AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Always," I promised. "That's my job."
"No," she groaned. "That's not what I meant. I was thinking as a friend."
I just laughed. "To me, they're the same thing. I want my friend to feel as confident in her own skin as I do. I have the training of an entire priesthood to help me, and I'm afraid I never learned how to be shy about talking about this. I also know that's not true for everyone. All I'm saying is that the offer is there. If you ever want to come to the temple, all you need to do is ask for me. Any priest in black will work. Tell them you want to talk to Priestess Nariana, and they will find me. You'll never have to go past the foyer, and you won't be exposed to anything you aren't ready for. You have my word." I shrugged. "And I'd kinda like to have a friend come visit sometimes."
She nodded. "I'll see. I might be too nervous, but you can always write to me. If nothing else, we can arrange a meeting elsewhere."
"But I'm a student," I reminded her. "I'm expected to be in class for most of the day. That makes it a little hard."
"We'll figure it out," she swore. "You and Yamina are my only friends here, and Yamina's young and foolish."
"In the best ways, though," I countered.
She nodded. "Yeah, but Tath says I'm too old for his sister's childish games. I also heard what you said, and our family needs to be seen at the temple. It's just hard, Nari."
"Do you even believe in Zeal?" I asked her.
She nodded. "I believe in all of them. Like you, I think they're real. Merci has been too constant in my life, and I prayed to her for a relief from the stress of this new life - and here you are. If that's not a god-given miracle, then I don't know what it is. The way I see it, if Merci is real and listening, then why wouldn't Zeal be, right?"
"Right," I agreed. "And so you know, I am sorry that your husband kissed me."
She just rolled her eyes. "You're beautiful, Nari. He'd have to be a fool not to see it, and you're a priestess. Just be careful with him? He thinks his title gives him all the power, and he has no love for the temples. He hates parting with the tithe, and he despises that his brother has done well for himself. You are the epitome of both, plus a pawn he thinks he can force around. I will never blame you for the actions of a man. I promise you that. All I ask is that you give me the same in return?"
"You have my word," I swore. "We're two outsiders, stuck trying to tread water in the Ranndor swamp, right?"
"Exactly," she breathed, "and maybe we can even figure out how to swim if we join forces."
"I'd like that. More than you know."
Chapter 49
Eladehl
"Ela."
The word pierced through the pounding in my head, knocking me out of the bliss of sleep. I sucked in a breath and tried to crack my eyes, but they were crusted together. Grumbling around my parched mouth, I reached up to rub at them, wondering why my forearm ached.
"Ela."
This time, I recognized the caring voice as Wraythe's. "Mm?" I asked.
"Sit up, man. I have water for you."
"Wash cloth?" I asked.
"Yeah," he promised. "Just take this glass and drink it all. I'll be back before you're done."
He guided my hands to the smooth, cool surface, waiting until I truly had it before he left. Blinking my sleepy eyes hard to get them open, I saw him shuffle into the bathroom. But water did sound good. When I took the first sip, I realized that it tasted even better. Needless to say, drinking it all was not a problem.
I had barely finished when Wraythe lifted the glass from my fingers and replaced it with a warm, wet cloth. Using that, I scrubbed away the funk that too much bourbon had left. Not just on my face, but also my arms and anything else. In doing so, I realized I was naked, but laying on a towel. Unfortunately I didn't really remember that part of the night.
"What happened?" I asked.
"You remember Cayden at all?" Wraythe asked, his voice thankfully soft enough to not bang around inside my skull.
"Yeah," I assured him. "And Shiran." A smile touched my lips. "I made Cayden come so hard."
"Yeah, you did," Wraythe agreed. "Then you came home, had another bottle all to yourself, then I got you into the shower - "
