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Until finally he missed a block. My fist slipped through his guard and landed - hard - on his chin, sending him staggering back. Sucking in a breath, I rushed over to check on him, but I wasn't the only one. Jamik and Irila had paused, but Harlin, the guy who'd helped me before, was already moving toward us.
"Hey," he said, waving me down. "Let's get some ice on that pretty face so it doesn't bruise." He tipped his head toward a metal bin by the sink across the room.
"I'm good," Eladehl promised him.
Harlin just huffed in amusement. "Yeah, but she clocked you hard. Just humor me, will ya?"
"Ice it," Wraythe said. "Or I'll ice it for you."
"Fine!" Eladehl grumbled. "But so you all know, this pretty face doesn't make me helpless."
"No, it doesn't," Harlin agreed. "It simply makes you pretty, and that's fleeting enough. Don't take it for granted." Then he looked at me. "And you want to explain what the attitude is about?"
"I'm curious too," Jamik said.
"My instructor failed me on a test," I admitted. "Rather unfairly."
"How so?" Irila asked.
"We were supposed to swallow a dildo, and I did, but I didn't do it the way hewanted.I mean..." I paused as the main door of the Salle opened again. "Anver?"
Because that was sure who it looked like, and he wasn't alone. It took me a second longer to recognize Zeal, but only because he was still dressed like a guardian. Gone was the black robe he wore most often. When he showed up in my room, he tended to wear something similar to Eladehl. Right now, the God of Temptation had on black leather pants, heavy boots, and a black shirt that buttoned high enough to hide all of his lace.
And he looked good.
Anver shoved a hand into his hair, flicked his eyes to Zeal, but didn't quite look at him directly. "So, I was told to come here because Eladehl might need a sparring partner."
"Right," Jamik said. "Harlin, he's with the kids."
"And the other one?" Irila asked.
"Which other?" Harlin wanted to know.
Irila looked at Jamik in confusion, but it seemed my mentor knew exactly how to handle this. "Five kids makes an odd one out," Jamik said, dropping a hand on Irila's shoulder to keep her from contradicting him.
Except Harlin wasn't stupid. He just nodded. "Right. I'm not in the group yet. You still want me to work with Nari, Irila?"
"Um..." She glanced between Jamik and Zeal. "Do we?" she asked her partner.
"You do," Zeal said. "Nari, I want you to learn from that man. Jamik, you and Irila make sure my devoted improve their technique. Wraythe, Talin? Stop fucking around and put some effort into it." Then he smiled. "And my dear Ela, ice that face while Anver warms up." He patted Anver's arm. "No, Harlin can't see me, but he's close. The rest will leave in a bit. So how about you stop standing around like some invisible man is talking, hm?"
"Right," I said, motioning for Harlin to move a bit further away with me. When I had a little space, I dropped my voice. "Sorry. An ex from school. It's a bit tense."
"I see that," Harlin agreed, lifting his hands. "So give me some light strikes and catch me up?"
I matched him and tested a few simple strikes before answering. "It used to be the four of us, with Anver instead of Talin. We had it all figured out. Eladehl and I would follow the Path of the Body. Anver and Wraythe would be our guardians. Then Anver decided he'd found someone better for him, and I hadn't truly committed to the Path of the Body. And now we're here."
"And?" Harlin pressed. "Because there's too much tension for that to be all."
"And the girl he is bonded with is a complete bitch who hates me. Anver went from my best friend to the enemy's protector, and yet I can't make myself hate him."
Harlin snuck in a careful strike, forcing me to block. "Then there's something about a test, huh?"
"Yeah. Deep throating." I added a leg strike. "But instead of just tilting my head back and trying to gag on a fake dick, my partner assisted, making it something a little sexier, and I failed because of it. Not sure if you remember that test, but it sucks."
"Yeah, Jola hated it." He smiled. "My desire, I mean. Granted, we had different instructors for our year, but everyone hates that test. It's designed to make you feel as uncomfortable as possible. But I'm assuming you reached the base?"
"Oh yeah." I laughed once. "But Oryll said I used my teeth and failed me. I didn't. It was just because Ela grabbed my hair, tilted my head back, and handled the dick - er, dildo. But the man wants to see me fail because I'm not a Priestess of the Body."
