The Leopard King by Ann Aguirre Page B

breakfast. Before she could tidy up, a knock sounded at the door. Pru checked in case it was Slay, come to fight with her some more, but she brightened when she spotted her cousin, Jocelyn. As usual, Joss only waited a few seconds, then let herself in.
    “Rumors are rampant,” Joss said with a grin. “So I came straight to the source.”
    “Good morning to you too.” Sighing, she put her dishes in the sink and got a sponge.
    “Don’t be grumpy. I’ve got juicy gossip. Slay got seriously shitfaced last night and had to be thrown in the drunk tank until he settled down. I’m willing to bet a week of patrol duty that it’s related to the whispers I’m hearing about you.”
    While she washed her cup, she summarized the current state of affairs for Joss.
    “Holy shit, you can shift . You realize you just doubled your workload, right? In addition to teaching, you’ll also have guard rotations, and… I suspect you’re too happy to care about that.” With this reaction, Joss established why she was Pru’s favorite cousin and closest friend since Dalena died. “Congratulations, copper top.”
    Anyone else would be fixating on the mess I’ve made of my relationships.
    “Don’t call me that.”
    “You prefer carrots?”
    Pru sighed. But she knew exactly why Joss was acting this way. “It’s all right. You can ask about Dom and Slay if you want.”
    “Whew. I thought I might die of curiosity. So…?”
    Joss listened with occasional nods, but she didn’t interrupt. When Pru ran out of words, she glanced at her cousin, who was now sitting at the table with her chin propped on her hands.
    “I don’t know if you want my actual opinion or unconditional support.”
    “Honesty is best.”
    “Considering how long you and Slay did that dance, it’s a little shitty you didn’t break it off clean first, but there were extenuating circumstances, and I’ve never liked how Slay treats you, so it could be argued that he deserved a hard lesson. All told, my vote goes to Dom.” Joss offered an impish grin. “Of course, that might be because I can say that my cousin leads the pride. What kind of perks can I expect, huh?”
    “You’re ridiculous,” she said, laughing.
    Joss tossed her hair, which was curlier than Pru’s, and so dark that unless the sun hit it, you wouldn’t realize how red it was. She’d also escaped the freckles and gotten green eyes like a mossy pond. The fact that she hadn’t chosen a mate related directly to the fact that she refused to settle down. There had been two or three contenders, but when Joss laughingly challenged them all to a series of quests to win her hand, they backed off so fast it had been embarrassing.
    “Seriously, though, all I care about is that you’re happy. You’ll be surrounded by the patter of little paws in no time.”
    “I doubt it. We’ve barely talked about where to live, so I won’t flip the fertility switch until we agree it’s time.,” she said, recalling how Slay’s mother hinted she had inferior genes.
    Wandering to the kitchen, Joss helped herself to leftovers. “I’ve heard that human women have no say over when they get pregnant or if they do.”
    “That’s quite a design flaw. But I think maybe the Eldritch have the same problem.”
    “Golgoth?” her cousin asked.
    She shook her head with a half-shrug. “Can you imagine someone sending a survey to investigate their reproduction? I’ve never even seen one in the flesh.”
    “They do seem like stories we’re told to keep us from roving too far from the hold, but come to think of it, our curiosity will be sated in a few days.” Once Joss scarfed down the food, she tossed her dirty dishes in the sink. “More importantly, I can’t wait to patrol with you. Have you talked to Caio about getting on the roster?”
    “Not yet. As you can see, I’m still in my pajamas.”
    “Well, put some pants on. Let’s take care of business.”
    Thus motivated, she rushed through getting ready and