String-callused fingertips moved against Valerien's palm in an intimate caress before they intertwined with his own. The sensation spread up his arm like intoxicating wine. Blue eyes met his, wide with awe, as if the human could truly see him.
Then the hand tightened and pulled, as if trying to draw him through.
Valerien came to his senses. Fire burst from his palm, forcing the human to retreat with a yelp. The Veil flickered, then closed between them again.
Valerien stepped back, trying to steady his breath. What madness was this? How could this creature reach through the Veil?
Before he could collect his thoughts, an impatient voice interrupted him from the entrance. "What is taking you so long?"
Without waiting for an answer, Elinor came forward and peered through the Veil.
The human just stood there, looking reproachful like a rejected lover and shaking his burned hand. He still didn't seem suitably afraid.
"You drive us on like there's no tomorrow, and then linger to play with some pretty toy," she sighed.
"I am not playing," Valerien replied irritably. "We can leave in an hour."
The human carefully laid his burned hand against the Veil, and the glow alighted again.
Elinor frowned at the red skin and blisters. "I see. You broke it already. Can he see us?"
"No. He should only be able to see a stone wall. But it seems he can feel where we are," Valerien mused, watching the spots of light divide between him and Elinor.
She poked at the light, but it stayed on the other side. "Not bad-looking for a human. What a shame we have to kill him if he's still there when we cross."
Valerien smiled. "Why waste something useful?"
"You think his powers are strong enough to track the rebels?" she asked skeptically.
Gesturing towards the Veil, he said, "Try to send your power through."
She moved her hand, summoning the water from the cave. Light blue energies disappeared into the barrier without any effect.
"Fine. I see your point. But if he is useful, we will owe him a debt of honour. You cannot destroy him afterwards," she said.
Valerien glanced at the man on the other side, who'd given up his futile attempt and was bandaging his burned hand with moss at the cave entrance, then smiled at Elinor.
"When did you know me to break a debt of honour, Ellie?"
"Probably the only thing you never broke," she admitted.
"Now let's go see how they are progressing outside. And you can't cross in that Arcanite armour, you'll look like a gaudy ornament under the human sun. We have to find you something else."
"I am not wearing skirts!"
He laughed and led her out of the cave. Soldiers and artisans were already clearing the forest outside, cutting down trees and setting up tents until the fortifications were ready.
Valerien almost winced. When he had mentioned a garrison at the Veil, it had just been a rhetorical flourish. Then again, if that human could reach through the barrier, it was better to be prepared. One man was enough to let through thousands of those barbarians, all eager for gold and armed with iron.
He still had no explanation for why the Veil had opened against his will when the human's hand had found his. He glanced at his palm. The memory of fingers caressing his skin brought back the strangely intimate sensations. He dug his nails in to drive them away.
Such a pretty little bird. What a pity he had to wring its neck.