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Because of that, I wasn't surprised when the guy from the other night moved before me, taking his place as my spotter without asking. I jerked my chin toward him in greeting, but didn't put down the weights I was curling.
"Dacos," he said, tapping his chest. "Heard you're Wraythe."
"Yep."
"Wasn't really hard to find you, either. Just asked for the biggest guy in the temple."
I lifted the bar one more time before giving up. After easing it to the ground by my feet, I let out a heavy sigh. "How's your desire? Feeling ok?"
"Yeah," Dacos said. "Um, that's actually why I wanted to find you. Can you pass yours a message from me? Let him know I appreciate him taking my feelings into consideration. Guess you two are pretty close, huh?"
"Wrong close," I assured him. "We both used to be with the same girl. Not into guys myself, but I'm big enough to make sure no one breaks my best friend. It works."
His eyes shifted to the inside of my left arm. "God-touched?"
"Yeah. A kiss from Zeal put that on me. Pretty sure he's the only guy I've ever let put his tongue in my mouth, and I'm not completely convinced he counts."
"Wait..." Dacos took a step closer. "You mean, like a literal kiss?"
"Mhm. Fucker even apologized first." I shrugged that off. "But Ela was hoping Osas wasn't hurting the next day. Said he tried to be careful."
Dacos knelt before me and dropped his voice. "You don't understand. In our first year, when we picked partners like that? He ended up with a guy that skipped the lube. Didn't worry about prep. Just shoved Osas against the wall and had his way. Since then, he's topped a few times, but will never bottom, and tends to prefer women. Theonlyreason he approached your desire - "
"Ward," I corrected. "He's my friend, not a romantic interest."
"Ok, ward," Dacos agreed. "But it's because the other guys kinda pushed him into it. I was waiting for the situation to go bad, especially when your Eladehl got in his face."
I just chuckled. "Yeah. In truth, I wasn't sure how that was going to end. Guess he read the room right, though."
"Yeah, he did," Dacos agreed. "My point, though, is that I owe you one. And your partner. Have no idea how I'll ever repay it, but it's there."
I clasped the man's shoulder. "Well, easiest thing is to let me know if you hear people talking shit about his partner, Nariana."
"The girl with five Paths?" He nodded. "Can do. Having some problems?"
"Some is an understatement. Oryll and Ghale want her to quit. The High Priest doesn't like that she has more lace than him. Feels like half the temple is either for her or against her. Not many people in the middle."
"It's because we don't get it," he assured me. "Not because we hate her. It's just because no one knows how it happened."
"Zeal's a short shit, you know that? Only a couple of inches taller than Nari. Six foot on a good day. He wanders through the temple all the time, able to be seen by those who believe in him, but they never know it. He wears a black robe, so we all just assume he's a priest."
"So sure he's not?" Dacos asked, mimicking what so many others had asked before.
I leaned over my knees, closer to his face. "Beneath that robe? He's covered in lace. Every. Single. Inch of him. Yeah, his dick too. I'msure. He's got a plan for Nari, but says she has to figure out her Path first. Unfortunately he's made her a target. Oh, he knows he did, but he needs her to be. So I'm sure you can see why passing along rumors is a big deal to me?"
Dacos scanned my face for a moment, probably trying to decide if I was insane. But his question wasn't the one I expected. "Isn't that her guardian's job?" he asked.
"You know why I don't call Eladehl my desire? Because that title is reserved for her. If you think Talin's the only one watching her back, then you need to learn how to pay better attention."
"You sure I'm not on the wrong side?" Dacos asked.
I let a smile slowly curl my lips. "Man, I don't fucking care. I'm a pawn in a god's personal game. I got a lot bigger shit going on than who likes me, who thinks I'm crazy, and what grade you're handing out."
He smiled. "I gave him an excellent. Not sure what you gave Osas, but your friend? He passed with flying colors."
"Osas got a good. Ela asked me to score him that way."
And Dacos offered his hand. "Then add two more to your side. Who knows, maybe we'll even end up as friends."
