16. COLDIS
16
COLDIS
Hyran got dressed using his speed, and Col found it utterly fascinating to see him go through the bag of clothing the protector had dropped for him. The butler bot had apparently left it right outside the door.
In front of the small vanity, Hyran wove his long hair in two tight braids and coiled those at the back of his head in barely three seconds. When he was done, he looked over his shoulder.
“Does anything hurt? Do you need help getting dressed?”
“Not at all,” Col said and pulled on a soft pair of pants and a matching shirt, both designed for spending a day doing nothing and streaming dramas. “As I said, it’s the kinetomancer speed I haven’t yet gotten used to.”
“You will.” Hyran walked over to Col. “I can always slow down, if you prefer, but sometimes I forget.” The Guardian took Col’s hand in his, his fingers soft and warm and holding Col firmly. Col channeled, barely even thinking about it, and Hyran smiled. “It feels different when you do it. It never felt like this.”
Col shrugged. “Imprinting is supposed to do that. I assure you, I’m just channeling like any other Conduit might.”
“Hmm. I know you’re better than most. I saw your record. Your Op-AI had no issue giving me that even before I imprinted. I think it wanted to show you off.”
“Well, yes, I’m good at doing a normal thing, nothing worth showing off. And I might have learned more emergency channeling than I had originally planned given that my team sometimes does idiotic things and needs it.” Hyran’s face fell. “No more, of course.” Col ran his fingers through his hair, flinched when he touched the sealant that covered his wound.
“Does it hurt?” Hyran carefully tilted Col’s head, and he let him.
“No. I mean, I’m probably full of pain medication and wouldn’t notice if it did. It’s fine.”
Hyran frowned. “They said it will likely scar.”
“So? No one will see it.”
“I didn’t want to give you a scar. I didn’t want to hurt you.”
The Guardian looked guilty. Col didn’t understand it, but he knew that the imprinting played into it. Be kind to him.
“We’ve been over this. I’ll gladly take the scar as a reminder that my Guardian saved my life. That’s not a story many Conduits can tell about their imprinting.”
“I suppose not.” Hyran bit his lip. “Your team is set on hating me passionately as far as I can tell.”
“Are you asking me a question, Hyran? They know as an imprinted Conduit, I have duties. And they have learned to follow my orders.”
Hyran’s face darkened even more, and his shoulders sagged, making the very tall Guardian look small. “It’s not just you who has duties in this. I do too. Make you happy and care for you, that’s my duty. I hope we can find mutual happiness, of course. And while my feelings don’t align with the logic of it, I know that you come with your team. Your family. I’d prefer it if they hated me less.”
Col couldn’t help it. He giggled. “Maybe if I tell them how well you helped me in the shower, they will go easier on you. Really, it’s that you cornered Orrey in the clinic and then later dragged him through that scene of a murder that has all of them suspicious. Orrey is the youngest, and there are so many things he still has to learn, so they’re all very protective.”
“I explained why I did both. And I wasn’t even wrong. What he did during the attack, only a protector Conduit could have ever thought of doing, and it saved us all.”
“Well, let me repeat, you were wrong in suspecting us, but I hadn’t even thought about how things could have gone without my little brother and his unconventional plan. You’re right about him.” Col shook his head. “My little brother. I really need to get him an adequate rank.”
“They have food out there, and it’s late. You don’t need to do anything right now but eat something and relax. You’ve barely eaten anything all day, and that’s fine with the medication and after a concussion, but a little food can’t hurt.”
“Overprotective Guardian, just like the four out there.” Col sighed. “I have to talk to everyone anyway. I was just avoiding it when I took you into my bed. And you have to set up a meeting with your mothers still. Don’t think I forgot.”
“Tomorrow, I promise you.” He shrugged. “It’s too late for it today.”
Col nodded because Hyran was right. Light had faded, and Ferrea glowed in the darkness outside the windows, a peaceful sight.
“And you will have to get used to the idea of me going to talk with Alesa. Maybe Pinota, but I’m not sure that will be helpful.”
Hyran’s other hand came to rest on Col’s shoulder, stopping short of reeling him in. “Col, that’s dangerous. I can’t let you do that.”
“You’ll come with me. Vin will come with me. I’ve dealt with Alesa before this, and I can deal with him now. He knows things I want to know, and I won’t let you stop me from getting to that knowledge. It’s important, for everyone in the cities, maybe even the people outside them.”
Hyran opened his mouth, closed it, his lips pressing tight. He looked even paler than usual.
Col let his channeling come to an end and petted the Guardian’s chest. “I’m not going there tonight. We’ll stay in the suite with the others. Come on.”
Hyran followed Col, sticking close. He’ll always be close from now on. He’s my Guardian, I’m his Conduit.
Col opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. “What are we having for dinner anyway?”
“SuSo’s Dumplings.”
Col looked over his shoulder. “Are they good?”
