I made Kai describe the robes, every detail, every color, even the smell, because apparently he could smell his visions too.

That would mean that the Library would have records of my mother’s DNA somewhere in the vast database.

That would mean that all the times I had submitted my own for testing and had gotten no match, that the tests were wrong.

That would mean that my mother’s DNA had been classified from the Universal Database.

But why?

The entire mission of the Library was to provide knowledge to everyone, regardless of power, politics, or money. It didn’t mean that some information didn’t get classified. Classifying and excluding information from the Universal Database was a rare act, usually reserved for information deemed to be dangerous and detrimental for a civilization’s survival.

“How accurate are your visions?” I asked, even as I knew the answer.

“My visions are clear. It’s the interpretation that is hard.”

“Did you ever have a vision that led you to a conclusion that shouldn’t have been made?”

“ ‘Shouldn’t’ is imprecise. If you are asking if I’ve ever had a vision that I didn’t heed, then yes. Once.”

He looked at me. “I’ve regretted it ever since.”

He wanted me to ask. And stars, I knew if I asked, it had a chance of changing things.

But too many things had changed. I was tired of constantly feeling like my world was shifting around me.

I had to get to Library Main. The hard archives were there.

What’s more, Annatu was there. My mentor.

Annatu, the Infoist who had been the closest thing to a mother I had ever had. Every year on the Coalition’s Celebration of Mothers I would send her a note. I suppose I was one out of many orphans she had cared for, because every year, she would send me a simple two word thank you.

Once I was at the Library, Annatu would help me, she would tell me that my suspicions were wrong. And yet, I didn’t feel any more placated. Rather I felt a seed of dull anger that felt as if it would begin to unfurl if I fed it more attention.

Kai was ahead of me, slashing his way through the thick foliage with a burn-blade machete. I watched him, each cut smooth and precise, the thick muscles of his back rippling with each movement.

It was just because he was a shifter, I thought to myself and all shifters were designed to be gorgeous. Their Ealen creators had valued beauty as much as function.

And yet, a small part of me whispered that none of the shifters I had seen, wolf or tiger, had ever affected me like he could with a single look.

Kai stopped suddenly, looked up at the sky, sniffed the air. After all that effort hunting that meat, Kai had insisted on leaving the clearing with the gorani carcass.

I had no intentions of eating the ugly thing, but my younger self would have been ashamed at the prospect of leaving edible meat behind.

“We’re moving too slowly.” He looked at me, his gaze roaming down my sweat covered, dirt stained form. “If you ride me, I can move more quietly.”

I blinked, my cheeks going red from the last time. “Ride you?”

He grinned. “I can move faster when you’re on top of me.”

I blinked again. “Oh yes, you mean when you are in tiger form. You want me to ride on your back.” Unfortunately, it came out like a squeaking girlish question.

“Just put your arms around my neck. And trust me. I’ll make it as smooth and pleasant for you as I can.”

My face burned.

An eerie howl echoed through the forest. It wasn’t the sound of a gorani; it was the sound of something else that hunted gorani.

“Fine.”

“Here.” He handed me a belt. “Projectile incendiaries. If something is chasing us, aim behind me and shoot.”

I gave him a dirty look. “Are these even allowed on a marriage hunt?”

“Maybe. You just never asked.”

I gave him the dirtiest look I could manage.

He laughed and removed his shirt.

Oh, I shouldn’t look. I turned away.

I peeked.

And immediately regretted it.

When he was done, I couldn’t even wrap my arms around Kai’s neck, he was so big. I had to settle on placing a belt around him like a collar and clinging on to that. I lay on him, a blanket between me and his back. Kai moved as if I wasn’t even there.

I lay my head atop him. I could hear his heartbeat, feel his muscles stretch underneath me.

If I closed my eyes, I could almost pretend that the world around us wasn’t falling to pieces.

I could almost pretend that it was just him and I alone in the universe.

* * *

An explosion boomed in the distance, waking me. I blinked, unable to believe I had fallen asleep, but I guess I was more exhausted than I had thought.

Kai stopped. I slid off him and he shifted. It was so dark I couldn’t even see my hand in front of my face.

“Where’s the landing pad?”

“Wait here.” Kai walked off into the jungle.

“Kai?”

His voice called back. “Just wait there for a moment.”

“Are we anywhere near this landing pad?”

Kai’s voice echoed from farther away. “Close your eyes —“

“It’s so dark I don’t need to —“

There was a flash of light. I blinked, completely blinded. I guess I should have listened to him. “Stars, could you give a girl some warning!”

Kai’s voice sounded far too amused. “I’ll just growl at you next time.”

As my vision returned, I saw that the blast of light had incinerated all the overhanging vegetation in a large rectangular area. A massive grey rectangle rose from the ground and tipped, dumping the soil and ashes to the side.

I looked upwards. Streaks of light filled the sky, blotting out the stars.

“That’s not our fleet,” said Kai, startling me.

One of the streaks of light circled and began arcing around. It seemed to teeter in the sky, as if its propulsion systems weren’t working quite well. As it got closer, I could see the holes and dents in the outer shielding along with scorch marks and a section that had been partially melted. There was a slash through the Stargazer crest on the tail’s insignia.

