"He couldn't just let him go, Anne. He had to make sure that everyone who meets that monster will see him for what he is."
The husband's voice was patient, still teaching after all their years of marriage, and he had Adrian's complete attention.
"It isn't right! We heal, we don't hurt! This isn't how America's supposed to be!"
John gave a harsh snort that made Adrian tense.
"This is exactly how it should have been, and maybe we wouldn't have destroyed ourselves."
"But, the whole word?"
"It'll keep him from easily hiding or removing it."
"It'll get him killed and you're responsible. You did it."
"This is a good place and I'll do what I have to so that we can stay, but this sin I'll pay for willingly. It's the only way now, and let me tell you a secret, my dear sweet wife. I won't carry the burden alone. That young man feels it a lot more than he shows. He values life, all life. It's in the way he cares for his people, for his farm of exotic humans. I'll give him my help in any way he needs, and I hope you will too. He's the few, the good, and I suspect we were allowed to survive because he needs us."
Definitely right to offer John a place on the council, Adrian thought, moving away. That old man had his head on straight. He'd seen it at the meeting and heard it just now, but he had watched it during the punishment too. John had handled not only himself, but the Eagles around him with a calm sense of leadership, and because of that, the branding hadn't been as ugly as the members of the voting board had expected. Most of them would sleep tonight.
It only eased his mind a little though, that he now had at least two of the six or seven he'd been promised in his dreams, and he spent a lot of time worrying over the rest. Had he passed them somewhere? He hoped not, because he and his grunts couldn't keep doing all the work. Eventually, they would miss something or endanger these people and lose their right to lead.
Adrian sighed, not as excited as he wanted to be, even though his first was here, and he was about to offer him the place that every man in this camp wanted. The weight of this leadership was heavier than anything he'd ever carried before the War, and he was starting to feel a bit winded.