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So Amerlee passed him a stack of sealed letters. "All five of you. Anver is currently serving as Nari's temporary guardian."
I perked up at that, because it was too close to what I'd already decided. "Zeal's idea?"
Amerlee stilled completely. "No, mine. I haven't actually talked to our god in a while."
"Me either," I told her, and those words hung between us.
"He's probably with Maela," Jamik said from over by the kitchen. "Little Haryth is about to become the Baron of Temptation, which means that Maela will be acting as the regent."
"If he doesn't announce Thiemo instead," Amerlee pointed out. "And Thiemo has come a long way lately. Jamik, he's the likely heir, since Haryth's a baby."
"Yet another reason for Zeal to be with Maela right now," Jamik said. "And it's possible he's been with the family lately. If Tath had been ill from his drinking, Zeal would know before any of us."
"And he can't tell secrets that aren't his," I realized, hoping it really was that simple. "The problem is that Tath started drinking and locked himself away right after our last visit." I looked to Amerlee. "We all know that will be a problem."
"I'll handle it," she promised, caressing my hair. "You just worry about your guardian, Nari. They aren't often weak, but when they are, they need us more. Seeing his family will be hard, so all of you keep an eye on him. Do not let them blame him. If you need to leave, do so. Drandir has assigned a carriage to the five of you. Use it. I will handle everything for your classes."
"Anver's the Shadow," I reminded her.
Amerlee just clasped the back of my neck. "And he was almost your guardian in primary. That's the excuse Saval is using to assign him to you temporarily. He may need to step in if there's a session for Tishlie's specialty, but I'm not sure what's scheduled for them."
"We'll make it work," I promised just as Talin came back out, looking cleaned up and almost presentable.
His grief was still obvious, but he was standing tall once again. Anver was just behind his shoulder, a hand gently touching Talin's back, but the man before me was my guardian. The real one, not the Ranndor tithe, trained and molded by manners and society rituals.
"They'll be expecting us," he said.
"Keys," Amerlee demanded. "I'll also need the letter."
Ela passed that to her, since he'd set it on the table beside him. Amerlee opened the flap of the envelope and looked at Talin for permission. When he nodded, she took out the letter and read it quickly.
"You will be granted two weeks off from your classes for grieving," she told us. "If you need longer, I need one of you to let me know. Other than that, I will handle the temple. The five of you only need to worry about this." Then she walked over to Talin and wrapped her arms around him. "Your family will always stand by your side, Talin. That's what makes us a family. It doesn't matter how big or how small it is, it matters that they stand beside you."
Which was when his arms came up to hug her back. "I don't know how to do this."
"Shh," she breathed. "There is no right way to lose someone. There is no right way to be strong - or weak. There are no rules for this, so don't try to find them. Just lean when you need to and someone will always be there to catch you."
His breath slid out in a long sigh, and I watched as the man I loved finally relaxed. Then we gathered up our coats again, made sure we had what we needed, gave Amerlee a set of keys, and headed out. The walk to the front of the temple wasn't filled with laughter this time. It was somber, each of us reaching over to touch another as if making sure we were all still here.
A priest was waiting for us at the front. He escorted us out to a large box carriage that could easily seat six. I thanked him and reached in my pocket for a tithe, but he waved me off. This time, Ela helped Talin in first. Wraythe assisted me in next, and the rest of the guys followed. Outside, the night had gotten even colder, or my mood made me feel it a little more. Either was possible.
"My mother's going to be a mess," Talin said softly.
"Anver is my guardian," I reminded him. "You go where you need, do what you want, and we will hold everything together, ok?"
He bobbed his head in agreement, but looked like that didn't really sink in. "My sisters will be coming home too. I don't know how much room there will be in the residence."
"We have the carriage, and it's a short trip back and forth," Ela pointed out.
Talin reached his hands out. One of them found mine. The other clasped Ela's. "One moment I was ready to kill a man for touching Nari. You were supposed to fall into bed with my brother. Tonight, we were going to laugh about it, share stories, and hope we made good enough grades. I..." He paused to look at Anver and Wraythe, including them as well. "I need all of you. I don't evenknow what I feel!"
"Which is exactly why we're here," Anver said, reaching over to wrap his hand around where Talin held mine.
Wraythe did the same with Ela's and Talin's clasped hands. "I'm not going anywhere," he promised. "You lead, and we will follow. If you stumble, we will catch you. It's ok to be a mess. That's why you have a partner."
"I love you, man," Talin told him.
Wraythe smiled at him sadly. "I love you back, Talin. Always."
