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Chapter 11
Nariana
The next morning started early, but it wasn't as bad as last year. Even better, this time we all had our first class of the day together. Hoping to make an impression, I put on something that would make my guys drool. Since I wasn't taking Protection courses this year, that meant a skirt, and this one was short. My boots, however, weren't. The overall look was striking.
From the way my guys hovered around me, it seemed they agreed. Our first stop of the day was Saval's office. She'd told us to pick up our schedules this morning, since she'd had to tweak them a bit after Ela's report from Faylie. Still, we were all taking the Entertainment specialization class together, and that was the first class of the day this semester. The rest, however, we had to wait to see.
But the moment we arrived at her office, Saval handed us each a slip of paper and sent us on our way. I quickly ran my eyes over my schedule, but seeing nothing terrifying, I put it away. Ela didn't even bother to look at more than the classroom we were supposed to be in first. As we headed that way, the guys walked behind us, comparing their schedules for the semester.
The main course for our specialization, Advanced Sexuality for Entertainment, wasn't held in one of the larger classrooms like we'd used last year. This one was medium-sized. There appeared to be enough space for the guardians as well as the Priests and Priestesses of the Body, though. When we stepped in, all four of us paused to get our bearings.
The room was lined in marble like everything else in the temple. The chairs were made of wood, but curved to fit our bodies. That was a step up. Then there was the fact that no one was left to stand against the walls. Instead, it seemed the guardians wereallowedto sit beside us. Ela quickly found a space in the middle of the room, and led us to a group of four empty chairs. Wraythe grumbled when he had to squeeze past all of us to reach the chair Ela had saved for him.
"Asshole," he said as he claimed his seat.
"I knew you wanted to press up against Nari," Ela teased him.
"Yeah, but Talin's not really my type," Wraythe countered.
Talin just leaned over to look at him. "Breaking my heart, man. I even put on the extra-tight shirt to get your attention."
Wraythe huffed out a laugh and then flopped back into his chair. I had to look at Talin to see just how tight this "extra-tight" shirt was. Unfortunately, not very. I had a feeling his training sessions in the Salle had more to do with the fit than any intentional choice. Still, it looked good on him. Granted, most things did.
"So, how bad is the rest of your day going to be?" I asked, the question for both him and Wraythe, since we'd only received our schedules this morning.
"We've got all the same classes this semester, and Anver's probably in most of them," Talin said.
Then Wraythe added, "Except grappling. Anver's taking that this year instead of daggers or something. Not sure which one that will be for us, though."
"You two?" Talin asked, looking at me and Ela.
Ela pulled out his schedule and set it on the small desk attached to his chair. I found mine and placed it beside his, then we ran down the list. For the most part, our classes were the same - thankfully. The differences were where I had my courses for the Paths of Action and Word. When I was in The Words of Zeal, Ela was taking a course on the Sensuality of Pain - an extra class for him. When I had First Aid, he was off for the day.
Even better, we all had lunch at the same time.
We'd just begun comparing our locations in the building to where the guys would be when the room fell silent. Out of habit, I looked up, braced for the worst. Oryll had clearly made me a little paranoid about my instructors, but when Saval walked in, I could breathe a sigh of relief. Then another man joined her. It was Roek, the Priest of the Word who'd taught weapons in my primary training.
"Good morning," Saval said. "Most of you should remember me from your primary years." Her eyes scanned the room. "In fact, I think I recognize all the faces in here. No, we don't have any first-year initiates in this class, because it's tied to your specialization. However, we will be doing some redundant stuff."
"Because of Oryll?" someone asked on the far side of the room.
Saval dipped her head in acknowledgement, but it wasn't quite an agreement. "The council of educators felt that there may have been some holes in your education. After the incident at the end of last year, we want to be sure that each one of you is trained completely."
And all heads turned toward us. Ela groaned under his breath, but I knew why. He was the punisher. Nyrren had tried to kill Talin because of an untrained pain addiction. Then there was Talin, sitting beside me like he hadn't been lying on the floor of a session room bleeding to death.
"I'm fine," Talin said, smiling and waving at people in his pompous way.
But the whispers that started up weren't using his name. It was Eladehl's they kept repeating. Reaching over, I gently rubbed Ela's leg, knowing how much it had sucked when it had been me they talked about.
Saval just cleared her throat pointedly. "It seems that rumors spread quickly in the initiate wings. Yes, Priest Eladehl is a punisher. He has also passed his initial certification, proving himself in control of his abilities. Yes, Priestess Nariana has lace for all five Paths. She is a Priestess of Temptation, but she will be treated as a Priestess of the Body in these courses. Talin is fit and healed, thanks to the grace of our god. And Wraythe? I feel like I should say something about you, since the entire class is looking at the four of you."
"I'm big?" Wraythe asked, making the entire room chuckle.
"That you are," Saval agreed. "And for those of you who didn't take weapons courses in your primary years, I'd like to introduce Priest Roek. He will be training the Priests of Protection this year. The council of educators picked him, hoping that a little consistency would help make this transition of instructors easier for you."
Roek stepped up and looked across the group of students. "The Entertainment specialization offers unique problems for you guardians. Your desires - yes, I call them that - will often be out of your reach. In this course, Priestess Saval will instruct them in how to manage their duties, but I will be giving each of you tips and assignments to perfect keeping an eye on them when they are in crowds or too far away."
"And what do we do if someone tries to hurt them and we're behind a few dozen people?" a girl asked, reaching over to rub the shoulder of the guy next to her.
