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A young woman was waiting for us at our house when we returned.
“Emily,” Molev said when he saw her. “Were you able to speak to the females in Tenacity?”
She smiled at him. “Molev, you are a sight for sore eyes.” She looked at me. “I’m Emily. It’s nice to meet you, Andie. I’ve heard a bit about you through the fey grapevine. Welcome to Tolerance. If you two have a few minutes, I can let you know how things went in Tenacity.”
I liked Emily’s open personality. She immediately felt like one of those rare people who said what they meant without any hidden agendas.
“Come in,” Molev said, opening the door for us both. “Have you eaten?”
“I haven’t yet. I came straight from Tenacity.”
“Join us,” he said.
She and I hung our jackets as he moved to the kitchen and started pulling out supplies from the refrigerator. Supplies I didn’t recall from the day before.
“Where did all of that come from?” I asked as we sat to watch him.
“Kerr brought it over this morning,” Emily said. “Heard you busted him for interrupting fun-time. He was super grateful you didn’t yell at him or tell Cassie. But Cassie already knows about it, so I’m sure he’s getting an earful. Speaking of earful…you’re going to be in trouble too, Molev. Mya heard about your four-to-one hound fight and isn’t happy you risked yourself like that.”
I could only stare at Emily for several beats.
“How do you know all of that?” I looked at Molev. “I was with you. When did you have time to share that story?”
“Your team has been great about making friends with the fey here and sharing stories. So, of course, when the fey heard a break in last night’s sex-a-thon, they came to pester Molev for more details.”
I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead. “They really were listening all night?”
“Oh. Sorry. Seriously, though, don’t even worry about it,” she said. “I live with Hannah and Merdon, and that girl is loud. Then again, I know he does stuff on purpose to make her scream like that. He said he had to listen to too many of her bad screams in the past, and the good screams are payment for that. I use headphones to block it out, but honestly, I don’t mind. I'm just glad she’s finally happy. It’s hard to find, you know?
“Anyway, as you’re learning, the fey hear everything. They’ll talk about anything. And news travels quickly because of it. Which is why Eden and I didn’t have any trouble convincing a few volunteers to come over from Tolerance. Proven immunity is a tempting carrot to dangle. They should already be getting set up over at Eitri’s.”
“Thank you, Emily,” Molev said, handing us both plates of food. “What else have I missed since I’ve been gone?”
Emily was a talker but not an over-talker. She outlined everything that had happened since Molev left. The couples who’d gotten together. The breach at Whiteman. Then the breach at Tolerance. How the infected were getting smarter but the humans still couldn’t figure out how to let go of prejudices. Finding cattle. Finding people. The classes to teach skills the people needed in order for the communities to thrive independently. How some people had to be kicked out. The arrival of about one hundred more fey, the remaining men Molev had left behind to guard the caves. Plans to meet up with other survivors out there who were looking for safety after hearing the eastern border had fallen. The progress on the third community. Seeing a hound in daylight.
And Adam.
The man who’d been bitten and kept alive to study.
“The fey know not to talk about it in front of June,” Emily said. “She’s still grieving. And Tor is absolutely amazing about supporting her, but it’s still emotionally hard for her to know Adam is alive and suffering. Well, not suffering. The fey are really good about taking care of him. Before Roni came, Brog would go over and play the video games he knew Adam liked where Adam could watch. They said his eyes are changing color. Turning red. He doesn’t do anything. He just sits there and watches everything.”
I glanced at Molev. “The doctor will want to see him.”
“No humans have been allowed in,” Emily said. “Drav said it’s too dangerous.”
“We cannot risk the doctor or the researchers,” Molev said.
“Then we won’t,” I said. “Emily mentioned cameras earlier. Maybe we can hook something up so the doctor can study him remotely, and Kerr could take any samples she might need.”
Molev grunted.
“I’ll take that as a yes. We can grab the cameras from Tenacity when we go there to talk to Matt about that radio he has. We need to send a message to Rick, if possible, and find out how things are there.”
Molev took my empty plate to the sink.
“I’ll leave you two to it then,” Emily said, standing. “If you need anything, let me know. I’m happy to help.”
We left the house together, and I watched her walk off in the direction of Eitri’s home. She planned to check on the volunteers there to ensure everything was going smoothly and to just be there for the women who were jumping into uncertain relationships.
