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Chapter 3
Talin
Peyron left after I kissed him, but the four of us stayed outside until the sun began to set and the air cooled off. In that time, Ela and Nari talked about their specialization yet again. I couldn't really understand why they were so worried about picking Entertainment, though. It would make them a team, instead of a pair that sometimes worked together but usually didn't.
Sure, the sessions in the past had been bad, but everything was different this year. We had instructors who actually wanted to teach us, not simply impress the High Priest. If those two worked together, then Wraythe and I would be able to back each other up. We could keep them safe, and we'd managed last year.
At the same time, declaring a specialization was a big decision. This would determine their sexual flavor, helping the Temple of Temptation sort them when assigning patrons in the future. It wouldn't stop them from taking personal requests, and unlike most Priests and Priestesses of the Body, those two wouldn't have a problem with booking their schedule. Their specialization wouldn't necessarily limit them much, if at all - except for their education.
Granted, that was probably a lot easier for me to see, since my job was to stand out of the way and watch them. Every party my sister-in-law had dragged them to over the summer had been filled with people fawning over one of them or the other. Not many had yet realized that they were a packaged option as well. Once that became public knowledge, spending a night with the pair of them would become the newest fashion for high society.
And then there was that priest. I hated to admit it, but he was sexy. He was also so different from every other priest I'd met in our temple. Peyron was intelligent, observant, blunt, and flirtatious in his own way. The moment she'd recognized him, Nari's lips had curled into a smile. Ela hadn't even tried to hide the way he lusted after the man. Even worse, they wanted totalkto him.
Fucking him wouldn't bother me. That was a part of their duties, and I'd gotten used to the idea. Zeal needed them to tempt people, and sex was a common temptation. Talking to him, however, meant they wanted to know him, and knowing someone led to feeling something.Thatwas where my jealousy kicked in.
I tried to ignore it, and for most of the day it worked, but when we returned to our suite that evening and they started talking about himagain, I knew I needed to get my head on straight. My excuse was dinner. Nari and Ela piled into the shower together, so I told Wraythe I was going to order food to be brought to our suite. He nodded, but when I turned to leave, he caught my arm.
"Let them be happy," he warned me.
"I'm trying," I promised. "The guy is the voice of his goddess, right?"
"Or something," Wraythe agreed. "They aren't in love with him. We always knew I'd be ringed. Anver had just left her when they met him. That priest came along when Nari was convinced she'd want the Path of Action, and I think he's the reason she figured out that casual sex didn't have to be bad. Please don't make them feel bad about this? Believe it or not, those two deserve their own fantasies, and he's a foolish and innocent one."
I nodded, knowing he was right. "That's why I kissed him, to make it clear that I'll follow wherever Nari leads, even if I'm not sure it's the best idea. I just..."
"Mm," Wraythe mumbled when I let my words trail off. "That little voice in the back of your head has decided to scream, huh? The one that says she'll like him more, forget about you, and that you're not good enough for her?"
"Him," I admitted. "Believe it or not, I know Nari wouldn't do that to me. It's actually Ela."
That made Wraythe pause. "Really?"
"I've never seen him care about anything but an orgasm," I explained. "I mean, outside of us. He uses people. He gets power from being beautiful. He also doesn't let them in, but the moment Peyron walked up, everything was different. So, I'm going to go order us dinner, let my brain shut the fuck up, and I'll get over it. I won't stop them, Wraythe. I won't ever tell them who they can and can't be with. I can't."
"You could," Wraythe countered. "See, that's the thing about being in love. It makes you care about someone else's opinion as much if not more than your own.That'swhy I want you to be careful, because we're supposed to protect them, not the other way around, and you know they'd both try."
"Promise I won't make them," I assured him as I turned for the door. "Keep an eye on them for me?"
"Always!" Wraythe called after me just as I stepped into the hall.
Turning my feet toward the dining hall, I tried not to think about it. It wasn't my place to get in the middle of their sessions. Savi clearly intended for the guy to become a regular part of our lives. He was gorgeous, and he'd kissed me instead of them, which meant I'd shoved right into the middle. I'd already screwed up, and that had been me trying to fix things. Fuck. I really had to pull my head out of my ass.
"Fuck it," I breathed as I reached the dining hall.
A hand landed on my shoulder. "That bad?" Anver asked, moving beside me to wait for the priest taking orders.
All I could do was sigh. "Has Tishlie picked her specialization?"
He grunted, clearly not impressed. "Sensuality. She's planned on that since ninth year. Them?"
He meant Nari and Ela. "Sounds like Entertainment."
"Nice," Anver said. "So what has you cursing to yourself?"
Trying to avoid having this conversation again, I gestured to the priest helping someone ahead of us. "You coming to our place for dinner? I'm going to guess you're here to order for Tishlie?"
"Yes and yes," he assured me. "Now answer the question, Talin."
"It's a guy; they like him, and I'm trying to accept that I'm just the guardian."
