SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Hi all, I'm new to the group... I was hoping someone could identify a book I vaguely remembered reading a while back. The only details I remember are as follows:

- a bunch of boys grow up in a religious/martial order where they are ruthlessly trained in various aspects of war. Each boy is specialized in a particular area.
- a couple of boys find out that in the same compound girls are being trained in the art of pleasure. These girls are pampered and given all the food and other things that they want.
- the priests are actually dissecting the girls looking for... Something...
- the boys engineer an escape with one of the girls, and to do so they escape the compound, and have to cross some sort of barren landscape. The girl is unsuited, I believe they take shelter in a depression in the ground along the way.
- they make it to a city with a slum lord who goes by the name Rabbit (I think, not sure)
- one of the boys fights a prince with a sword, one on one in an elite martial school... but they are still looked down upon...

And that's all I remember... I have been struggling to remember the novel or series or author, but it just isn't coming. And I'd love to re-read the novel/series.

Thanks.

The Left Hand of God

CBRetriever wrote: "The Left Hand of God"

You are a hero! Thank you... this mystery has been killing me.

you're welcome

You have gotten me intrigued by the book description, but the reviews seem pretty mixed, and this is book one of a series. I'm more into hard sci-fi then fantasy, but maybe I'll look into it.

I read the first and second books but didn't buy the third book