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At this point, Peyron's cheeks were truly red. In desperation, he looked back to Wraythe. "I was with some friends when I saw the group of you. Her dark hair and his blonde? I thought it might be you all, but I wasn't sure until I saw you, Wraythe. Your size does stand out. And now I'm starting to feel a little overwhelmed, because it seems they aren't shy anymore."
"No, we're not," Ela agreed. "But what about you? You're on the Path of Protection, you said. Do you get a partner? Have some lover locked away in your temple?"
"No," Peyron assured him. "Open relationships are only considered normal in your temple. In ours, lovers are kept quiet, and usually something fleeting between our other responsibilities. As for my Path? We protect the things our goddess thinks are important. For me, it's using knowledge as a means to safeguard those in need. I also know that we're allowed to start trading services this year. I can see that you have a stack of papers which seem very important, and I'm wondering if you'd like to trade."
"They would," Wraythe told him.
"They would not!" Talin snapped. "Not forthat."
Wraythe lifted a brow. "Are you jealous, Talin?"
"No, it's..."
"They would," Wraythe told Peyron again before Talin could finish his sentence. "They're trying to pick their specialization. Ela is a punisher by skill. Nari's god-touched. They can choose from Sensuality, Control, Subjugation, Entertainment, or Exotics. I'm hoping neither picks Exotics."
"Not an option," I assured him.
The tip of Peyron's tongue teased the corner of his mouth as he thought. "It has to be Entertainment. Sensuality would work for Nariana, to a point. Control for a punisher, to a point. The problem is that Nariana doesn't appear to be the submissive in this relationship, Eladehl is too fixated on her, and the nature of those Paths would make it hard for cooperative work. I mean, since Exotics is out."
Ela was smiling at him. "So, you studied the specialties of Temptation's Path of the Body, huh?"
"I did mention that I find your god fascinating," Peyron pointed out. "I also think that Entertainment works with an indeterminate Path because it means you will have more options to use the rest of your abilities. Entertainment is the one specialty that's not just about sex, but also the other aspects of eroticism that I'm sure you both excel at."
"And now you owe him for the decision you were going to make anyway," Talin grumbled.
Ela picked up the paperwork, folded it in half, and passed it to Wraythe. "Yep. That was my whole plan. You see, I'd like to have at least one session that isn't shitty. If we're going to end up in Entertainment anyway, with twice the number of required sessions as the other specialties, then why can't I stack the deck?"
"Put your shirt back on," Talin said, refusing to answer the question.
Ela did, but Peyron was looking between them. "I think your guardian is worried about being replaced, Eladehl."
"My guardian," I corrected. "Ela's lover."
That made Peyron's head whip over to me. "Five," he muttered to himself. "Lovers implies sex. That means none of you are ringed, and there's one more who isn't here?"
Wraythe was looking a little too smug. "So, do you hate him because he's pretty, Talin? Or is it because Ela and Nari don't?"
"I hate him because he's a threat," Talin said.
"I'm really not," Peyron assured him. "If I was a threat, I never would've said any of that out loud. Not about your lack of rings, the way I can't figure out who is tied to whom, or the fact that my responsibility is to use what I see to help others." He paused to lick his lips. "A lot has changed since I was in my primary training, obsessed with the nuances of the Temple of Temptation. The main one being that Zeal is back. I'm actually here to see if I can figure out why Savi isn't."
