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Chapter 32
Nariana
We spent the rest of the weekend recovering. Anver, sadly, had to go back to his room and check on Tishlie. That meant Talin did crawl in bed with Wraythe and snuggle with him. Ela and I had to fight not to giggle about that, but once they were asleep, we both snuck in to get a glimpse of the cuteness.
Puppy and Bunny had been moved to a shelf over the headboard. It seemed that Wraythe had replaced holding them with one of us. And while they rested, Ela and I made sure we had all of our homework caught up. Since the guys had been handling so much of mine, it was easy. We didn't even make it to lunchtime before we were out of things to do.
That was how I ended up reading a romance novel while lying in Ela's lap. He had an adventure story he'd been trying to finish, and the pair of us hadn't enjoyed a lazy day like this in far too long. It was nice. It was refreshing. It was also over much too soon.
The next morning sent us back to our classes. Saval posted a listing of our grades on the door. For once, Ela and I weren't shocked to see a set of excellents beside our names. Then, once the class officially started, she spent the remainder of our time answering questions about how to make a session flow more smoothly. It seemed that we weren't the only ones to have an anxious patron, unsure of what was expected of him, but we'd easily eased him into the session. Not everyone had enjoyed that kind of luck.
Class by class, we made it through the day, but I was barely back home that afternoon before Jamik knocked at the door. He asked how my homework was going. When I said I was ahead, his smile made it clear he'd just caught me at something.
"Good," he replied. "Then you have an hour to change clothes and get to the Salle. You've missed too many lessons, Nari, and Protection is one of your Paths."
"Yes, mentor," I grumbled.
He chuckled. "I prefer it when you call me Dad, but either works."
Because while my guys had been doing their best to attend the training sessions, I'd been busy with other things. That meant someone usually stayed back with me - often, it was Talin - while the others worked out. This time, I had no excuse. The problem was that a few months off from so much exercise meant that I knew I'd be aching tomorrow. I hadn't kept up with it, and the temple guardians didn't understand the concept of taking it easy on me.
So, just over an hour later, the four of us were walking through the basement halls that led to the practice room for all Priests of Protection. Just before we got there, we passed a similar room, but it was under construction. I stopped to look, but with my arm hooked in Talin's, I didn't get the chance to see much.
"That's the shooting range," he explained. "Kinen's having it completely rebuilt, and the far wall is at the edge of the temple. We're underground, so that means the bullets have no chance of hitting anything but the dirt."
"Ahh..." I nodded to show I understood, but I hadn't heard a thing about it in months. "When will it be done?"
"No idea," he admitted. "They had to remove the sand pit, make something to cover the back wall that would catch the bullets, and set up safety measures. I'm not overly worried, though. You can use a gun well enough, and until we're leaving the temple, Wraythe and I won't need to carry them."
Which made me feel a little better about all of this. The idea of my guys walking around the temple with a gun in their belt just felt wrong. Like they'd be showing off or asking for trouble. I wasn't sure why it felt that way, but it sounded like it didn't matter. Talin wanted us to have access to guns for the kinds of sessions that weren't completely controlled. The kind we'd do once we'd graduated.
Then we reached the Salle. Wraythe, being first, pulled open the door and held it for the rest of us. I didn't even make it inside before I heard the ruckus of many voices, broken by occasional laughter. When we'd started this, the Salle had barely been used, more like a requirement than anything the guardians looked forward to. Now?
People were everywhere. I saw Harlin and his partner sparring at the back. Irila and Jamik were stretching at the side. A dozen other faces I recognized were in here, but so were many I had never met before. And there, right in the center of it all, was Zeal.
"Hello, my Chosen," he called out, making the room fall silent as everyone turned.
"So this is where you've been spending your time?" I asked.
Zeal smiled, and it was the kind that was filled with nothing but honest happiness. "It's nice to feel like a god again," he admitted. "But come. I had Jamik invite you for a reason."
I let go of Talin and headed that way. The bodies parted for me, revealing Roek as Zeal's partner. My instructor nodded in respect, but then turned, making it clear that he was not the reason I'd been summoned.
"This," Zeal said, gesturing to a tiny, delicate-looking woman, "is Priestess Ursula. I want her to train you in a very different style, Nari."
I'd heard about her. She was the assistant instructor for the Priests of Protection. Ursula looked more like a Priestess of the Body than a guardian, though. She was beautiful, even smaller than Amerlee, and not muscular like most guardians. However, she moved with a strange predatory grace when she stepped up to offer her hand.
"I've been told that you trained in dance?" she asked.
I nodded as I clasped her hand. "Yep, and acrobatics, to a point. Primary instruction, mostly."
"I can work with that," she assured me. "I trained with a woman from Kaznia, the neighboring country to the west. There, they have protectors who aren't always muscular, and no gods to choose their professions. Smaller warriors used this style, which takes advantage of speed and agility more than sheer strength."
"Nice," I agreed. "That sounds like something I could use."
"It is," Roek said, speaking up. "Ursula was an exceptional guardian in her day. She and her desire both moved into the Path of the Word this summer, and I wanted to take advantage of her abilities before she began her formal education on that Path."
"That's... allowed?" I asked.
