"Shhh," he said, kneeling down. "Move slow, or you'll scare them."

Lilitha felt cumbersome as she tucked her long legs beneath her and cautiously lowered her body to the ground. She swayed on her knees, hyperaware of how her elbows jutted out and her tail swished, much as she tried to suppress it. Maraduc used gentle fingers to tuck a lock of his wavy snow-white hair, so characteristic of the Eali, before brushing the serrated blades of grass back. Such an action could have caused loss of digits in any other species, but the Eali were so at one with nature that nothing desired harm to them.

Except perhaps Shifters.

With the same gentle fingers, he cupped his hands beneath several balls of snuffling fur. Several layers of fur shifted, revealing large doe-like eyes that stared up at him, quivering.

Around them, the air moved in subtle undulations. Star glittered, large as red moons, in the dark sky. The light shone through the small breaks in the thick canopy overhead, the leaves of which were also serrated and sharper than her claws. She hadn't been there long, but he'd always visited, keeping her safe, keeping her sane.

Maraduc spoke to it in the soft Eali tongue. The shaking ceased. The creature's eyes darted quickly up at LIlitha before flashing back to Maraduc.

"Isn't it beautiful? So delicate, so perfect."

"Such tiny vulnerable creatures would not survive one red moon in my world," she said in a low voice, keeping perfectly still. She was aware of how the skin on the back of her hands still held flickers of flames, bathing them in a glow.

"No, nor would I," was the cheerful reply. Soft long-fingered hands stroked the creature's fur before scratching its back. Those large eyes half-closed in bliss. "Which is why I'm glad I live in my world and not yours."

"Such peace and naiveté cannot last forever."

Despite the dismissal in her voice, the Eali didn't rise to the bait.

"That's also true." He sat in a more comfortable position, bare legs crossed over each other, in the thicket. With one brush of his hand, the area around Lilitha's feet receded, leaving bare ground. She sat down, tail curled around her body. That was an unnecessary gesture – Lilitha's telekinetic shield was near impenetrable, any gashes she sustained would heal the next time she shifted, and it wasn't like she minded pain – but it was typical of Maraduc to be so thoughtful. "But what is life if you can't live it to the fullest? Would you live in fear and bloodshed, hoping for the moons to pass, so you realise you've survived another day?"

"That's how you get stronger – weeding out the weak."

"Ah, but that's not the question."

His perceptiveness irked her sometimes.

"Are you happy, Lil?"

"Happy." Lilitha rolled the strange word on her tongue. It gave her a peculiar feeling, like that time she'd eaten a Furball before she realised their pure liquid, acidic contents made them impossible to expel. The tingling warmth at the bottom of her stomach – not exactly unpleasant, but wholly alien – remained for days. "What a bizarre concept."

"Yes, I expected as much." Maraduc looked thoughtful, his huge pale green eyes turned skywards. The last of the twilight dotted his smooth mahogany skin, beautiful as sparks in a fire. It caught Lilitha's breath every time she looked at him. It wasn't just aesthetics; the entire atmosphere of peace and gentility made life almost seem worthwhile. "And yet you sit here, with an Eali, looking at this sweet little creature that had just dropped off to sleep."

She looked. He was right. The little ball of fur had closed its eyes and the only movement she could see was the subtle beating of its heart and each breath moving in and out of its body.

"No ordinary Shifter will do that."

"But I'm still a Shifter. You know why I'm here in this realm. You know my task."

He placed the creature back before turning to her, giving his full attention. He had a lopsided smile on his face.

"Your task is the harbinger, but you are not born the harbinger. There is so much more to you than that, and I can see it."

Lilitha shook her head in disbelief. Flames continued to flicker around her wrist.

"That is why you didn't flee when I started killing your people? I burned villages to the ground. I tore apart young Eali. And you just stood there."

"I can see when someone truly desires death, and you are not one of them."

"This is my job."

"I know what the Shifters want you to do, but what do you want?"

She stopped. It took a swallow to get the sand out of her throat.

