AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I had my arms around her, taking small steps so I wouldn't push her too fast. Nari just leaned back and looked up at me.
"Do you think Ela and Talin are going to be ok?" she asked.
"Yeah?" That came out as a question because I couldn't imagine why they wouldn't be.
"Ela's kinda oblivious," she reminded me. "Talin doesn't like to talk about his problems - just everyone else's."
Which made a bit more sense. "No, I think Ela's going to talk about this," I assured her. "He asked me - "
"And me," Anver said, slowing so we could catch up with him. "He mentioned something about how ignoring it doesn't work and loses friends."
"Like with you," I realized. "Yeah, he kinda has a point."
"And it was as much my fault as yours," Anver said. "I was stupid."
"I thought I was being tough," I mumbled. "Tried to convince myself we were protecting Nari, and that it was your loss. Never stopped to think that I was making it worse. I am sorry, Anver."
"It was Tishlie's fault," Nari said, just a bit too adamantly. "We were kids. We were stupid and trying to figure it out, but the fact that we're here together means we did, right?"
"I like that," Anver said.
Then he clasped my arm, right on the bicep wrapped around Nari. I looked over and his brown eyes were waiting. So was a smile. There was no resentment there. No request for an explanation. This was Anver, and when he said he forgave me, he meant completely. The problem was that I hadn't completely forgiven myself.
I was supposed to be the glue that held us all together. That was what he'd called me just a few weeks back. I'd done a good job of that with Nari and Ela, but I'd let Anver go too easily. I could've sought him out when the others weren't around. I should've made him spell it out for me. My responsibility had been to protectallmy wards, and I'd failed.
It wasn't something I'd do again.
Their hearts and minds mattered as much as their bodies. More, if I was honest. Keeping them from getting cut, bruised, or beaten was obvious. It was easy for others to see. It also wasn't why Zeal had removed our rings. He'd once said something about our love for our wards being the thing that held them together, and I was just starting to figure out what he'd meant by that.
Then Anver spotted the staircase Drandir had mentioned. Lengthening his stride, he hurried over to open the door. I steered Nari right for it. On the other side was a spiral staircase that only led up. Nari went first, but I was right on her heels, looking back to make sure Anver followed. Our feet echoed in the stone cylinder that made up the stairwell. There were no windows, but I was pretty sure this spot wasn't on an outside wall, so that made sense.
At the top was another door. Nari tried to open it, but the wood was heavy and stuck in the frame. Reaching over her shoulder, I gave a little shove, and the hinges creaked as it released. On the other side was nothing but a hollow silence and sunlight. The kind that felt wonderfully empty.
Outside, the sun was setting. Up here, the space turned a brilliant orange, as if the walls were made of coals. Nari hurried in, but I had to look around. The "third floor" was nothing but a balcony around the opening to the display area below. There was a railing surrounding the gap in the middle, and various lamps were affixed to it, aimed up at the dome. The outer walls were all covered in arched windows. The rounded ceiling was made of gold, and the sunlight reflected back from all angles.
It was beautiful. The highlights on the walls matched Nari's eyes. The sunlight got caught in her hair, making it shimmer with reds and golds. Her smile, however, put it all to shame. While I stood there, staring at her stupidly, she made a full lap, pausing to peer out the windows and lean over the rail to look down.
Anver just turned for a door on the side. He tried the handle tentatively, only to find it was unlocked. Pushing it open revealed a marble balcony that curved as if it matched the one inside.
"Priestess?" I said, offering Nari my arm. "Shall we survey your domain?"
She accepted, and then pressed up against my side as the three of us headed out. There, we made a lap around, seeing the city from the top down. Stores stood almost as high. People hurried in the streets. The tops of some trees barely managed to reach higher than where we were, and most of them were shorter. The breeze was the best part, turning a late summer evening into the perfect weather.
We stopped to look over the grassy area between the temples. From down there, we were probably nothing more than specks, but the view was amazing. I'd spent almost my entire life inside the walls of the Temple of Temptation. This? It was amazing in a way I hadn't expected.
"Sit," Nari said, pulling away so she could slide down the wall and still look at the view.
I took the spot on one side of her. Anver claimed a space on the other. For a while, we all just enjoyed the view of the shadows stretching across the grass and the colors of the sky as it changed from blue, through pink and purple, until it started turning navy.
I noticed when Nari reached over for Anver's hand, but I tried to pretend I didn't see it. A few minutes later, she leaned her head to rest against my shoulder. That was all it took for Anver to scoot in toward her. A tiny little smile flickered across Nari's lips.
"When we graduate, do you think we'll be able to have Anver live with us?" she asked, the question clearly for me.
I could only shrug. "I think he can just do it. If he gets reimmersed and matches you or Ela, then he'd be an extra guardian, right?"
"I don't think that's what's going to happen," Anver said. "Zeal won't tell me, but I get the impression that it's bigger than just making me one of theirs. Maybe he intends to make me a marked guardian with no Path?"
"Won't work," I pointed out. "The lace on your body doesn't mark you for Protection. It's Temptation. Just means Kinen would go after you next."
