Page 19 of Guiding Reason

“You’re a good one, aren’t you? Like the ideal Guardian. Like Wilan.”

Hyran smiled at Col shyly. It suited him. “I don’t know about that but follow my words: We are like a system of two suns, you and I, and I don’t want to rob you of your gravity.”

Col broke out into laughter. “Did you take the whole night to come up with that?”

“No. I read poetry. It’s from a poem.”

“Ah. Are you going to make me read poetry too?”

There was a twinkle in Hyran’s eye, a trace of genuine amusement. “There are classes. I think I’ll sign you up for classes, Coldis. Maybe we can go together and write poems for each other.”

“Call me Col. It’s what my team calls me.”

“Your family.”

“Yeah.”

“Can I…will you tell me whether you are intimate with them?”

Col sighed and rubbed his face. “We’re not that kind of family. Senny and I grew up together. Karmine and I never really felt like we should even try. I have sex with Taros and sometimes with Vin, but it’s about physical comfort and convenience. Neither are in love with me, and I’m not in love with them either.”

“Taros. And Vin. The two of them were just in here.” Hyran’s mood sagged again.

“And now they’re not. They’re here because Karmine is still recovering and because Senny wouldn’t make Orrey spend a night at the clinic to wait outside my door.”

“You say that. I believe you. It’s still difficult.”

Col could only imagine. That Hyran acknowledged as much and wasn’t reacting blindly meant a lot.Saving me again, just in a different way.

“You mean it, Hyran? About moving to Argentea? You’re not going to pull me from my team?”

Hyran shook his head. “I won’t do that. I’ll move. I don’t ever want you to hate me. And I really don’t want you to call me a Hound-fucker again.”

“I called you that?”

Hyran glanced away before meeting Col’s eyes again. “I asked whether you loved Guardian Mirol. You said of course you did and then called me an insensitive Hound-fucker.”

“Oh. Well, I probably meant it at the time.”

“Not now?”

Col sighed. “No, not now. Please remember that I do have a concussion. I was not myself entirely.”

“I don’t blame you, Col. I’m glad.”

The door opened and a young-looking physician with wide eyes walked in, followed by Vin.

“Make sure we can take him back with us,” Vin said and pointed at Col.

7

HYRAN

“Make sure we can take him back with us.”

Don’t touch him, you can’t have him,Hyran thought. He wanted to crush Coldis—Col—to his chest and never let the Conduit go. Never let another Guardian near him ever again. He forced himself to not move while the physician approached.

The physician had a white ring and a dark blue one on his collar which told Hyran he was still in training and hadn’t picked a secondary specialization beyond general physician yet. He looked uneasy and glanced over his shoulder at Vin before managing a shaky smile. He stepped up to Col’s bed and accessed the patient data on the screen mounted there.