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"Not shocked," Talin said. "The man's been on the Path of the Word for over a decade and doesn't have a partner, not even a casual one."
"His ward died from an illness," Anver said.
Talin just nodded. "Cancer. Yes, I asked," he said, glancing over at Ela. "I wanted to know if the instructor for Protection had been on this Path. He was, and he was very good at it. Sounded like he and his ward - I don't remember her name - had no interest in moving up, but she got very sick, very fast. It was back before Zeal had much power, which means that even if he had known, Zeal couldn't have done much. So, the woman died; Roek took a year away from his duties, came back, and asked to be reimmersed. His collar for the Word is thicker than most, proving he's earned it."
"He was good to me in primary," Nari said. "He seems like he honestly cares about training us."
Ela just murmured like he was trying to hold his tongue, so I asked, "What?"
"He's about Saval's age, you know." He quickly took a bite.
"And?" I asked.
Talin ducked his head and chuckled, which meant I was missing something obvious.
It was Nari who answered. "And he's been spending a lot of time in Saval's office. She doesn't have a partner either, and sounds like she hasn't since Talin's dad got married. So, a very long time. Considering that part of Zeal's job is being a matchmaker..."
"Saval and Roek?" I looked between my friends to find them all grinning at me like they'd already figured this out. "Really?"
"No idea," Ela assured me. "I just happen to think they're cute together, and I have a feeling Zeal could be tempting them."
"Good," I decided. "Because this year is going to be a good one. Not just for the five of us, but for everyone we care about."
"It's about fucking time," Ela agreed.
And around the table, we all nodded, because that was nothing but the truth. After last year, we'd earned a little goodness in our lives.
