Gavriel had not slept in twenty-eight hours. And now that the sun had fully risen once more, he would have many more hours until it was time to rest again.

These were the long days, filled with moments of exhaustion that threatened his strength. These were the times when he made wishes of alternate realities, ones in which his sister and parents were still alive. If nothing more than to have someone yell at him to rest when he needed it.

This exhaustion did not always lead to sleep, even if he wanted it. Ten years had passed, and his room in the inner home still felt bereft at night without his sister whispering stories through their tiny connected vent. Or his mother knocking once on his door and entering without waiting for permission, his father right behind her.

Ten years, and still his mind presented him with grief-soaked memories. Would any amount of sleep finally give him some semblance of peace?

Running a hand over his face, he sighed and glanced back over to his lieutenants clustered at the small table in the aerie's kitchen. "Report."

Finn, one of his lieutenants, scratched behind his ear. "The wielders haven't left the border since the girl and the cub arrived. We've sent our team out in warning, but they backed off. They're not harming ours or crossing the territory lines. Just... waiting."

Ronan, in the chair next to Finn, grunted. "They're being peaceful. But I don't like feeling like they're watching us."

Neither did Gavriel.

"Have we sent a scout?" Gavriel's gaze passed over his lieutenants. The four at the table were his best. His friends, his family, his advisors. They had had his back when it mattered. And any of them would die for the shifters under their care.

"We have," Lianna said. Her dark hair cascaded in neat small braids over her shoulder. "There are at least 7 at the border. Four are confirmed fire wielders, one is a water wielder, and two are unknown."

"Keep an eye on them," Gavriel said. "We need to know everything—their weaponry, their abilities, who they report to." For now, they may be content to wait at the border, but how long would that last? Gavriel didn't trust it. "Who is the scout?"

"Miguel," Ronan leaned back further in his chair, his arms relaxed at his side. To anyone else, the leopard shifter might appear at ease. For those who had been trained, they would note the sharp edge in his eyes, the focus in his expression.

"Good." Gavriel's thumb traced a line against the edge of the mug in front of him. Miguel was one of their best trackers. As a hawk shifter, Miguel would see and hear every minute detail, down to the shift of a finger or a catch of breath. "Have him check in every hour." He looked at Cael. Unlike Ronan, Cael stood next to the small kitchen counter, arms at his side. Every movement Cael made was carefully calculated. Hawk shifters often had a hard time letting their human side take over. Although excellent trackers, they often felt less human than the other shifters. They had to practice common gestures to appear more human when sent into the city. "Cael, you take the next shift for Miguel."

Cael's nod was nothing more than a millimeter inclination of his head.

"There's something off about that girl," Lianna said. "I don't like that she's brought them to our borders."

He didn't either. "If she was one of them, why would they position themselves in a place they knew was dangerous?"

"She could be a spy," Ronan supplied, his voice a low rumble. "They send her in, she does whatever her mission is, then they help her get out."

"I don't know that I would chase my own spy into a territory to get killed," Finn said. He tilted his head, a wolf gesture. "Unless it's all a ruse."

"It is a convincing ruse, if it is," Gavriel said. There were many things off about this entire situation, but no matter what, since he'd first laid eyes on the woman and the cub, his leopard's focus sharpened. His animal side had better instincts than his human side. There was something about the woman. And there was something about the cub.

After his discussion with Arietta the day before, he knew only that she had chosen their territory. Not what led her there. Or why the wielders specifically chased her and Naya.

"Lianna, let the head elders know to be ready." Gavriel stood and brought his cup to the small sink. "All non-combatants need to tuck away in the caves. Everyone travels in pairs and a curfew is now in place."

His lieutenants all nodded. They would not be caught off guard. Not again.

Gavriel turned on the tap to rinse out the cup. Over the rushing water, he continued his orders, "I want our contacts in the city to keep their ears to the ground. Finn, check in with the western shifter territory. See if they have any similar occurrences."

"You've got it," Finn said.

Ronan rubbed the back of his hand under his chin. "If she's not a spy or assassin, that opens another path to put our paws on."

