Thom looked at Seamus. He cleared his throat quietly, breaking the renewed silence that reigned in the wake of Leinth\u2019s announcement. \u201cIs that true?\u201d
\n\tSeamus nodded, swallowing hard. \u201cIt\u2019s true,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cBut the fact of the matter is that whatever the Hunt offered in exchange for what they\u2019ve requested shouldn\u2019t affect your decision.\u201d
\n\t\u201cOf course it should!\u201d Leinth protested, grasping her lover\u2019s arm. \u201cSeamus, you know that the offer was made as a way for them to free you without losing face.\u201d
\n\t\u201cLeinth.\u201d
\n\t\u201cDon\u2019t,\u201d she snapped. \u201cThey deserve to know. Why weren\u2019t you telling them?\u201d
\n\tSeamus closed his eyes. \u201cThis isn\u2019t the time or place.\u201d
\n\t\u201cMaybe not,\u201d Kellin said, crossing her arms and watching Seamus for a moment. \u201cBut Leinth is right\u2014you should have told us about their offer to free you from the Hunt in exchange for our letting them settle here in peace.\u201d
\n\tSeamus started to shake his head. Cameron stood up. \u201cThey\u2019re right,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t think that I\u2019d be wrong to say that while you may think that the offer is selfish, it\u2019s not.\u201d
\n\tThe former Taliesin frowned. \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d
\n\t\u201cI mean that we need you here as much as the Hunt has ever needed you\u2014maybe more than they\u2019ve ever needed you. Their offer to give you your freedom from them doesn\u2019t just benefit you or you and Leinth. It would benefit everyone here and I\u2019d daresay that it\u2019d benefit your brother and god knows how many other people.\u201d Cameron spread his hands. \u201cHaving a few extra hands to defend this place every so often wouldn\u2019t hurt, either. That\u2019s part of the Hunt\u2019s offer, you said. Defense assistance when we need it from whoever happens to be here.\u201d
\n\tSeamus nodded slowly. \u201cThat was indicated, yes.\u201d
\n\t\u201cWe\u2019ll have to talk about it,\u201d Kellin said, \u201cbut it\u2019s not an unreasonable request.\u201d
\n\t\u201cNo more unreasonable than any other we\u2019ve ever gotten, anyway,\u201d Davon said. \u201cExcept for the time those raiders showed up and asked for everything.\u201d
\n\tJ.T. snorted. \u201cWell, we know what happened then.\u201d Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Rory\u2019s shiver and Marin\u2019s wince. Thom had gotten shot during that incident, but they\u2019d all made it out alive.
\n\tSomething told J.T. that they\u2019d make it through this particular scenario alive, too, regardless of what their choice ended up being. For that, he could be nothing if not thankful.
\n\tAt the end of the day, the fact that it was another day still breathing made all the difference in the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Thom looked at Seamus. He cleared his throat quietly, breaking the renewed silence that reigned in the wake of Leinth\u2019s announcement. \u201cIs that true?\u201d Seamus nodded, swallowing hard. \u201cIt\u2019s true,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cBut the fact of the matter is … Continue reading