Page 63 of Guardian of Exile

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It took four days for Tristen to put his life in such an order that he was comfortable leaving it. Personally, Nyx thought it could have taken less time, and he was dragging his feet because he was afraid to leave. She kept these suspicions to herself, as she didn’t think voicing them would have any positive effect on the speed with which Tristen moved.

Mostly, she stayed out of his way while keeping a close eye on him to ensure he didn’t disappear right under her nose. Putting his life in order mostly amounted to ensuring the Chance Foundation would run itself in his absence, and that involved a lot of time spent with Valerie, who he was placing in charge.

Valerie did not particularly like Nyx, which Nyx considered fair since she had lied to her face to get an introduction to Tristen, and she was now taking Tristen away.

“I still don’t understand why you need to leave,” Valerie said, during what Tristen had sworn was the final final meeting before they could go. “Where are you going? And why is she always with you?”

“I told you—she’s an old family friend. And I am going to visit that family.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“You don’t have to.”

“We need you here,” she insisted.

Tristen shook his head. “You don’t. Most people don’t need a miracle, Val. They need routine medical care and someone who gives a damn about them. You know that better than anyone. That’s why I’m putting you in charge.”

They argued some more, but in the end, Valerie signed the papers he put in front of her, and they walked out of the building, back toward Tristen’s penthouse.

“She likes you, you know,” Nyx said as they walked.

“She doesn’t like me,” Tristen said flatly, “she worships me. She thinks I’m some kind of saint. That’s the problem with this planet. No one understands magic. They see it and they think if you wield it you must be a god or a devil. And neither of those two things is safe to be, because one way or another, they’ll be disappointed in you in the end. And it’s dangerous to be around fanatics when their devotion breaks.”

Nyx studied him for a minute in silence, then said, “That’s a bleak view of people.”

“It’s an honest one,” he countered. “I don’t need to be seen as anything other than what I am. And I certainly don’t need devotion.”

“Then why leave her in charge?”

“Because ten minutes of me being gone and she’ll realize the only thing she ever needed from me was money. She can run this foundation better than I can. She’s been doing it for years.”

“Then why didn’t you just sign the entire thing over to her?”

He didn’t answer until they were outside his building. “Maybe I don’t have much of a life here. Maybe I am broken and lonely like you said. But I have a life here. I don’t out there.” He gestured at the sky.

“You can always build one,” she said.

“Is that what you did?”

“Yeah. Those people up there”—she pointed to the penthouse, where she and the others had been staying for the last few days—“are my family. I chose them, and they were there to remind me of that when I needed them to. When no one else would have. You can find that too.”

He looked like he was about to answer her seriously, then opened the door to usher her into the building and flashed a smile instead. “If I do go searching, I think I’ll leave out picking up one who looks like he wants to murder me all the time.”

Nyx snorted. “Don’t take it personally. Kaden looks at everyone like he wants to murder them.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure in this case it is personal.”

She frowned as they stepped into the elevator. “Did you do something to him?”

He gave her an incredulous look.

“Am I supposed to know what that look is for?”

“You know the guy’s gone on you, right?”

They reached the elevator, and Nyx rolled her eyes as she stepped into it. “Trust me, we sailed that ship a long time ago and it’s never going out to sea again.”