Gavriel agreed. "Keep your senses sharp."

Both Finn and Ronan looked at Cael.

Chuckling, Gavriel said, "Sharper than Cael's."

***

Arietta could tell that the leader of the shifters didn't quite know what to do with her.

It didn't matter to her—she didn't come here to be entertained or fit in somewhere.

Naya woke quietly, her little body unfurling itself from its tightly wrapped bundle. It was amazing how much something as small as that gesture made Arietta's chest clench. Other cubs woke with boundless energy. They were running, jumping, and climbing all over everything before they were fully awake. Or so she'd heard. But Naya hadn't had that same introduction to the world around them.

Arietta could only hope that by being here with the rest of the shifters, Naya would start to feel more comfortable.

Despite the way her body ached, Arietta followed Gavriel down the ladder. Naya curled herself carefully over her shoulder. She didn't miss the way Gavriel's eyes locked on Naya on her shoulder.

Gavriel led them down into a small kitchen area. The aerie wasn't big enough to fit anything full-scale, but it had all the necessities. A small counter and sink rested along the curve of one wall, overlooking a window with that same tint as the one upstairs. Across from the sink was a waist-height preparation counter and a small table for eating.

Plants dotted along the shelves inset in the walls, some of them hanging vines down to the countertops. The large center support beam in the middle of the room had vines twisting around it. The smell of wet ground snuck its way in.

Even among their home spaces, the shifters brought nature with them.

A familiar cramp worked its way under Arietta's ribs. She muscled through the tight ache, much like she'd learned to do for a lot of things lately. She thought she'd been good at hiding it, but Naya shifted uneasily on her shoulder.

She rubbed a hand along Naya's fur. "Shh, it's okay." Gavriel's eyes were on her as she took a seat at the table.

The wood of the seat was uneven, as if whoever built the chair rushed through its creation with only raw materials. The table was similarly uneven in places, though Arietta admitted that it gave the set more of a realistic feel.

Gavriel had just placed bread into a warming tray hidden among the preparation counter and a small cup of warmed milk for Naya when the small doorway opened.

Arietta jolted, but not at the visitor. Gavriel seemed to know, somehow, instinctively, how old Naya was. She was tiny, even for a cub, but she'd expected to have to answer the question of Naya's age.

Somehow, Gavriel knew Naya was too young to be ready for meat.

A tall, broad-shouldered male stepped up the ladder and into the aerie. He said absolutely nothing as he leaned against a wall in the corner.

Arietta frowned, recognizing the man from yesterday who'd held a sniper rifle.

Gavriel hardly looked up as he readied a minimal breakfast for them. He pulled supplies from the small fridge next to the washing area. "Status."

The man hesitated for only a moment—no doubt wondering if it was a good idea to reveal information in front of her—before he said, "Borders are clear and quiet. The wielders got a call from a superior and left as the sun rose."

"Damage?"

"Some." The man crossed his arms. "They snuffed the flame hounds as they left. No damage to the wildlife past the border line, but there's still smoke in the area."

Arietta frowned. Fire wielders could control the flame—just as much as they could control the smoke that came with it. If they didn't want to be noticed, their wielding of fire could come with no smoke at all. But if they wanted someone to know they'd been there or wanted to leave a mark, they could just as much throw massive amounts of smoke into the air.

Arietta's fingers twitched on the table, the urge to go out there and see for herself, feel for herself surprisingly strong.

"Let the head elders know," Gavriel told the man.

The man nodded and stood.

"Ronan." Gavriel flipped a piece of toast to the man who caught it with quick fingers. The man's lip curled, white teeth flashing before he took a bite. "Curfew is still in effect. That is non-negotiable. Make sure the heads are aware."

The heads?

The leader of the shifter territory must've deemed her either not a spy, or relatively harmless. Otherwise, he would've never had this conversation in front of her like this.

Her brain picked it over. Or... she wouldn't be leaving this territory alive, so it wouldn't matter.