Kai pulled me behind him. “Stay back.”

It hovered over the landing pad, then dropped. I winced, expected a crash, but a roar of hot air cushioned the ship briefly before it landed with a thump. The side door opened and a wave of scorched metallic air hit us.

Kai’s eye’s narrowed at the scent. “Get back, Seria.”

A figure in a black visor and Smart Armor walked down the ramp.

“Lord Stargazer,” he said. “Heir,” correcting himself with Kai’s new title. “Where is your bride? There’s no time to lose.”

Kai didn’t move. “Name and rank, soldier,” he demanded.

“Heir,” tried the soldier again. “It’s me, Rish.”

Kai was unconvinced. “Take off your helmet.”

The helmet opened, and sank into the armor with a hiss.

There was a gash across his face. And a hole in his forehead where there shouldn't be.

Clearly, Rish should be dead, but he wasn’t.

Kai snarled, his teeth lengthening.

Rish smiled an eerie approximation of a smile. “Don’t be afraid, Heir. It’s a miracle.” He extended a hand. “Join us and live forever.”

“Whatever you've been promised it's unnatural.”

“Unnatural? Sir, it is not natural that we can shift from human to beast but we do and we are.”

The wind shifted, and Rish’s gaze suddenly switched to me, even though I was hidden in the trees.

Rish looked at me.

“My wife lives again.” Rish looked at Kai. “Tell me, if you had a loved one who had died, what would you give so that she could live?”

Everything. I would give everything.

And as Kai glanced back, I realized I had said it out loud.

“Exactly,” said Rish. He looked back at the trees. “You understand.”

“No,” said Kai.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” said Rish.

Kai and the soldier stared at each other, shifter challenge in their eyes.

“Run,” Kai said suddenly.

I grabbed the projectile incendiaries. They were meant for hunting, not battle, but they were weapons.

I could never outrun a tiger shifter.

If Kai died, so would I, but at least I would do this one thing, and he would know I was on his side.

It was suddenly, so important to me that he knew.

Smart armor clicked as it adjusted to Rish’s shifting shape.

I fumbled with the projectiles. No matter how good Kai was, fighting against a trained soldier in Smart Armor was a deadly exercise.

Tiger Kai roared.

The other tiger roared back. Though slightly smaller, it was undaunted. The two tigers circled each other, one orange, one white.

I aimed, waiting for a clear shot.

Then I heard the whine and crackle of the ship’s guns as they turned and pointed at the tigers.

Oh stars.

I fired the incendiaries. Tiny metal spheres ripped through the ship’s guns. Mini explosions followed, severing the guns from the ship.

More guns emerged, this time aiming toward me.

I reloaded the gun again. Fired. They exploded but more guns emerged.

Was the whole damn ship covered in guns?

I tried to reload, and realized I was out.

Star suck it.

I looked around for Kai. Though the tigers had vanished from the clearing, the foliage trembled and shook where they were.

I searched my pack, fumbling for anything that could be used as a weapon, even as I heard an ominous whine.

The two tigers rolled back into the clearing, grappling with each other. Rish’s Smart Armor was in pieces, trying to shift and reform around the soldier, but Kai kept attacking. Kai was covered in blood, one ear torn and dangling.

They backed away from each other all snarls.

The guns whirred, turning away from me, toward Kai.

“No!” I ran out into the clearing.

Like thunder from primitive gods, a bolt of purple light shot down, cleaving the enemy ship in half.

I looked up.

Another ship hovered above us, but I couldn’t see the markings.

There was another roar.

Something happened to Kai’s form. He stood on hind legs. Claws became taloned fingers.

He shoved his claws into the other tiger’s chest.

Ohmystars.

A tide of nausea rose in my stomach, bile in my mouth, staggering me. I had seen shifters fight before. But he shouldn’t have been able to do that.

Kai backed away, a black rotted object in his hand. It fell to the ground. He dropped to all fours, slowly returning to human form.

I clenched my fists, willing myself NOT to be nauseous. I wasn’t going to be someone he had to save.

Kai motioned for me to stay back, as he looked upward at the ship.

It landed with a clanging thump on the ground. A side slid open with an odd grinding noise, releasing a puff of stale air. A figure in Stargazer emblazoned exo-armor came out.

The figure took off the helmet, revealing Red, wonderfully alive.

“Sir, where is Seria?”

Kai ignored her question. “How is the flying, pilot?”

She saluted him, reciting a phrase. “As clear as the day is long.”

He gestured to come forward and I came out of the woods.

Kai gave me a look, the kind of look that said that there was a conversation that was going to be had, whether I liked it or not.

I made a show of looking at the carcass on the ground. “What the goddess stars was that, Kai?”

“I killed it.”

“No. You did something. You became something.”

He looked at me, clearly trying to silence me. “I shifted.”

“No, you were in tiger form and then you became —“

“Whatever you think you saw, is not what you think you saw. The matter is closed for discussion.”

Indeed, there was much we would have to talk about.