Page 82 of Guardian of Exile

She sighed and filled him in on the problem.

“He’s stalling,” Kaden said flatly.

“Sort of. I think he came here knowing exactly what he wanted to do, and now that he’s actually seen his mother, he has no idea what he wants to do. I wouldn’t care so much about the delay,” she lied, “but his insistence on staying in the Last Outpost isn’t great.”

Kaden studied her. “What are you going to do?”

The only thing she could, in good conscience, do. “Wait until he figures it out. Please tell Evra I said not to come charging after us. I’ll check in nightly.”

“And his Shaman problem?”

There was no easy solution to that. “Mitigate it however we have to. I can sink a lot into A-Queltr, but it’s a poor substitute for actual magic use, apparently. If we’re lucky, his regeneration will slow down and he’ll talk to his mother before it becomes a problem.” Nyx wasn’t holding out a lot of hope that they would be that lucky, and Kaden’s next words reflected a similar lack of optimism.

“If you need anything, I’m always within shouting distance of the receiving room. So if something happens, open a portal and shout.”

She stared at him, trying to decide if what he’d told her the other night about believing she could handle herself had been a lie. But he wasn’t forcing his way into her problems. He was just offering help if she needed it. She could take it or leave it.

“I will. Thanks.”

He nodded. She went to grab her and Tristen’s things, and Kaden—presumably—went back to gardening. As she carried their bags back into a room that fortunately still contained the universe’s most unique Shaman, she sincerely hoped they wouldn’t be here more than a day or two.