is right after breakfast, in his office." Talin looked over at Ela. "He also says that he expects her to act like 'a woman,' and that his safe word is 'cigar.'"
"So, he basically has no idea what he's doing," Ela said.
