23. HYRAN
23
HYRAN
Hyran let out a shuddering breath and let go from where his hands clawed at the doorframe.
“Col. Let go. Let me check your hand. We should head to the clinic right away.”
He brushed Col’s hair. So soft. He’s so fucking soft.
“My hand is fine.” Col tilted his head up, the silky strands of hair running all over Hyran’s fingers.
“Come on, let me see. You just punched that Hound-fucker in the face.”
Hyran stepped back and lifted Col’s hand, mindful that fractures could happen, or cuts. Back in the interview room, a small cleaning bot ran over the floor, wiping away the blood.
“You see? I’m fine.”
And Col was. The few droplets on his knuckles weren’t his own, and nothing looked swollen.
“Maybe just a scan, to be safe.”
“Hyran. I’m fine. It would hurt if it weren’t.”
“I don’t like that it doesn’t hurt at all. I take it you don’t usually hit people in the face.”
“Most people don’t behave like Alesa fucking Yun just did.”
Hyran nodded. “You broke his nose, I think. And you actually had to defend yourself against him before this?”
“Yes. But as I said—as you saw—I can handle Alesa. Come on, I want to wash the blood off. Then we’ll talk to the Op-AI. You heard what he said, or were you too focused with keeping yourself from rushing in there?”
Hyran frowned as Col headed toward the exit. “Yes. The way he talks—about you in particular, but about Conduits in general. Hound-fucker. What was that thing he said, at the beginning? What does he want to be?”
“The king thing? And queens and concubines? To be honest, I’m not exactly sure. Bathrooms?” he asked a security bot outside the observation room.
“I will show you, Conduit. Are you all right, or should we arrange for transport to first aid facilities? The closest one is on this side of the Grounds.”
“I’m fine. Water and soap will do but thank you.”
The bot blinked a sharp series of lights. “Of course, Conduit.”
Hyran closed the bathroom door behind Col and himself, leaving the bot to wait outside. He couldn’t help himself, ran a hand over Col’s back, and watched as the Conduit soaped his hands, rinsed off the blood and suds.
“Don’t you think it’s a bit much to have the sharp black and white even here?”
Hyran looked up and met Col’s eyes in the mirror wall above the row of sinks. “Huh?”
“Well, Guardian, mind your surroundings. White tile floor, black tiles on the walls. Seems like a lot for a bathroom.”
He soaped his hands for a second time. Yes, wash off every trace of that vile Guardian. Forget he ever tried to—tried to—
“Hyran?”
Hyran focused on Col’s eyes, blue and brown. So pretty. Mine. Mine to protect.
“I’m here. I don’t know. It’s just a bathroom. Sorry, can I see? I think it’s a little red, a little swollen? How about we just get a quick scan done, hmm? They won’t keep you long for a scan, and it’s practically on the way back to the Tower.”
Col lifted his hand up in front of Hyran’s eyes and flexed, made a fist, splayed his fingers. He showed no signs of pain, but Hyran reached for the recycle towels and handed one to Col, then used another to carefully dab the possibly injured hand dry.
“I’m fine. We’re going back without stopping by the clinic, but I appreciate that you’re making sure I’m not hurting. That means a lot, Hyran.”
Hyran ran his fingers over the back of Col’s hand, making his touch light and marveling at the soft skin. He hadn’t exactly noticed how soft Col’s skin was before. It made him feel like a fool for missing something so wonderful and failing to appreciate it.
“You’re trained to say that. I know that. What’s strange though? It still helps to hear you say it.”
Col held the towel out to him. “That’s why they teach us it. Can you toss that for me? And my hand is dry now. I think I’ll need it back.”
Hyran did, tossing the towel he’d used as well, glad to have something to do while at the same time realizing that’s why Col had asked. He sighed.
“I really hate Guardians like that Alesa,” Col said. “You are nothing like him. You’re all the things I love about Guardians.”
“Trained to say that as well?”
Hyran simply couldn’t stop holding Col, touching Col. He’d backed him up against the sink. Vile. Cornering him like this is vile. So Hyran stepped back, only half a step.
“Yes. Look at yourself. You need it.”
Hyran did. The mirror made him ugly, pupils wide like a hunter’s, face pale like someone about to run for his life. I am ready for a fight to the death, to protect my Conduit, and it shows. With nothing to fight, it might be my Conduit getting hurt.
“Yeah, okay. Okay.”
“You can hold on to me. For a few minutes, just until you calm down.”
Thank Covenant. Hyran pulled Col against his chest and concentrated on how it felt to have his Conduit breathe against him, rest against him. Like nothing else in the entire world was the answer, and Hyran let his eyes drift shut, let the feeling take him.
Col didn’t insist on staying at the Judiciary for another interview. One of the security bots handed him his blouse, and after asking about Linar, they were headed back toward the Grounds.
“She’s calm but quiet,” Hyran repeated when they were back in the elevator.