“I like them. They are themed after various cities, with specific spices and fillings. The Aurean Dumplings are nice.”
Aurea. Where I was first made a citizen. Where I was healed. “I’ll have to try those.”
“You’re looking sad. Because I mentioned dumplings? I didn’t mean to make you angry if it’s that, it’s just that I’m worried. I hurt you once already. I can’t let you get hurt again and—”
Col spun and shut Hyran up by covering his very soft lips with his fingers. “I was just thinking about something that has nothing at all to do with you. I’m fine.” He smiled. “We can share one of those Aurean dumplings, if you like?”
Hyran blushed, nodded. His lips were slightly parted, and his breath rushed past Col’s fingers, tickling and utterly confusing in how the sensation spread.
Hyran reached up to catch Col’s fingers before he could pull them back and kissed the tips. “That would be nice.”
He didn’t let Col’s hand go as they joined the others in the living space.
They’re all here, Col thought and relaxed.
They were watching an episode of My Secret Guardian . Col could tell everyone was channeling, Lapatea with a hand on Karmine’s forearm, Orrey while leaning against Senlas, one leg slung over the Guardian’s, and Yamara, his fingers touching the back of Vin’s hand, which the Guardian had put flat on the space between them.
Yamara was decently strong in his channeling if Col had to guess. Lapatea less so, though Col was willing to not care at all if having the hospitality guide made Karmine happy, and from the looks, it did.
“You’re finally up,” Orrey said, straightening.
“Well, there are things to do.”
“We’re watching the show now,” Vin said. “You can join us. There’s food. You’re not allowed to work though.”
Hyran cleared his throat. “Please sit, Col. I’ll bring you something.”
“Mmm, you know what Col likes?” Taros asked. He was sitting between Orrey and Vin and postured on the couch, a line of blades above his eyebrows reflecting the light that came off the screen.
Col saw Hyran’s nostrils flare but decided to ignore it, for now. Taros wouldn’t stop his attempts at pushing Hyran just yet, and Col knew it all too well.
Orrey looked from one of the posturing Guardians to the others even while Senlas put a soothing hand on his Conduit’s shoulder.
“You were out, little brother?” Col asked as he approached the couch. The thing was large, seeing as it was made for a Guardian Games team, but he had to pick out where to sit carefully all the same. Maybe that’s why Hyran asked me to sit. If so, good tactical thinking on his part.
Orrey nodded. “We had to. I mean, we had to help the protectors. And everyone here in the Grounds of course, but right now, helping one is helping the other.”
Vin, reading the situation clearly, scooted toward Taros and made Taros scoot in return. Yamara, who’d been sitting in the corner, looked uncertain, but followed immediately when Vin beckoned him. Col wasn’t sure what to make of Yamara leaning against Vin in a mechanical way, his eyes growing distant.
Vin’s expression broke slightly as well, eyes widening in what Col recognized as shock. “Just sit normally. Col and his Guardian are better left in the corner, that’s all.”
Yamara startled away from Vin. “Oh. I misunderstood. I apologize, Guardian.”
“You did nothing wrong.” Vin’s fingers twitched, but he didn’t reach out to comfort Yamara.
I missed something there. I missed a lot there. Fuck. “You joined our team, didn’t you?” Col asked the petite Conduit and sat. “Has no one told you the Conduits of Team Three don’t apologize?”
Yamara’s left hand was a tightly balled fist. “I…”
“That’s true,” Orrey said. “Look at me. I brought protectors onto the Grounds, or at least that’s what everyone says. That’s breaking the rules badly. I never apologized.”
Hyran walked around the screen with two plates. He’d taken longer than he strictly needed to get the food, which convinced Col it had been Hyran’s way of accommodating him, really.
“Is that a rule?” Hyran asked as he sat next to Col and held out a plate to him. “Aurean dumplings and one with wild spices. And of course extra sorono hummus and three-color crackers for you.”
“If Col says it’s a rule, it’s a rule. The wild spices ones are really good,” Orrey said.
Col looked at the food and smiled, looked at his family. “Thank you, Orrey.” He sighed, wishing for strength, hating that he had to ruin this gathering. “I didn’t want to tell you—I don’t want to tell you, really. No one should know. We should just leave and—forget that. I have to tell someone.
“We’re fucked. We’re deeply and utterly Hound-fucked. The Ferrean Op-AI is dead, and there’s no way to replace it.”
With the words, something in Col crumbled. He wasn’t sure what exactly, maybe it was because of the medication or because of the attack, because his family had been in danger and because, one way or the other, he had Hyran now, was a Conduit under custody-ship.
Regardless, tears filled his eyes suddenly and washed his vision away. He watched one salty drop fall onto one of the dumplings before the plate was whisked from his fingers at rapid speed and he was crushed against Hyran’s chest, his Guardian’s strong arms sheltering him from the world.