Page 27 of Primal Mirror

—cold, contained power—

—gold and black—

—a handprint in blood—

Jerking back her finger, she nonetheless stood in place. That last image had been vivid, but still…distant. Whoever had created that handprint had done so long enough ago that time and the elements had scrubbed most of it.

The strongest impressions hadn’t been of violence. She’d felt the softness of fur, seen colors black and gold that rippled with life, heard a throaty growl. “Leopards,” she whispered, realizing RainFire cats must’ve been prowling around and through this land on a regular basis.

She was glad for that, for them.

For him.

She’d never before had an opportunity to touch a changeling imprint, but the people in her group who had experienced them had mentioned that they had a different impact from Psy or human imprints. Likely because of the nature of changeling shields. Today, all she’d sensed was an intense awareness of their surroundings—under paws, against fur, in the air—entwined with a wild curiosity.

She wondered if a Ps-Psy had ever been inside a changeling den. And she found herself searching desperately for something Remi might’ve touched.

So she could see him, know him.

But he’d been scrupulous in keeping his distance, and now he was gone, just another feline shadow in the trees.

* * *

• • •

REMI dreamed of Auden Scott, an eerie dream in which her face kept switching. One face was frigid and remote, while another laughed, another cried.

And the final one…it screamed.

Jolting up in bed, he didn’t fight his instincts and, shifting into his leopard form, ran full tilt to her cabin. All seemed peaceful within, no sign of any trouble. No hint of anyone’s scent but hers and those of his packmates.

He was tempted to wake her up nonetheless, see her with his own eyes, but he knew that was irrational, would disturb rest she needed. But he couldn’t make himself leave, so he jumped up onto a branch of a tree that overlooked her cabin, and napped there. Lights came on in the cabin with the break of dawn, and not long afterward, he spotted Auden’s form pass in front of her window.

Remi growled softly in satisfaction before jumping off the branch to run back to his pack—and to the vows he’d taken to protect and shelter each and every individual within it. Those same vows meant he couldn’t get back to the cabin the rest of that day, or the next. Having foreseen that, however, he’d ordered his people to do extra sweeps, keep an eye on her from afar and make sure she was safe.

Then Theo reported that Auden had flown out in her jet-chopper, and that was that.

Or it should’ve been.

Those moonstone blue eyes haunted Remi…as did the strange dream born of his leopard’s memory of her funhouse mirror of a scent. It made Remi wonder if the cat had seen something the man had missed, if the woman who’d said she could catch his tail—and had instead caught his interest—had been the best mask of all.

Chapter 13

A9: I’ve recently come into contact with a changeling group and had an opportunity to sense an old changeling imprint. It was less…visceral than other imprints of a similar age on the same surface. I’d like to hear further from those of you with experience with changeling imprints. Is this normal?

Jervois: I’ve never had the chance, but I’m curious to hear from the others, too. My family is considering a business venture with a small changeling group, so I might come into contact with their imprints. I would like to be prepared.

TNS: I’ve had multiple opportunities to sense changeling imprints. A9, your experience is similar to mine. We can still read them, but not at the depth we can Psy or human. And in passive mode, I find that I’m not discomforted at all in even heavily changeling-imprinted spaces. I’ve theorized it’s as a result of their natural shields.

Jervois: That is intriguing to me. After all, Psy have heavy shields, too. Why are we impacted so strongly by our own race then? Humans, it makes sense, since their natural shields are paper thin.

A9: Perhaps we are sensitized to other Psy in a genetic sense? Or perhaps it’s because a changeling has a dual aspect to their nature, which might somehow scramble our senses.

TNS: Valid theories—perhaps one day one of us can get a grant to study the phenomenon. Though, A9—I see from your profile that you’ve posted in the pregnancy subforum—I can’t tell you anything about how your current physical status will impact the effect of changeling imprints. It’s not something with which I’ve ever had—or will have—any experience.

A9: Hopefully another one of us can chime in with more knowledge.

Enna: It’s been seven hours. Does no one have more information? This is the most interesting thread we’ve had in forever.

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