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Tishlie grabbed her book and stormed out, effectively signaling the end of class. Oryll waved at the rest of us to go ahead and leave, then he called out my name.
"Priestess Nariana?"
I grumbled under my breath. "Yes, Priest Oryll?"
"You impressed me today. Keep it up." The corner of his lip lifted higher. Not quite a smile, but the start of one.
I tipped my head at him in acknowledgement, but he didn't seem to want anything else, so I made my way from the room with Eladehl right behind me. The moment we were in the hall, he wrapped his arms around me, pulling my back up against his chest.
"Any bets on whether or not Tishlie's hoping Anver pops her cherry?" he asked.
"First off," I told him, "there should be no popping. Secondly, it'll never happen. Rings, remember?"
"Third," he added, "it'll never happen, because Anver's asexual. You know, I kinda feel bad for the guy."
"Yeah," I breathed. "but he did it to himself."
Eladehl stopped. "No, listen to me." And he turned me around to face him. "He kissed you because he was hoping to be normal. He thought that if I couldn't get him excited, then maybe he really wanted a woman. It still didn't work. So he got himself all tense and nervous about the fact that he's not as ready to jump into bed as everyone else. He convinced himself that he just needed something he hadn't tried yet, and I'm willing to bet that the closest thing he could find was the feeling of being strong. Of protecting someone. So he chased it."
"And he didn'ttalkto us," I reminded him. "He pulled away, paired up with Tishlie, and became her little pet."
Eladehl held up a finger, begging me to wait. "I don't know about you, but I didn't tell him that I wanted him back. I did, however, tell him that he couldn't bring his shiny new toy around. His toy made him feel good while we made him feel bad, so why would he choose us? Nari, I've been thinking about this a lot. Ever since he came to let us know that the immersion test was happening. We chased him off just as much as he ran away. From his point of view, he probably felt very unwelcome."
I nodded. "Yeah, I know, but it's easier to blame him. Besides, Talin works with us."
Eladehl just leaned closer. "He can see Zeal, Nari. He saw him before you went down to the cave. I don't know how long it's been going on, but he asked who thepriestwas behind Talin. All I'm saying is that you made Zeal promise he'd keep you with the ones you cared about the most, Anver's always been on that list, and the guy can actually see our god."
"Yeah," I countered, "but he's matched with Tishlie, and multiple times, I've had guardians tell me that being matched makes them almost obsessed with their wards. Tishlie wants to see us fail, and she's best friends with Ciella - the girl who tried to get us kicked out! The same one who supposedly bullied her too! Explain to me how all of that is supposed to work out well for us?"
"I don't think he feels that pull," Eladehl breathed, almost as if he was just realizing it.
"What?"
He shoved a hand across his mouth and his eyes lost focus. "He said he was only doing the bare minimum. That she annoyed him, basically. But you're right, every guardian I've met so far is almost obsessive about their ward. Even Wraythe with me, and we're not romantically involved."
"Still best friends," I countered.
"Yeah, but that's my point. It's not the lust that's driving it, or even the forbidden fruit aspect. If my best friend is obsessive about keeping me safe, then Anver's lack of sexuality has nothing to do with it. I..." He paused, tilting his head slightly. "Do you think Zeal bonded him weaker than everyone else?"
"Why?" I asked. "What's the point in it?"
Eladehl cupped both sides of my face. "Because he hears things. It's already worked out for us once. Do you really think that agodwouldn't know if there was a problem brewing in his house?"
"Ok..." All I could do was shake my head in confusion. "And what am I supposed to do with that?"
"Not trust Tishlie in any way," Eladehl decided. "That's all I'm saying. Somewhere between our last year as students and now, she's started to become demanding, and I can't see this working out well for you. After all, you're the biggest threat she has. The one her guardianwantedto be with. Now that she's hanging out with Ciella?"
"Who used to torture her," I added.
He nodded. "Yep. She's willing to forgive her own bully. The only reason I can imagine anyone doing that is because they want to make someone else's life hell. The enemy of my enemy type of thing, and what do those two have in common?"
"Us," I realized.
"Which means we need to be careful," he decided, grabbing my hand to pull me toward my Obligation class. "Wraythe has lunch with us, which means he can meet you after this. Talin's next class is beside mine, going the wrong way. I think we should stick together."
"What about Wraythe?" I asked. "Having him come through the halls alone?"
Eladehl scoffed. "Pretty sure no one wants to mess with him. I also have a feeling that if they do, they'll regret it. Just give me this, Nari? I can't look at you with that bruise on your face and not worry. We aren't kids anymore, and the rules aren't as strict, so please don't take any chances?"
