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“I promised him that I would keep you safe.”
“And you will, but not by keeping me locked up in a gilded cage. You’ll keep me safe by sticking close to me and advising me. With or without you, I’m leaving and returning with more medicine.”
He studied me for a long moment and nodded.
We didn’t speak again until we reached Tenacity.
“Will you ride in the truck with Richard?” he asked. “It will be more comfortable than in the back.”
“Sure.”
Richard, as it turned out, was the “Dad” of Tolerance, and very kind. He kept me distracted with the history of the two settlements and the animosity that had grown between them. Considering that his first grandchild would be part fey, it was easy to see that he fully supported the efforts to integrate the two towns peacefully.
“Not sure how that will ever happen,” I commented.
“I heard what they did to Adam and what you said to Matt. He knows you’re right, by the way. Mya’s been telling him the same things for ages. Until he removes the people who hate without cause, there will never be peace.
“The haters are clever about spreading their hate, though. And it doesn’t help that there are women involved. The fey would have no problem kicking out men and letting them fend for themselves against the infected. A hateful woman? The fey would rather she spit in their eye every night just to keep her safe.”
“That’s messed up.”
“Yes and no. They realize women are the key to their futures.”
The topic rang too close to what Adam had said before I’d left.
“Is it true? That sleeping with one of them brings immunity?”
“Without a bunch of testing, there’s no way to know that for sure, but it sure looks that way. It’s a good thing, too.”
“How so?”
“It gives us humans another reason to look at the fey more closely. How can they be bad when they hold all the keys to our continued survival? Immunity. The ability to kill the hellhounds. And patience. I’ve never seen people more patient than the fey. We’re afraid and make all kinds of mistakes, but they rarely get angry.”
“That only makes them easier targets for the people who want to use them.”
“It does. But that’s why they have people like us. We’ll stand up for them when they won’t stand up for themselves.”
The trucks rolled to a stop on an overpass. Buildings stretched in the distance. While I knew this was a supply run for most, I also knew from the ride with Richard that Ryan and I had different objectives. They’d purposely chosen to stop this close to a city to find more medical supplies for Uan.
“This is a lot closer to a city than I’d like to be,” he said, staring at the buildings with me. “You be careful out there.”
“I will be. Tor will make sure of it.”
My door opened, and the fey in question looked up at me.
“Are you ready, June?” he asked.
“Yep. Let’s get in there and find what we need.”
He lifted me down from the cab and gestured to the fey around us.
“Tell us what we’re looking for.”
“No playgrounds this time. We’re looking for houses that might have had someone with medical needs. Like a ramp going up to a front door.”
They grunted in understanding.
“May I carry you?” Tor asked.
