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In the entire time I'd been a priestess, I'd never heard of this much interest. It couldn't all be a result of the drama at the Fresh Start celebration. A little part of me couldn't help but wonder if it was a sign of Zeal's growing power. The stronger he got, the more interested the populace was in being tempted - which was the whole reason we were here.
Chapter 21
Wraythe
We made it back to the suite before Anver was done getting Tishlie's session. Nari said she wanted to take a shower, since working in the infirmary had been a little more hands-on than she'd expected. Talin wanted the chance to finally relax, so I decided that I would get us some dinner delivered to our rooms.
Grabbing my coin purse, I headed to the dining hall. Most days, there was a table set up at the side for getting food delivered. There, a Priest of Obligation took our orders. He or she then passed them off to another who ran them down to the kitchen. When the whole thing was done, someone would deliver the meals to our suite. Today, it was a priest I didn't know.
"I need to get five meals," I told him.
The young man's eyes went wide and he smiled at me. "You must be Priest Wraythe. Is this for the Chosen?"
"For Nari," I corrected. "Believe it or not, she has a name. But yes, I'm her partner's guardian." And then I listed off five different dishes, trying to keep it as simple as possible.
The Priest of Obligation quickly wrote down everything. Then, just to be sure, he read it all back to me. Having almost forgotten, I added a bottle of port to it. While he wrote that beside the rest, I slid over a rather impressive tithe, then asked if he could make sure it was at least an hour before it made it to our rooms. Naturally, the priest assured me that it would all be handled properly.
As I headed back to our rooms, I still couldn't get over the amazing devotion Nari got from the priests of that Path. All she had done was stop a Priest of the Word from hitting the guy serving his food. It shouldn't have been a big deal. In truth, it should have been the bare minimum, and yet Obligation acted like she'd become their hero because of it.
I had a feeling it was more than that. When she'd taken her cooking course, Nari had treated the other students like they were equals. She, the woman with more lace than any priest or priestess had in the history of the temple, acted like she was no better than the lowest priests here. She always talked to them as if they were humans, not decorations or servants.
In truth, it was how she treated everyone.
Sure, she could be a pompous and arrogant bitch when she needed to be. After all, Nari talked to gods - all six of them. She was their savior, not the other way around, and that gave her a sort of confidence that had to be hard to shake. Granted, in my opinion, that very same confidence was the exact reason why the High Priest was so intimidated by her. Nari was a threat to him. She just didn't mean to be.
When I walked back into our suite, Anver was there. He hadn't made it very far yet, and he was still stripping off his weapons. Closing the door behind me, I headed over and took his sword from him.
"Dinner's on the way, Nari is either still in the shower or just got out, and Ela wanted to talk to all of us about something," I updated him. "I also had some alcohol sent up, because you probably deserve a drink after dealing with her today."
"No shit," Anver agreed. "I wish someone could just tell me what I was thinking when I decided to befriend that stupid, blathering idiot."
"That damsels in distress make little boys feel like big men," I told him. "I'm sure she also didn't whine quite as much when you were doing what she wanted."
"She really didn't," Anver admitted. "In fact, she used to be full of nothing but compliments. Believe it or not, the only time she got all whiny was when the four of you came around. A little part of me actually liked it back then. It made me feel like she was mad at all of you because I'd been hurt. By Zeal, I was a fucking idiot."
"Most men are," I said. Then I jerked my chin towards the dressing room door. "Seriously, go get comfortable."
Anver headed that way, and I put away his sword before heading to the couch. There, I managed to kick off my boots and untuck my shirt before Talin made his way in. Nari and Ela came next. While Nari claimed the space beside me, Ela took the only chair in the room. It didn't take long before Anver returned, then he and Talin ended up sitting together on the other couch.
"Okay, what is this big talk about, Ela?" Talin asked.
Ela reached up to rub his face before answering. "After Advanced Sexuality this morning, Saval wanted to talk to me. She mentioned that there were more requests for Control sessions than they had students. Because of that, I had a pretty good feeling that I was going to get - well, exactly what I got." He lifted a hand, holding us off. "I'm also okay with that."
"Are you really?" Anver asked, mimicking my own thoughts.
"Promise," Ela assured us. "It's just that when I was talking to Saval, she mentioned something that I'm not sure you're all gonna be okay with. You see, I'm only cleared for pain play sessions with Nari present right now. This is our last semester of initiate training. WhileIhave no problem with that restriction, it won't exactly look good for me when it comes to my post-graduation assignments. It's the sort of thing Kinen could use against us."
"A punisher with restrictions looks like they could be a hazard," Nari said, making it clear she understood. "So what do you need to do to get cleared for all pain sessions?"
Ela licked his lips, taking his time before he answered. "Saval suggested that I do some experimenting on my own. And by that, she meant with other people." He pulled in a deep breath. "I also think she's right. Nari, I don't want to hurt people when you're around. Don't get me wrong, I will gladly destroy anyone who tries to hurt you, but that's not the same thing."
"She's your limit," I pointed out. "So how do you test your limits if you're with her?"
It was Nari who answered. "He needs to fall into bed with someone who isn't a session, but who he doesn't love. He needs to get rough with them, Wraythe."
"Like you did with Cayden?" I asked, not sure if I was okay with this.
Because that was the session that had started him down this entire spiral. Ela had choked the guy out and liked it far too much. No, he hadn't hurt the priest any more than the priest had wanted to be hurt, but I didn't think it was the next step. In my opinion, he needed something a little safer. Something more gentle, where he could test his limits and see if he could hold off - not go all out.
