Shards of Hope (Psy-Changeling 14)

Which was why he’d called Remi the previous day and made a request. Now he looked out on a scene he would’ve deemed impossible prior to his and Zaira’s abductions. In front of him was a lush green landscape under a bright mountain sun that bore little resemblance to the rain-lashed terrain of three and a half weeks before.

That wasn’t the surprise.

It was the fact that little Jojo was currently earnestly explaining the concept of “catch” to an Arrow child a year older than her. That child kept looking to Aden for permission, until he stepped in and, hunkering down beside the boy, said, “Throw to me, Jojo.”

Giving a happy smile, Jojo threw. When Aden caught it, she clapped her hands for him. He threw it gently back, and when she successfully caught it—after a little wobble—he put his hands together for her. The next time Jojo threw to the Arrow child, the boy tried to catch, but his coordination wasn’t good at the unfamiliar task and he dropped it.

Jojo laughed. “Pip oops!”

Looking uncertain, Pip picked up the ball and threw. This time, Jojo fumbled it. “Oops!” she cried with a big smile that made it clear she didn’t mind at all. “Jojo oops!”

Aden saw Pip relax as the boy began to understand that there was no right or wrong here, no test. Rising to his feet once he was sure the two were happy playing together, he looked across to where Zaira was watching over another group. She’d already been “tackle hugged” by Jojo, as Remi had laughingly called it.

Aden wasn’t the one who’d remembered to buy a gift of candy for all the children to share. That had been Zaira. And she’d snuck in a special piece for Jojo, who’d giggled and eaten it then and there.

All systems go?

Looking up from where she leaned lazily against a large rock, she shot him a faux salute. I say we let Jojo run this op—she already knows everyone.

Perhaps she’ll one day be an alpha.

I’d put money on it.

“Here, kitten.” Remi rolled the ball back toward Jojo when it went too far.

“Thank you for agreeing to this,” Aden said to the alpha after the children returned to their play, the two of them standing under a soaring tree with wide sheltering branches. “I didn’t expect it.”

He’d made the request regardless—because having spent so much time in the valley of late, he’d realized that Arrow children didn’t know how to play. Even with explicit permission, they waited to be told what to do because that was the first phase of the training process—rote learning. Independent thought wasn’t encouraged until much later.

Remi shrugged. “Not like you and Zaira hadn’t already been in the area, and they’re just cubs.”

Aden knew that to the leopard alpha, that designation included the Arrow children as well. “You should be careful. There are those who’ll use your weakness where children are concerned against you.”

Throwing back his head, Remi laughed with abandoned joy. “Like it’s a big fucking secret how much our cubs mean to us.” A grin. “Same as yours do to you, it seems, so heed your own warning, my friend.”

Aden had caught sight of several Arrow children pausing to watch Remi laugh, watched them return to their play after furtive glances at him, as if to check it was still okay. “I concede the point,” he said to the amused alpha, while continuing to keep a psychic eye on the children within his shields.

This was a test group of ten. He had three in his shields, Vasic had three, and, as the strongest telepath, Zaira had four. The reason was to protect the changeling cubs in case of an inadvertent psychic loss of control. So far, the Arrow children were on their best behavior, but if these “playdates”—as Remi called them—carried on on a regular basis, childish fights were inevitable.

The extra shielding would both protect against any psychic damage and give the squad an insight into which children required more one-on-one psychic training to help them harness their strength in a safe way. Because, while Silence had fallen, some of its lessons remained viable: violent psychic abilities were dangerous and could ruin the life not just of the victim, but of the child who’d caused the injuries or death.

Part of Aden’s duty was to keep young Arrows and those around them safe until the children had the skill and control to do so themselves. Flexible external shielding that wasn’t hard and painful, but stretched to give a child room if he or she needed it, would work in the interim.

“They’re quick,” Remi said, nodding at the kids. “It won’t take long before they’re scrambling all over your valley.”

Aden hadn’t shared the location of the valley with Remi, not because he didn’t trust the alpha, but because the information would make anyone who possessed it a target. He had, however, spoken to the alpha about the setup, asked if Remi had any suggestions when it came to creating community areas.

In the end, it turned out that Aden’s instincts had led him in the correct direction. “Would you be willing to permit interaction between juveniles as well?” he asked the other man.

“Sure, with the right safeguards—but you gotta be ready to deal with teenage romance.”

Aden didn’t immediately reply, his mind having to quickly regroup. “Not an issue I’d considered.”

“Figured that.” Remi’s grin was slyly feline. “We’re talking teenage hormones, Aden. Leopard changelings of a certain age get to be very tactile and your teens are going to be experiencing freedom after a lifetime of deprivation.” A raised eyebrow. “Pretty combustible mix. There’ll be definite sneaking off into the trees so make sure your kids get the birds and bees talk if they haven’t already.”