Arietta frowned. Why couldn't she get a read on Gavriel? She knew he could be trusted. She'd been told as much. And yet, he seemed to run hot and cold. One moment he was kicking her from his territory, the next he was bringing her to his home.

Naya made a noise, a sort of revving purr, and hopped off her shoulder onto the table. Her paws settled under her as she licked up the milk Gavriel had provided her. It wasn't her mother's, but it would do. It would have to.

Arietta ran a gentle finger over Naya's back. Relief was a cool compress on her chest as the cat drank the offering. This was what Naya needed. To be here with her people.

Despite it all, Arietta needed to remember that. Gavriel was best for Naya.

Arietta coughed once into her fist. She could trust this man with Naya's life. Now it was time to trust him further.

Ronan and Gavriel talked more specifics, keeping everything just vague enough she could not distinguish much from the information presented. As if the entire clipped conversation was a large inside joke she didn't understand. After a few more details, Ronan nodded at Arietta, his lips tight, then departed.

Arietta waited until the exit latched before asking, "is this it?"

Gavriel brought a plate of toast to the small table and placed it in the middle, along with a small jar of jam and butter. "If you mean this is where I live? No."

Arietta wasn't shy about grabbing a slice and using the knife provided to butter it. She had eaten nothing since the break of dawn the morning she escaped with Naya. No matter what faced her today, she would handle it, at the least, with a full stomach.

"Is this where Naya will live?" Arietta brushed a crumb off the corner of her lip with her thumb. "Cubs need others around them."

Gavriel took a sip from a cup of milk he'd poured for himself. She found a part of her amused that this male drank milk. It wouldn't be a leopard thing—leopards were meat eaters. They only drank their mother's milk for the first four months. So that this older male, the leader of the shifter territory no less, drank milk was funny. Was it the human side of him with the preference?

"Leopards are mostly solitary animals," he told her.

"Shifter leopards are not," Arietta said. "The human side needs that connection with others. It's why many shifters settle together in groups, despite their animal sides."

Gavriel placed his cup down on the uneven table. "Interesting deduction."

"It was not so much a deduction as a statement of fact."

The man across from her narrowed his eyes. "And who is teaching you these facts?"

Arietta swallowed, diverting the conversation as she said, "Only shifters settle in shifter territory. Only shifters are welcomed in shifter territory."

Gavriel gave her a look that told her, clearly, she would only skirt his question because he allowed it. He settled back in his chair. "You are here, are you not?"

Was she to assume what she'd gone through was considered a welcome? "I don't know that I would call that a welcome," she said offhand. Then she focused back on the original topic of conversation. "Despite the laws, shifters don't settle in the wielder territory."

"We do business in the cities easiest enough."

"But I don't know any shifters that have actively settled beyond the border."

Gavriel's head tilted to the side. "You are surprisingly astute, Ms. Arietta."

She hadn't gotten to where she was today without a bit of brains. Just how much brains she had, he didn't need to know. But for now... "Naya needs others around her. I'm not so stupid as to think you'll be able to stay with her full-time." The leader of the shifter territory had more than enough business to attend to. He couldn't just take on a baby shifter. "I need to know that she will be taken care of. Properly."

Something she'd said caught Gavriel's full attention. He crossed his arms on the table and leaned forward. "And if she is not?"

Her jaw clenched. "I've been told I could trust you. Please do not make me think otherwise."

"And just who was it that told you that?"

For a long moment, Arietta didn't answer. But the more she mulled it over, the more she realized she couldn't leave it all here. She needed to tell Gavriel some of it, because when Naya grew up, she'd have questions. And she didn't want the little cub to know nothing about her mother.

"Her name was Sarai," Arietta said. "She was Naya's mother."

Gavriel jerked as if Arietta had just electrocuted him. "Sarai?" The name sounded as if it rode on sandpaper all the way up his throat.

He looked at Naya, his face paling.

Arietta had expected this reaction from him. And to rip it all at once, she said. "Your sister told me to come find you." She ran another finger over Naya's soft fur. "She said you'd know what to do."