“They’re all of African descent. Maybe that’s not how most Shifters invite members into their family, but we have formed a brotherhood from common experience. We have a duty to preserve our culture and keep our stories alive in our children. What can they learn from a lion who lived a privileged life in England? One who could only shift in the privacy of a large estate to protect themselves? They don’t know what it’s like to hunt in the open plains, following the thundering hoofbeats of gazelle with the hot sun on their backs. We could go anywhere—the land was ours. Now we are restricted to territories. My family shifts in the courtyard. So many roads. So many cars. So many camera phones.”
Blue sympathized with him. “I guess you have problems I haven’t endured.”
He flicked a glance at her feather earrings. “Owl?”
She snorted. “They’re nosy little bastards. I’m a falcon.”
“It must be nice to be free in the heavens.”
“It is,” she admitted, turning her head toward a rogue breeze. “I guess I take my freedom for granted. Is that what happened to King? Did he wander off the territory?”
Sambah lifted his glass and licked the sugar off the rim. Somewhere nearby, Blue heard drums and singing.
“Apologies,” Niko said. “Did we disturb a ceremony?”
Sambah gazed off to the west. “No. There’s a small tribe within our family who sings to the setting sun. There are many customs here, and we honor them all.”
Joba returned with a colorful round tray. On it, a supremely large plate filled with many different foods. Blue arched her eyebrows, surprised by the feast.
Joba chuckled and used a piece of flatbread to scoop up what looked like a mixture of cooked cabbage and onions. Then he took a bite. “Don’t let good food go to waste.”
When he left, Blue reached for a folded-up piece of bread and used it to grab food on the tray. She wasn’t exactly sure what they were eating, but it smelled good.
“Here,” she said, placing it in Niko’s hand. “Eat up.”
Niko held it to his nose before taking a bite.
It was rude to decline food offered in a Shifter home. Mainly because it was considered a show of trust by both parties. Leaders could poison enemies under the guise of hospitality, something Shifters once did. Sambah was testing them, and that was why she shoved food into Niko’s hands before he had the chance to decline.
She looked at the doughy bread lining the plate. “This is all vegetables?”
Sambah chuckled. “We lions have a bad reputation. Many of us prefer to eat meat only in animal form. This is bayenetu. Many options.”
Blue tried some. “It’s delicious.”
“So are enchiladas and candy bars. We eat all of those too. But if you come into my home as a guest, we will serve you our food.” He flicked his gaze to the tall trees. “You asked me how King died. It wasn’t from a territorial dispute. Gossip and speculation surrounded his death, but the truth is he fell down the stairs.”
“Fell?” Blue asked, unable to mask the surprise in her voice.
Sambah shook his head. “Great men die in battle. I cannot understand it myself. It happened after midnight, and I don’t know what he was doing up that late. It’s not unusual for our lions to stir in the late hours, but we keep the house quiet for the children. There has to be a schedule.”
“Maybe he wanted a midnight snack, and it was dark,” Niko suggested.
“The kitchen is closed after our last meal,” Sambah informed him. “And I installed a glass railing to keep the children from falling. They light up at night. Our worst nightmare is a home that is not safe for children. Young ones are so precious and fragile. But King was a man. He struck his head, and that is why he didn’t shift.”
Blue swallowed her bite. “Do you think someone pushed him?”
“I don’t know what to believe. I teach my children well. I have taught them to shift before they are injured. If you pushed me from a falling window, I would shift before my feet hit the ground. Our animals are less frail. I will never know. They found him on the stairs in the morning, and I cannot imagine how long he must have lain there. I have the power to force him to shift—I could have saved him if he’d still been alive. Even if I couldn’t, I could have held him in my arms. But that was not the will of the fates.”
A black feeling enveloped Blue, one she tried to suppress.
Niko touched her arm. He must have noticed her light change.
Having lost her appetite, Blue lifted her glass and cleansed her palate. “Was he himself that day? Did anything about his mood or behavior seem off? Maybe he wasn’t feeling well, and that’s why he lost his balance.” She avoided allusion to the possibility of a virus.
“I should remember all those last moments,” Sambah admitted, “but I don’t. They are gone from me. I remember him as we gathered for breakfast the previous morning. He was giving my brother an ulcer. We often joked that King could talk a ghost out of his grave.” Sambah reached for the plate. “My son was an insistent man. He got his way many times because I couldn’t win a debate with him.”
Niko chuckled, and that pleased Sambah.
“I could tell many stories,” he continued. “The living are memory keepers of the dead. It honors their spirit to remember them, but more importantly, those stories inspire younger generations. I’m afraid I have no conspiracy to report to the higher authority if that’s what they’re looking for. No murder under my roof. No cover-up. Just a tragic accident.”
Blue stood. “I’m sorry if we wasted your time.”
“Not at all.” After eating what was in his hand, he rose to his feet and rounded the table to escort them inside. “It is not often we get visitors from the outside—especially falcons. If you don’t mind my saying so, most of your kind avoid us.”
Blue gave him a sideways glance. “Maybe it’s because some of you consider us dinner.”
“That was many centuries ago. Food is plentiful now.” He stopped and turned to face her. “I promise not to eat you if you visit again.” Then he directed his gaze to Niko. “May I steal a minute alone with your partner?”
Blue patted Niko’s shoulder. “The door is about seven steps ahead and it automatically opens. I’ll be right in.”
Niko bowed. “Thank you for inviting us into your home, Mr. Freeman. It was a pleasure being your guest.”
When he left, Sambah folded his arms. “I have many questions about your friend.”
“Why didn’t you ask him?”
“Because it is not he who intrigues me.”
Blue tucked her hands in her pants pockets as the wind blew her shirt collar to the side. “I’m not available.”
Sambah tossed back his head and laughed. “I am not a collector of mistresses. There is only one woman who has my heart.”
Confused, she frowned. “Then what is it?”
“Where are your people? Where is your tribe? Why do you walk alone?”
“I’m not alone. I have Niko.”
“But he is not one of us.”
“No, but I chose my family. Not everyone is born to live in a big house and knit all day.”