“We did.It was always Jarlath and me against our two brothers, Shiloh and Lynx.Shiloh and I grew up knowing we’d act as bodyguards to the two princes.”
“And Shiloh and Lynx ended up as mates.Did you and Jarlath ever—”
“No.Jarlath became smitten at the first meeting with Keira.After he met Keira, things changed.Our lives are different now.”
“For the better?”Curiosity and interest ate at her.He’d never talked to her this way before—as if she was an adult.It was…pleasant.
“I didn’t think so at the time,” Ellard said.“I told Jarlath he should listen to his parents and marry someone from a respectable family, someone from the upper classes.”
“He went his own way.”
“Yes.He kept visiting Keira because he enjoyed the pies she baked.At least, that was his story.I knew otherwise and tried to tell him to use her and move on.”
“He still refused to listen.”
“Yes, and looking back, I can see their relationship works well.Life has improved at the castle and in the city.”
“But it took a war to change things.”
“Yes.”Something—maybe pain—flickered across his face.
“Back to you and Jarlath shifting.What happened after you fibbed to Jarlath?”
“We went outside to the rear garden where my father used to conduct our training.Although my father had prepared us and told us what to expect and how to advance the shift, we were both nervous.”
“And you still couldn’t feel your feline?”This was pleasant.He’d been chatting for almost a full cycle portion without freezing her out.
“No.”
“You put on a good front?”
“A what?”
“Jarlath believed you because you behaved with confidence.”
Ellard nodded.“He doesn’t suspect to this day.We disrobed and pictured our felines.I closed my eyes and pictured a black feline, concentrating so hard I wouldn’t have known if the House of Cawdor launched an attack on the city.Then, all of a sudden, I felt my feline and the change rushed through me so fast I almost blanked out with the pain.”
“Camryn told us her first shift hurt.Jannike can’t remember because her shift occurred while she was half asleep.”
“It gets easier with practice.”Ellard paused to take a bite of his sandwich.“This is good.”
“It’s an Earth dish.I learned how to cook when we visited Earth.”
He picked up his drink.“My shift burned like firehell.According to Jarlath his never hurt, but I still don’t believe him.”
“I think it would be worth it, even if it is painful.”
“It is.The rush of extra sensory perception is amazing.”
Gweneth glanced out the viewport and let out a horrified squeak.“What’s that?Why aren’t the sensors screaming?”
The deep black of space now writhed with streams of blood red.Chunks of rock or some other type of material hid within the streams of colorful vapor material.They started to pelt the body of the ship.Rat-a-tat-tat.Rat-a-tat-tat.
Ellard cursed, his hands racing over the controls to regain manual control.Belatedly, an alarm began to screech, and Gweneth gripped the arms of her seat as the ship began to shake.The engine chugged instead of purring.Alarming pauses in the clamor of the engine brought another flood of curses.
“Phrullin’ heap of fodo crap.”
“What is that stuff?”
