Page 21 of Guiding Reason
Just keep calm.“I’m fine, Guardian Taros, but thank you.”
Hyran was glad his mothers had never once allowed him to lapse when it came to politeness, stating they didn’t like young Guardians weren’t ever taught a sufficient amount of it. Right now, falling back on it when a part of him wanted to throttle Taros and carry Col back to his own apartment was a Covenant-blessed skill to rely on.
“Sure. Col, I was wondering, do you want me to move out of the room we were sharing, or do you want to pick a new one? Something a little quieter?”
Hyran froze, stopping in the center of the clinic’s generous foyer. He closed Col in his arms, pressed him to his chest. He was mindful of not hurting the Conduit or tried to be, but all he wanted was to lift him up in his arms andrun,as fast and far as his power allowed.
Instead, he stood there, baring his teeth at Taros. “Why would you say that? I have done nothing to you. I have done nothing to him. Why would you say that right here, right now?”
Taros grinned. The panoplian’s power was exceptional and could be devastating if Hyran let Taros touch him. Blades blossomed on Taros’s face and the back of his hands. Vin was moving slowly, circling them and using the nurse bot as cover. Hyran’s hold on Col tightened.
“Guardians, please remember where you are,” the nurse bot said.
“You imprinted on him,” Taros said. “That’s what you did. And you upset Orrey and had him look around a violent murder scene. That’s not what I’d call nothing.”
The worst was, he wasn’t wrong. Not about any of it.
Col put a hand on his chest. “Hyran.” He looked down at Col, who looked angry. “Let me go.”
“No, I—” He shook his head. “Please don’t go, Col.”
“I won’t. But you’re holding me quite tightly. Please let me go.”
Hyran let his arms fall away, fear taking him when Col stepped away from him and walked toward Taros.
Col hit Taros’s chest with a flat palm. “You’re overreacting. Stop it.”
Vin was still behind the bot. “He wanted to drag Hyran out of your room in the middle of the night last night after thinking about all the things he might be doing to you, and I stopped him. He’s being reasonable now.”
“We’re not letting some quick runner take you away from us. Sen had them run a blood test yesterday because Orreysuggested that, so we know he’s not pretending the imprinting happened, but—”
“Guardian, that is a serious accusation to level against a fellow Guardian,” the nurse bot said.
“And I’ll seriously damage your circuitry,” Vin said. “Shut it.”
The bot fell quiet, though its eyes blinked as if it were panicking.
Hyran took a step toward Col, who still stood there, his palm on Taros’s chest.He’s mine. He shouldn’t be touching another.
“You would honestly think I’d do such a thing? Lie about something like that? I’d be cast out of Ferrea or any city. I’d be no better than those insurrectionists who came here and murdered people. They almost murdered Col!”
“It was Ferrean Guardians who killed one of our hospitality horrors yesterday, and the remaining one was crying his eyes out in our suite all night.” Vin crossed his arms and shoved the nurse bot out of the way. “I’ve decided I don’t like a lot of things here in Ferrea. A lot of them. How some of you treat Conduits.”
“Guardians—” the bot started.
“Everyone, shut up.” Col spun and grabbed Vin by his long hair, then Taros by his collar. “Shut up and follow my words: Hyran doesn’t deserve this. Well, you upset my little brother, Hyran, so you deserve some of this, but we already discussed that. But what you two are doing is asking him to be his worst, and that reflects very poorly on me, the person leading our team. I won’t have it. Is that understood?”
He yanked them around, which should have been comical given the size difference, but Hyran couldn’t find it so. Col was too close to those other Guardians for his comfort.
And also…touch me like that. Tell me what to do.
“Yes,” Vin said.
“Yeah, but if he—”
“Is it understood, Taros?”
The blades bloomed sharper, then faded as the panoplian controlled himself. “Yes, it’s understood.”
