"I am as safe there as anywhere," Al-Adil replied with good-natured fatalism. Men said that the world was no longer a gentle place, but those like him who had lived long enough knew that it never had been. It's cruelty and barbarism had only been hidden by a thin veneer of civilization. That was part of what gave the Sanguine their power; they offered order in the midst of chaos and they were strong enough to maintain it. Al-Adil did not fault them for that, though he would have chosen another method. He knew that Mike understood this also, and he would not allow his people to disrupt what the Sanguine had created in the city.
"They are aware of my sympathies," Al-Adil said in answer to Mike's question. "And while they do not share them, they respect them in me... or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that they tolerate them. In any case, I have no fear of censure or reprisal from them. I give them no cause." It was left unspoken between them that his very presence here could be construed as betrayal should the Sanguine choose to take it that way. Both men knew what they risked and counted it worthwhile.
And then, before the conversation could continue, Sonja returned to fetch them. She was full of praise for his children, and Al-Adil smiled at her. "Masha allah," he said. They were good girls, both of them, and he was pleased that they seemed to be happy here.