the angry looks he was giving her, but I knew looks could be deceiving.
Tasha stumbled beside me, and I caught her, almost sending myself to the ground as well.
“I should carry you,” Thallirin said, yet again.
“I’m fine,” I said. “So is Tasha. Walking will help us shake whatever they gave us.”
A low rumbling growl was echoed by several members of our group.
“Guys, the growling is scaring Tasha. You have to stop doing that around her.”
“Sorry, Tasha,” rang out around us, making Tasha giggle then sniffle.
Seeing fey carrying the three gagged humans through town drew attention. By the time we reached the wall just before dusk, there was a crowd following us.
If Matt Davis was worried about seeing the trussed-up humans or the large group following us, he hid it well.
“What happened?” he asked.
The rest of the fey finishing up on the gate, along with Richard, Ryan, Garrett, and the remaining humans from Tolerance, came over to listen.
“These humans tied up Tasha, Hannah, and Brenna,” Thallirin said. “They wanted to take the females.”
Van made a few muffled noises before managing to spit out his gag.
“He’s making it sound like kidnapping,” Van said, arching to lift his head and look at Matt. “We were saving them.”
Zach, recognizing Van, swore and started forward. Garrett locked an arm around him.
“That son of a bitch is a killer,” Zach yelled.
Matt looked at me.
“These men are from the bunker,” I said. His gaze lit with understanding. “They planned to take the three of us out of Tenacity. This is the group who murdered my father and took Zach and me prisoner.”
Uan, who was near Zach, growled menacingly.
“Why would humans want to take women?” someone behind me asked.
“Because they believe they have the right to take what they want,” Matt said. “Including women to bear children. Only those women aren’t given a choice. They’re taken at gunpoint and forced to do whatever this group wants.”
“That’s worse than stealing food!” someone yelled. “Kick them out.” More voices were added to the first.
Thallirin stepped forward, and the crowd’s cries reduced to angry murmurs.
“Banishment is not enough. These humans came here even when they knew they shouldn’t. If they leave, they will return again. We kill infected and hounds because they are a threat to the safety of the survivors. These humans have proven they are also a threat.”
Oscar started making noise behind his gag, and Matt ordered it removed so he could speak. None of the fey looked happy about it.
“You can’t kill us,” Oscar said as soon as the gag was removed. “Every life has value. We were only trying to help humanity. We need to start having kids. And not with these abominations. Humans are close to extinction. We’re doing what we need to do to ensure its survival.”
His words made me sick. A few nods from the crowd, and the dark looks those nodders gave to the fey, made me sicker.
Matt studied Oscar, his expression impassive.
“Humanity as a whole has long struggled with the premise of betterment for mankind because everyone’s idea of betterment is different. Through the zealous need to improve, there are always ripples of discord. If these conflicting ideals of betterment are not kept in check, they often result in war, each side fervently believing their cause more just than the other’s.
“And in their heated defense, they forget the cornerstones that gave us the foundation for our beliefs. It’s as simple as ‘live and let live.’”
I wasn’t sure how I felt about what Matt had just said. Yet, wasn’t the morality of letting Van go the same thing I’d been struggling with?
“Wise words,” Oscar said.
“Are they? Because you and your group killed to take Brenna once before, only preserving life when you thought it would benefit your ideals. While I will not order your deaths, I will not protect you within these walls.” He looked at the men behind him. “Open our new gates.”
“It’s almost dark,” Van said. “We’ll never make it somewhere safe now.”
“You were willing to leave before,” I said.
“We had guns.”
Oscar elbowed his son.
“Where are the guns?” Matt asked.
No one spoke.
“Chuck, another man from the bunker, was helping them get supplies over the wall,” I said. “They planned on coming back for a cow and more women.”
That caused some more murmurs in the crowd, and Grady glared in my direction.
“Find him and the guns,” Matt said to a few men behind him. They left, and the doors behind Matt started to swing open.
“Cut them free,” he ordered with a nod