“She is still grieving,” Col said. He had his back turned to the view now, was facing Hyran instead. “She’s all alone in her grief.”
They left the Judiciary quietly, walking hand in hand. The Municipal AI once more had an auto-drive ready for them, and once they were inside, Hyran breathed a sigh of relief.
“The Western Entrance is quickest, and it can’t hurt to let people see us,” Col said, and so that way it was.
After a minimal holdup at the entrance and a Grounds auto-drive that accelerated and decelerated constantly and without good reason, making it a bumpy ride, they were finally back at the Champions’ Tower. The late afternoon sun was pleasantly warm, and a few of the Guardian Champions were out and about, lazing on the lawn across the street or eating a late lunch at the tables just outside the building.
“Do you—” Hyran began but stopped.
Taros walked toward them. Col hadn’t yet seen Taros because the Conduit looked after the auto-drive as it stuttered away, frowning deeply.
“Do I what? Oh, Taros!”
The panoplian approached, smile as sharp as his skin got. “Anything new?”
“Yes, in a way. But I have things to do first—Orrey needs a rank he can use, you all need to get back to Argentea, and Hyran and I need to go on a mission.”
“Huh?” Taros said.
Hyran didn’t like the way Taros’s gaze flicked to him.
“Details later. Where is everyone right now?”
Taros counted them off on his fingers. “Orrey and Sen are somewhere with the Agri-Team, Karmine is being dragged all over the Grounds so Lapatea can show him all the sights Toso loved best, and Vin and Yamara went off somewhere.”
Col crossed his arms. “Somewhere? They can’t just run off without telling you where to. And then not answer when I call.” He looked off to the side. “Although maybe they can.”
Taros rolled his eyes. “I mean, Vin was talking about weapons and got all ruffled when Yamara said he’d opted out of learning to shoot. Vin said the butler bot is barely even scared of weapons after he has been keeping ours here. He was just blabbering like that. I bet they’re off shooting.”
“Good idea.” Col looked back and forth between Taros and Hyran, who both stood frozen, feet a shoulder’s width apart. “How about we head up to the suite together?”
“I came down here to chat with Hyran. Can you go up first?”
Hyran bared his teeth. “You don’t tell him what to do.”
“He didn’t. He just asked nicely.” Col patted Hyran’s forearm.
“Just a chat,” Taros repeated.
Taros had changed out of the Kashana neck robe he’d worn earlier in the day, Hyran now realized. Is he wearing fucking combat pants? His purple hair was tightly braided, out of the way.
Col just shrugged and walked away from the both of them without looking back.
“Either of you make this team look like idiots, I will personally get you each a demerit.”
Taros beamed. “Absolutely. Hyran?”
“Yes, understood.”
“You two are idiots, but by all means. I’ll be upstairs eating snacks and telling the butler bot exactly how stupid you are. Bye.”
As if by unspoken agreement, the two of them waited until Col had made it up the stairs, on top of which he looked back. Hyran smiled at him. Col rolled his eyes and continued into the building.
Hyran focused his entire attention on Taros. “You wanted to chat?”
“I wanted to kick your fucking ass.”
“I did nothing to you.”
“You piss me off, that’s what you do.”
Hyran grinned at the panoplian, wide and toothy, like Hounds liked doing.
“Not my fault that you’re sensitive, little Taros. And you can’t take me.”
“Do you really think you’re the first kinetomancer I’ve seen? Fucked one once. I might compare notes with Col later.”
“You leave him out of this, Taros.”
Taros leered. “You fucking touching him brought him into this, Hyran. He might want other things than a Guardian in life. You wouldn’t even have the first idea of what he wants.”
Like water from a broken bottle, Hyran’s anger drained. “If you know that so well, then why don’t you stop with the power display and tell me so I can give him everything he wants, needs, or could ever wish for? Do you really think I don’t want to do that?”
“I’m not telling you a Hound-fucking thing unless you let me beat your stupid ass to purples and blues.”
“You’re a Hound-fucker, you know that? And you can’t beat me if you can’t even get close to me.”
A Guardian had walked toward them from the Tower. The man cleared his throat, and Hyran recognized him as Champion Shoda.
“You two sound very impressive,” the pagomancer said, blond hair loosely trailing in the wind. “I couldn’t but overhear this…beautifully proposed challenge. Which you cannot fulfill outside the Champions’ Tower. That sort of thing is forbidden because it reflects badly on all champions.”
“We aren’t champions,” Taros said.
Shoda chuckled. “True. You could have been. Your brother is so skilled, Guardian. Maybe I could propose the sparring center inside? Less prying eyes too.”
“Fine by me,” Hyran said.
“I can put my boot print on both your ass cheeks wherever,” Taros agreed.
Shoda clapped his hands. “Lovely. Follow me, Guardians.”
A few of the champions and Conduits that had interrupted their lawn lounging to observe them followed inside.