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I stopped suddenly, my paws crashing into the ground as I saw the girl crash into the thick tree branch. Her head had made a loud crack and she had crumpled down, falling amid the bracken. Fallen leaves provided a bed for her. I shifted back into my human form as I approached her, with Divad by my side. There was a trickle of blood rolling down her forehead. Her skin was alabaster, and there was something about her that struck me profoundly. When I gazed upon her it was as though I was looking upon a golden sun rising on the horizon and seeing the plains of Orestes in all their grandeur.
Her hair was tawny brown, her face the shape of the moon. Her lips were plump, her body radiant with beauty, and her scent provided spice to the air. I was certain that I had never seen anyone like her before.
Divad came to stand beside me. He yawned as he shifted and ran his hands through his hair.
“Well, now you’ve done it,” he said.
I glared at him. “What do you mean? This isn’t my fault?”
“You were the one who chased after her.”
“Yes, because I thought she was spying on us. I thought she was dangerous.”
“She doesn’t look dangerous,” he muttered, reaching out a foot and nudging her with his toes. She did not react in any way. The line of blood was bright crimson, shining upon her skin. My heart sank as I realized what damage I had caused, fearing the repercussions when we returned home.
“Well, I didn’t know that at the time. I just noticed that she was looking at us!”
“Everything is always dangerous with you. You can never just believe that everything is safe,” Divad rolled his eyes.
“Mom warned us about this place.”
“Oh, you’re not going to go on about the Night Fangs are you? That’s just a scary story that Mom tells us so we won’t go off to the cities.”
“It’s not. They might still be about,” I said, my gaze darting this way and that. Divad was unsure though, and just brushed away my concerns with a shake of his head.
“The lions dealt with them years ago. We don’t have to worry about them here. I don’t know what she was doing. She should have known better than to spy on strangers. I suppose she got what she asked for.” He turned away, sauntering nonchalantly.
“Where are you going?”
“What do you mean? I’m going to head back home.”
“But we can’t just leave her here,” I said, pointing down to the girl.
“Why not? She’s not our problem. Well, she’s not my problem,” he added with a grin. I grit my teeth and walked towards him, grabbing his shoulder to pull him back. He was tall and muscular, but it was all for show. I had spent my entire life honing my muscles to be deadly. Strength coiled within my body and Divad knew that in a contest I would emerge triumphant. He sighed when he turned to face me, moving as though it had been his idea rather than having been forced by me.
“You can’t leave me here with her. We were both there, and we both chased after her.”
“Technically I was chasing after you because I didn’t want you to get in trouble again.”
“I wasn’t in trouble before,” I caught myself before I became involved in another debate that was never going to be resolved. “Divad, we can’t just leave her here. What is Mom going to think?”
Divad draped his arm around my shoulder and whispered in my ear. “Mom doesn’t have to know,” he said.
I pressed my lips together. “I’m not going to keep secrets from her, especially not when it’s about her world. What if this girl remembers us and starts to look for lions?”
“Oh please, she’s not going to remember anything. She’s going to wake up and see nothing but darkness in her mind. She’ll shake herself off and get back to wherever she came from. There’s nothing we have to do here. We’re not responsible for her. It was just an accident.”
“But-”
“And you know what I’ve always been taught. I’m not supposed to bring things back from other worlds. Do you really want a repeat of what happened when I took the Eye of Ophelia from its cabinet?”
“No,” I said glumly. It had almost cost a war because Divad had been greedy and hadn’t listened to the wisdom of our parents. He was blessed with a unique talent to walk between worlds, and sometimes he let that skill feed his arrogance, believing that he was deserving of more than he should perhaps get.
“Look, she’s breathing, which is all we can ask for. Mom wouldn’t want us to take her away. We should leave her here and head back.”
I was about to reply when I sensed something in the depths of the forest. It was salivating and hungry, and it was heading straight for us. I saw a dark shadow moving between the trees and sharp claws gleaming. It was a predator, and it must have caught the scent of naked blood. I snarled and shifted quickly, sending out a warning growl to any predators in the area. There were none stronger than the lions of Orestes, especially in this world. After a moment had passed, I noticed that the predator slunk away, receding into the background. I turned to Divad.
“We can’t leave her,” I said.
