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Hearing the worry in his voice, I nodded. "Ok. I'll wait for Wraythe, but you're going to be late for class."
"I'll deal with it," he promised. "I may not be a guardian, but I can protect you in my own way."
Chapter 10
Nariana
It wasn't Wraythe who met me after my Service of Others class. It was Jamik. He said Wraythe had been there, but he'd sent him away, knowing the big guy had another class to get to. For me, it was lunch time, and my big brother wanted to know if he could escort me to the dining hall.
"So, did Eladehl talk to you, too?" I asked.
Jamik shook his head. "No, Wraythe gave me the briefest outline, but that's all. Something about two girls from your student years and not trusting them?"
"Yeah. Eladehl's a little paranoid, but he also has a point. There aren't many reasons Anver's ward would pair up with the girl who made her life miserable. Either she's desperate for friendship, which I'm leaning toward, or they're both so shallow that they want to make us pay for me getting extra lace."
"I'm actually on Eladehl's side in this," Jamik told me. "I also hate that Anver's been caught in the middle."
I groaned. "He put himself there."
"Do not judge a man by a boy's decisions," Jamik told me. "Otherwise, we'd all be labeled as idiots. I can think of quite a few stupid thingsyoudid as a student."
"Nameone," I dared him.
"Sleeping with Talin." He held up a hand, making me wait. "You snuck out of the temple without tellinganyonewhere you were going. Not even Eladehl and Wraythe, although at least they knew you were goingsomewhere.You went to a public space without a guardian or mentor. You climbed in bed with a man you didn't know. You had no weapons, no escape plan, and no assistance. If he'd decided tokill you, Nari, we would never have known where you went until we found your corpse. I think wanting to be someone's hero pales in comparison."
"I hate it when you're right," I grumbled. "But Zeal told me to!"
He tossed his arm over my shoulder and turned me down another hall. "And you had no idea it was Zeal at the time. All you needed was a priest to give you one reason for you to do what you already wanted. But I'm sure everyone has very good reasons for why they make the mistakes they do. Even Anver. Even me."
I rolled my eyes at him. "You're pretty much perfect, Jamik."
"So far from it, you have no idea," he countered. "Which is part of why I wanted to have lunch with you - besides the fact that your three guys are in class right now. Little sister, I need advice on women."
I stopped in my tracks. "Did you do it?"
"If byit,you mean praying, then yes." But his cheeks were getting a bit darker. "If by it, you mean anything else, I'd prefer we don't talk about it."
"Nope," I said. "In order for me to help you, there must be some details, albeit vague ones. As an example, does the ring work?"
"No."
"And does Amerlee know?" I pressed.
"Yes, and Shalsa."
My eyes got bigger. "Oh. And how'd that go?"
He glared at me. "It didn'tgo, Nari. I am thirty-eight years old, and..." He dropped his voice. "A virgin."
There was only one way to respond to that. I stepped into him and wrapped my arms around his neck. "And a guardian," I whispered in his ear. "How about we call it that, hm?"
He pulled me back and nodded. "I prefer that term."
"So, what's stopping you?" I asked. "Anxiety? I just had that lesson today in my eroticism class."
"No." He glanced down the hall, making sure no one was close enough to listen in. "This is weird. Forget I said anything."
"Jamik!" I snapped. "I am not going anywhere unless you talk to me about what you came here to talk about. You cannot expect me to tell you everything and then tell me nothing. Especially not when you really sound like you need some advice."
