“We’ll adapt,” Morrison says.
Dyfri raises an elegant eyebrow. “And protect them from yourselves and other players and agencies who might wish to capture, dissect and study them in order to learn the secrets of their abilities?”
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” Morrison says with great conviction. “We all want our world back. Those that seemed a threat before, seem less so now that we’ve seen what the fey can do.”
Another long pause. Then Dyfri nods slowly. “Very well. I’ll arrange a meeting.”
Morrison visibly relaxes. “Excellent. When?”
“That depends entirely on how persuasive I can be,” Dyfri replies. “You’re asking people to risk everythingthey’ve built on the promise that you’ll keep them safe. That’s not a small request.”
“How long do you need?” Morrison asks.
“Seventy-two hours. Possibly longer if the initial conversations go poorly.” Dyfri’s smile is sharp. “And Agent Morrison? This arrangement only works if it remains completely confidential until all parties agree. If word reaches the wrong ears before we’re ready...”
“Understood,” Morrison assures him. “Complete discretion until you give us the all-clear.”
After they leave, I turn to Dyfri, who’s staring thoughtfully at the closed door.
“That escalated quickly,” I observe.
“Did it?” Dyfri’s attention is still elsewhere. “I’d say it was inevitable. We agreed to work with them, then proceeded to plan major operations without involving them. They were bound to object, eventually.”
“Do you think we can convince the others?”
“I think,” Dyfri says slowly, “that Silas is going to hate this idea. Cai will be suspicious. Ninian will be terrified.”
“And yet you agreed to try.”
Dyfri turns to look at me, his dark eyes serious. “Because Morrison isn’t wrong about the odds, Jack. What we’re attempting is extraordinarily dangerous. If we can improve our chances of success by accepting more soldiers into our army, then we have an obligation to try.”
“Even if it means risking everything?”
“Even then.” His smile is sharp and beautiful and slightly dangerous.
As he moves towards the wall I know has a portal hidden in it, I can’t shake the feeling that the next few days are going to test every alliance we’ve built.
The question is whether the Resistance will survive the process.
Chapter twenty-seven
Dyfri
As I move towards the wall that conceals the portal I need, my mind is already racing through the conversations I’ll need to have. Silas first, then Cai, then somehow finding a way to reach Ninian without terrifying him completely. Each will require a different approach, different arguments, different persuasion tactics.
“Wait! Can I come with you?”
I stop and turn around, genuinely surprised. Jack is standing by a chair, looking uncertain but determined, as if he’s not quite sure what he’s offering but knows he wants to offer it anyway.
“Come with me?” I repeat, confused by the request. “Jack, I’m going to the Paranormal Council chambers. It’s not exactly a pleasure trip.”
He shrugs, that endearing gesture that somehow manages to convey both casualness and deep sincerity. “I thought you might like someone having your back.”
The words hit me like a physical blow. Someone having my back. It is what I have started to hope he might become, but the concept is still so foreign, so utterly outside myexperience, that for a moment I can’t quite process what he’s said.
In a lifetime of political manoeuvring, of careful alliances and strategic partnerships, no one has ever offered to simply stand with me. To be present not for what they could gain, but because they thought I might need support.
I stare at him, this remarkable man who continues to surprise me with his capacity for kindness. After last night, after I fell apart so completely in his arms, after he saw me at my most broken and vulnerable, he’s still here. Still offering comfort and support as if my weakness hasn’t changed how he sees me.
