AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"This right girl," he said. "Wild guess, but it's Nariana, right?"
The blood in my body stopped moving and a chill slammed into me hard. "Why?"
"I'm mentoring her in grappling," he explained. "I also know that she's the one who pulled Ghale aside to talk about some other student. I'm guessing that's you, because Ghale went out of his way to ask if I'd help a first-year come to terms with the limits between being a loyal guardian and being abused."
"That's a strong word," I told him.
He nodded once. "Yep. Here's the thing, though. You say you lost the right one. She has a very devoted guardian, and his marks? They span the width of his back, so that's a fucking strong bond. Yours is tiny, and some of those fade away. They tend to fall on people who won't stay their Path."
"I can't step down," I told him. "Don't even try to talk me into it."
"Why not?" he asked. "Action's not a bad Path. Fuck, it was my second choice. I wanted to study medicine, actually. If it wasn't for Val, it would've been my first by the time we went in the tears."
"I'm not meant to step down," I said, hoping he'd just accept that.
But Grath wasn't like most of the other students I'd been hanging around lately. He was neither shallow nor oblivious. His eyes just scanned my face, and then he chuckled softly, moving into another stretch.
"Priestess of Temptation and the man who wished he was at her back. Zeal has a plan for you, huh?"
I couldn't even make a pretense of stretching. "You believe in Zeal?"
"Kinda why we're here," he pointed out. "Now, I'm not going to lie and say I'm a perfect priest, but the thought that all of this is a sham? I'm just not buying it. I mean, explain the marks to me if there's no god!"
A smile touched my lips, but it didn't feel like happiness. This felt like relief. "Yeah. You know some people see him, right?"
"Not really shocked," Grath admitted. "Like I said, I'm mentoring Nari in grappling. She's..." His words trailed off and a smile touched his lips. "Divine?"
"That's a good way of putting it. Every time she touches the tears, she gets a little closer too."
Grath looked over, measuring me. "You sure Tishlie's your ward?"
"That's what the marks say," I told him. "They checked. Why?"
"Because you talk about Nari with that tone. How do you feel about Talin?"
"He's a good guy," I admitted. "Wanted to hate him, but we've become friends, I think. He's kinda been dragging me back in with my old friends. Nari and her guys, I mean."
Grath's brows were just getting higher the longer I talked. "Uh huh. Don't tell anyone else that?"
Then I realized what I'd just said. "Wraythe, her, and Eladehl were inseparable as kids. Best friends, Grath. Everyone in our year referred to them as her guys, and they were 'the Three.' Now that she has Talin as her guardian, they're called 'the Four.' See, I used to be one of those guys, and now I'm not. She and Ela are lovers. Wraythe's completely devoted to his best friend. Talin is clearly hers, through and through."
"Mhm," Grath mumbled. "I'm in a class with Nari, Talin, and Wraythe. I'm also not an idiot. You've got an inside scoop on that group, don't ya?"
The sigh fell out, and I couldn't even hide it. "No. I did, long ago, but Talin took my place. My ward hates that I was close with Nari. Tish's supposed partner - because I don't think those two really care about each other for more than making problems - well, they're jealous that 'Nari always gets everything she wants.'"
"And what does'everything'mean?" he asked.
Yeah, I was starting to like this guy. "Um, Eladehl. He's a beautiful man. Not sure if you've met him."
"I've seen him around," Grath admitted. "And yeah, he's beautiful. Heard he's also poison, though. Don't touch unless you have a death wish."
"That's him," I agreed. "But Ciella? She's wanted him for as long as I can remember. Then, when he started thinking about girls - well, his eyes turned to the dark-haired one, not the golden one. Ciella tried to chase Wraythe off to get her chance consoling Ela, and it didn't work. Nari got in the middle, turned the two best friends into three, and I'm the lucky guy who kissed them both first."
"And Tishlie won't let you forget it?" he asked.
I shook my head. "She doesn't even know that part. All she knows is that I was invited into the inner circle and she wasn't. Ciella wanted Eladehl. Tishlie? She just wanted to be one of the cool kids. Ironically, Nari never realized that she was one. She thought they were outcasts."
"But they were the shining glory of your class, huh?"