"Nobody's ever asked me that before."

Maraduc extracted a long arm and rubbed her back. Lilitha almost jumped out of her little grassless circle.

"Sorry – sorry!" he said with a chuckle. "I forgot your kind don't do touches."

"The last time a creature did that I ripped his throat out," she said with such vehemence that even the Eali looked taken aback. She sucked in a breath, shaking her head. Her long bright yellow hair shook with her. "For Shifters, a touch is always the start of a fight."

"For Eali, a touch can mean many things – sympathy, camaraderie, love, friendship."

Lilitha looked at him blankly.

"You are the most peculiar creature I have ever met," she told him, "and that is quite a feat considering the worlds I have been to and I have been here for less than a red moon."

"You may have been to many worlds, Lil, but have you seen many worlds?"

She hesitated. "No... every one of them seemed the same. Life, rebellions... and then there were only ashes."

Maraduc shuddered.

"That is the cost to rise against the Sentinels," she said, defensive. "Anything else is just collateral damage."

"Is that what you truly believe, or is that part of your training?"

Lilitha stared down at her long-clawed hands.

"That is not our fight," he said in a soft voice. "You are a soldier, yes, but you are just a pawn. Who is the game master? Who decides what happens?"

"My father."

"Then this is a fight between your father and the leader of the Sentinels. Messengers don't survive fights."

He extended that long arm again, hand facing skywards. Star light glittered on the smooth brown palm.

"You don't have to be part of that game, Lil. You can overthrow your destiny. It's your body, your future."

"I cannot escape the King of Shifters!" she said, mortified. "You have no idea the power he wields!"

"He controls you through fear. If you learn that your body is under your own command, there is nothing he can do to you."

"The Eali cannot fight against Shifters!" The thought of these mild-mannered, frivolous woodland dwellers with their delicate little white halos floating around engaging in fights against one of the fiercest creatures in all the realms was laughable.

"The Eali are not alone." He gave a gentle smile that lit up his features. "Alliance is best formed through friendship, not fear. The Shifters have yet to learn that."

"No one will ever trust a Shifter. We alone have annihilated billions of others, destroyed thousands of worlds."

His gaze softened. He stroked her cheek. She didn't flinch away this time.

"At least you are willing to admit your faults. There's hope. But true – you cannot travel as a Shifter. You must travel as an Eali. We can make up a believable story."

She opened her mouth to protest, her brows furrowed, but then stopped.

"What is it?"

She swallowed.

"Are you sure we can do this?" Her voice was hoarse. "Just run away? No repercussions?"

"For someone who speaks so fiercely and killed so mercilessly, your mellow side is quite the lovely surprise."

The flames on the back of Lilitha's back and along her spine flared in embarrassment. Her hearts pounded. The implications of this defection was unimaginable. Father's fury when one of his generals failed to conquer the Frostites had plunged the Shifter world into hellish darkness for a whole red moon. Shifters who were unable to hunt and regain energy to shift eventually died from their injuries or exhaustion.

Speaking of which...

"I cannot protect you, Maraduc. I haven't devoured any creatures in almost half a red moon... I can shift only once more. Turning into Eali may very well be my last shift if I cannot afford to be seen changing."

The Eali was vulnerable. So vulnerable. By her own inability, if they were caught, he was as good as dead.

His smile stretched until they almost touched his pointed ears.

"Then Eali you shall be, for the rest of your life."

The air was still. The little blobs of light darting between the trees and leaves fibrillated, sensing their emotions.

"You can appreciate the beauty of life," he said with that familiar lopsided grin. "There's good in you yet, Lil. Trust me."

Trust me. Such fragile, powerful words. Spoken with such passion. She envied him. Despite the difference in power and strength, she could give up all of this.

He touched her shoulder. Her tail quivered. All of her hearts warmed, sending tingling sensations to the tips of her claws. She took his proffered hand at last.

For the first time in her life, Lilitha felt this anomaly known as 'happiness.'

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