Page 24 of Beyond the Veil (Endangered Fae #4)

“You may ask the moon and stars of me, love. You know that.”

A snort came from the doorway. Diego glanced up in time to see Nusair rolling his eyes. “How revoltingly sweet. Are you sure this human hasn’t bewitched you, pooka?”

“Oh, I’m fairly certain,” Finn drawled. “Though I can’t say I care much one way or the other. The mating is spectacular.”

Nusair pretended to gag and, despite his cynicism, Diego was grateful. He’d managed to make Finn laugh.

“I’ll stay with him, Diego. Gather your soldiers.”

Diego sat up slowly, keeping hold of Finn so as not to dump him on the hard floor. “That’s…kind of you. Finn? Are you all right with that?”

“Oh, yes. I’m sure we can amuse each other with stories of past misdeeds.”

Diego left them with a kiss for Finn and a request to Nusair to be kind.

He didn’t intend simply to spring Finn on his fellow inmates later.

No, this would take some careful nudging and feeling out.

Simply because these people had been jailed for magic use, that didn’t mean they would be sympathetic to fae.

With Tarek as his translator, since the doctor in training was much better in both English and Arabic than the college kids were, Diego sought out the prisoners who had joined him in his campaign to civilize feedings.

Some were shocked that he would want to free a demon.

Diego allowed a little coloring of the truth when Tarek suggested that this ‘demon’ was under Diego’s control.

Some wanted to know what he proposed long term.

Even if they escaped, they were in the middle of the desert without transport.

“Please let Vadim know that if we can summon enough power to escape, I have the means to get us to safety. But please be clear that it would be to Tearmann Island, far from home. The Fae Collective will classify all prisoners as political refugees and will assist in relocation and in attempting to reunite families whenever possible.”

Vadim pursed his lips, his eyes measuring Diego even as Tarek spoke. Then he said something in his soft, polite way that made Tarek’s eyebrows quirk up.

“I don’t mean to be rude.” Tarek cleared his throat. “I’m only translating. But he asks if you really have the authority to make these promises.”

Diego nodded. “It’s a sensible question. These are standing orders from their majesties, established policies of the Collective.”

The teacher seemed satisfied and, though he expressed doubts that any of it would work, he agreed to try.

Saeed, the elderly healer, was the biggest surprise. He agreed to help but with tears in his eyes.

“If it’s not rude, could we ask why he’s so upset?” Diego asked as Saeed reached out to take his hand.

The old man spoke for some time, shaking his head, his voice breaking.

Finally, Tarek began to translate, his own speech wavering as he did.

“He says that he always thought his healing was a gift from God. That since he helped others, since what he did was good, it had to be. But now they try to tell us that simply because we feel the world in a different way, we are evil. They tell our neighbors we are dangerous. They lock us away.”

Tarek took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Diego. Some of this is difficult to say, only because we all have suffered. But what Saeed says is that our gifts can’t be evil. This is how we were born. To call it evil is to say that God has made mistakes.”

Diego gripped both the old man’s hands, his heart aching for his anguish. “You’re right. You’re so right. You know there’s no evil in your intentions or in what you accomplish. The government has made a mistake.”

It was hard to swallow his anger as Saeed walked off, still wiping at his eyes.

There were laws that could be attributed to cultural differences, of course.

Diego knew that, but this was simple inhumanity.

No one had that right, to cage another because of how he was born.

Maybe he never was the diplomat he had pretended to be.

Advocate, I suppose, activist, and now civil rights terrorist .

Couldn’t even keep my hands out of things for a whole week after coming back, could I?

Finn would be annoyed at me for thinking such things.

Three years ago, the thought of leading any group of people, ever again, even through suggestion, would have terrified him. It still frightened him, but he knew now that he couldn’t change the foundation of his being. He was, as Taliesin had always been, a meddler.

“Mediator,” Hssetassk, the dragon lord, had rumbled while Diego sat beside him on a rock ledge, the sunset staining the mountain’s teeth purple.

“Certainly meddler, sometimes. You are interrogative, Light Wielder. Perhaps the need to intervene has brought you grief from time to time. But you ended feuds. Stopped wars. Brokered trade. The one between. You have ever been so.”

His time with the dragons had been early in his exile, while he was still raw and, he could be honest about it now, clinically depressed.

Hssetassk and his younglings had kept his mind occupied, showing him magical theory and why human covens worked.

Certain fae could work in conjunction with each other, adding to or layering magic one atop another, but only humans worked in concert, melding their abilities, combining their individual strengths into one symphony.

The kelan of magically sensitive humans called to each other. When they harmonized, covens worked.

The dragons hypothesized that if a human could hear the kelan song, adjustments could be made regardless of natural compatibility. Of course, song was just a convenient way to describe something that had no word in human languages. Diego hoped for a successful field test of dragon theory.

At feeding time, Diego and his allies—now fifteen—stood at the edge of the sunlight in a tight group.

The women’s phalanx hurried in, spotted them and stopped.

A strange and eerie battle of manners ensued with the few unattached individuals scuttling in, snatching a packet and hurrying away while the two large groups stared at each other across the patch of light.

Even the largest man, who had exhibited the most aggressive behavior, hesitated, head swiveling from one group to the other.

He finally strode to the pile, snatched up seven packets, then took two more.

Again, he hesitated, glaring suspiciously at everyone watching him without interference.

With a snarl, he put the extra two back before shoving through Diego’s group to disappear into the shadows.

Once his footsteps had faded, Diego came forward slowly.

He took a packet, handed it back to the nearest man in his group, who happened to be Ethan, and motioned for him to go sit down.

The next one went to Vadim, who immediately joined Ethan by the wall.

When Diego turned his head, he was pleased to see the men had formed an orderly line.

“Please,” Diego said to the woman in front. He gestured to the food, then to her. “You as well.”

He waited until the woman reached the pile and snatched up a packet.

She kept it but made room for the next woman to take her turn.

Diego ducked his head to hide his smile.

The last thing he wanted was to have his actions misinterpreted as rude or, worse yet, as a sexual advance.

His distribution halted until the women caught up in number of packets, then he started handing them back into waiting hands again.

Rather than vanish down the corridor, the women took the opposite end of the feeding area to have their meal, sitting close in a wary half-circle so they could watch the men.

When only Diego and the last woman remained, there were still five packets left.

He took two, stood back and gestured for her to take the last three.

She kept an eye on him, picking them up slowly, apparently still puzzling over his motives.

An older woman, taller than the others, she struck him as suspicious but not afraid for herself.

This one, she’s the mother of the group, the one to make decisions.

Filing that away for later, Diego joined his circle to add to the ever-growing pile.

Again, the conversation was quiet, the meal peaceful, as if everyone was relieved to feel safe and human again.

None of the ones who had scurried away returned, Diego was disappointed to see, but he would address that the next day.

If they were getting out, he couldn’t bear the thought of leaving anyone behind, which would be unavoidable if there were still people in hiding.

He asked everyone to stay when the leaves had all been claimed, and noted with satisfaction that the women remained as well, though they didn’t venture any closer. You’re curious. Stay curious. Stay with me.

Obviously, Nusair had been watching since he arrived with Finn in his arms less than five breaths later.

As Diego had requested, Finn kept his mouth closed and his eyes squeezed shut so at least the dragon teeth and pupils would remain hidden.

He appeared convincingly pitiful with his head lolling against Nusair’s shoulder and one arm dangling listlessly.

If it had been an act, Diego would have been laughing instead of fighting tears.