A few minutes later, Rinku and Faiz were reminiscing with Simani about past adventures with Dai. Scheduled to retire early next year, Dai had been a mentor – almost a father figure – to all the other Hunters at the South Ragah Division. Soon, they were joined by Ruban and Hema. An aura of quiet melancholy settled over the group as they spoke in muted tones of happier times.

Shwaan allowed himself to fade into the background. He had no right to participate in this conversation. And yet, if he fled, it would only exacerbate Simani’s suspicions.

He sank to his knees and allowed Kitty to climb onto his lap. All afternoon, she’d been leaping and climbing to get her paws on his braid – a dangling treasure worth fighting for! Now, finally having it in her grasp, she wrapped her forelimbs around it and promptly fell asleep.

Shwaan sighed. If only humans were more like cats, life would be so much easier.

But humans, as he learned anew every day, were never so easily satisfied. He was yanked out of his pleasant reverie by Ruban tugging insistently on his collar.

“What?” he snapped.

Frowning, he looked up to see that the sun was almost on the verge of setting. The others had dispersed, with Ruban and Hema the only familiar faces still in his vicinity.

One of the downsides of immortality was that your grasp on the passage of time got rather tenuous, after a point.

Ruban raised an eyebrow. “You want to sleep in a crematorium tonight?”

Shwaan rose slowly to his feet, careful not to wake Kitty. Soon, with a bit of drowsy growling, she’d been transferred to the pet carrier in Hema’s car.

As soon as the vehicle had left the venue, Ruban turned to Shwaan.

“What did she want?”

“Who? Kitty? My braid, mostly. And probably food, but I didn’t have any.”

Ruban snorted, turned away, and began walking. “No. Simani. She dragged you back here while I was speaking. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice?”

“I don’t much care that you did.” Shwaan fell into step with him. “It was hardly an illicit rendezvous. Although I would keep an eye on her, if I were you. She’s getting suspicious.”

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“Of what?”

“Of you. She asked me if you were consorting with Aeriels.”

“And what did you tell her?”

“That you were just being your usual recalcitrant self. That she was overthinking things. Don’t think she believed me, though.”

“Well, she’s not an idiot.”

“I’ve noticed.” Shwaan’s lips twitched into a reluctant smile. “All the more reason to be careful, isn’t it?”

“And what if I didn’t want to be? Careful, that is. What if I just want to tell her the truth? She’s my partner. If anyone deserves to know, it’s her.”

“What she deserves has nothing to do with this. You know the risks involved as well as I do. If it comes down to a confrontation–”

“You’ll kill her.” Ruban rounded on him. “Is that it?”

Shwaan cocked his head to the side. “You’re in a good mood today.”

“One of my dearest colleagues – my oldest friends – is dead.” Ruban took a step forward, glaring down at Shwaan. “Killed by an Aeriel that’s still alive only because you allowed it to flee. Allowed it to escape with its life, after it’d killed four Hunters in front of you.”

“Kaheen,” Shwaan murmured. “Simani said she’d seen the Aeriel that killed Dai–”

“Of course she had,” he snapped. “So tell me, Ashwin. How many of us need to die before you’ll consider telling us the truth about Reivaa’s daughter?”

Shwaan flinched. Ruban laughed, the sound devoid of any humor.

“So you knew, did you? You knew who she was, from the very beginning. And after everything that happened, after she killed four people, after I asked you about her time and again, you didn’t feel the need to tell me… to let me in on the little secret.”

“You don’t understand.” He shook his head. “There is no–”

“And yet, you expect me to keep your secret. To lie to my friends and betray my colleagues to do so. To risk their lives,” he snarled. “For an Aeriel. An Aeriel who’s been lying to me – making a fool out of me – all this while.” He took another step forward, breathing quickly. “Tell me... Do you think Dai would still be alive today, if I hadn’t trusted you so blindly?”

A few seconds passed in stifling silence.

“I don’t care if you want to cast me as the villain of your personal tragedy, Ruban.” Shwaan held out his hands. “If it helps you sleep better at night, be my guest. But the fact remains…” He turned away, moving towards the exit. “I’m not your enemy in this war. If anything, I’m the closest thing you have to an ally, outside of the Hunter Corps.”

“So when will you start acting like it? Like a friend and not a spy?”

“Never. Because we’re not friends. We can’t be. I’d lived for more than eight centuries by the time you were born. And I’ll probably live for eight more after you die, whether it’s five days or five decades from now. This little drama,” he flicked his fingers. “Is but the blink of an eye, in the grand scheme of things.

“I want to help you. But you’re far from the only one who needs my help.” He sighed, coming to a stop just outside the crematorium. “I’m on your side, Ruban. But you’re not the only one whose side I’m on. And if you can’t accept that, you’re welcome to reveal my identity to whoever you want. After all, if there are consequences, I won’t be the one to bear them.”