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"Thanks for the hug," I told him. "I think I needed that."
He just smiled at me. "Ela got a kiss." And then he turned and walked off with an adorable little bounce in his step.
So I turned to Ela, my mouth hanging open in surprise. "So, that's a thing again?"
Ela just wrapped his arm around me and got us all moving up the stairs. "Well, Talin's trying to steal him away from me, so of course I'm going to stake my claim. Besides, if you're not-fucking him, then I want to be not-fucking him with you."
I couldn't help but laugh. I knew he was referring to our little orgy with Zeal over the weekend. I also liked how easy and comfortable the guys made this. Talin and Anver were working out. Ela and Anver were working out. Me and Anver were too. The only thing I was worried about was Wraythe.
But when I turned to ask him about it, his grin proved he was one step ahead. "I'm not fucking him, and not in the same not-fucking way you three are. I just like having my friend back."
Which meant this was all ok. Now, if only Migard could figure out some way to make this session just as easy to deal with as my relationship with these guys. The simple fact that Ela, Wraythe, and Anver had a problem with this convinced me that I wasn't paranoid after my last two official patrons: the virgin whose father had slapped me, and Tath. Neither had been enjoyable. Both were the sorts of situations we'd been warned could cause emotional or mental trauma, and yet I didn'tthinkI was traumatized.
At the top of the stairs was a door that led to a very busy room packed with dozens of Priests of the Word who acted as schedulers. When we stepped inside, it was busy, and the sounds of pens on paper was oddly loud. Scanning the room, I was sure that there were even more priests in here than there had been before, but I'd never stopped to count.
The four of us kept walking to the far side where Migard had his desk, but it was empty. Wraythe reached into his pocket and pulled out his watch, and a confused look creased his brow. Ela just jerked his chin up in that silent way of asking, "What?"
"He should be here for at least another hour," Wraythe told us.
So Talin turned to another of the schedulers. "Pardon me, but do you know if Migard will be back today?"
The woman was furiously scribbling on a piece of paper, but she paused to look up. "Yeah, she stepped out for a moment to get something for one of the new trainees." Then she sighed. "They've completely upended all of our client lists, and now we have this auction, but she's all worried about making sure the other priestesses in here are - "
"I prefer he," Migard said as he marched past the line of desks, heading for his own.
The four of us looked at each other in confusion, but maybe this priestess was one of the new ones and just didn't know him well? The woman Talin had been talking to merely grumbled under her breath like she was annoyed just as Migard waved us over.
"What can I do for you two?" he asked.
I moved over to the front of his desk and leaned in. "Is everything ok?"
Migard took a deep breath and pressed his lips together, then exhaled forcefully while picking up his pen. "Evidently, the entire Path of the Word is being reassigned, and everyone registered as a Priestess of the Word is now eligible for only education, scheduling, and other record-keeping tasks."
Which was when I figured out that our amazing scheduler was one of those "listed" as a priestess, not the priest he saw himself as.
"I'm sorry," I told him, thinking about that priestess who'd yelled at me in the halls not that long ago.
She had blamed me. She said this was all happening because I had convinced the High Priest that women couldn't make up their minds. In order to prove that my lace was a mistake, Kinen had found research that allowed him to remove all women from positions that might have power. He was systematically destroying the way the Temple of Temptation had been run for six centuries, and all because I didn't have just one Path!
Migard looked up at me and pushed his glasses higher up his nose. "Because I'm still here?"
"I'm actually glad you're still here," Ela said.
"Because this is my fault," I explained. "It's..." I sighed. "The High Priest believes that my indecision is a sign that women are unable to think or something. He's using the fact that I'm a woman to justify his need to limit my options, Migard!"
He just chuckled. "I'm really not upset. I've always wanted to be a scheduler. I like being a scheduler, Priestess Nariana." Then he swallowed. "But because I was surrendered as someone's daughter, I'm able to keep doing what I actually enjoy. So, no need to apologize to me." He offered me a nervous smile. "Now what can I help you with?"
Ela immediately took over. "We were told about the Advanced Sexuality session that's coming up. Something about an auction."
"And I need to add a woman to my approved list for requests," I added.
That was what finally made Migard relax. "Yeah?" he asked. "Should I be expecting a special request for you, then? And if so, are the limits the same?"
That stupid smile was back on my face. "I really hope - "
"Nari?"
Ursula's voice interrupted me, but the problem wasn't hearing her. It was that it came from the back of the room. Wraythe and Talin immediately turned to the sound, and my eyes followed a moment later. There, seated four desks behind Migard and one row to my left, was the priestess who Zeal had asked to train me how to fight in her style.
