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the first home.”
    â€œThe first?” Sascha asked. “They aren’t all going to be the same?”
    Kit stared. “Of course not. Who’d want to live in something that sterile? It’d be like a stack of those coffins the Psy live—” Suddenly appearing to realize who he was talking to, he turned bright red.
    â€œTake your foot out of your mouth.” Lucas tried not grin. “Changelings are different from the Psy, Sascha. We like things that are ours alone, things that are unique.” His eyes met the night-sky glimmer of hers and he wondered if she felt what he did. It was as if a thin wire connected them, vibrating with their unacknowledged awareness of each other. “We don’t share well.” Lucas was the worst of the lot. What was his, was his .
    â€œI see.” She paused for a moment. “Will this delay the completion date?”
    â€œNo. We’ve factored that into account.” He nodded at Zara to continue.
    â€œSince this area is controlled by leopards and wolves, I’ve designed the houses mostly for them.” Zara pointed out the wide-open living spaces and the easy access whether on human or animal feet. “But I’ve got a few plans for the nonpredatory species.”
    â€œHow likely are they to want to settle in with the cats and the wolves?” Once again, her question displayed disturbing insight.
    â€œThat’s the thing,” Zara said. “They’re not very likely to. I mean, we don’t attack nonpredatory changelings without provocation, but if you were a deer, would you want to live next door to a leopard who might get peckish one night?” It was the blackest of changeling humor.
    Kit grinned. “Yum, yum. I love deer shish kebab.”
    Sascha looked at him as if examining a bug. To his credit the juvenile didn’t fidget and even tried out his smile again. Sascha’s response was to shut her eyes for three seconds. When she opened them, she said, “I’ve been given the authority to veto or accept designs. Please show me the ones you think will work the best.”
    Before Zara could speak, Sascha asked another question. “How likely are the wolves and the leopards to coexist peacefully? I don’t want to waste money building for the wolves if they’re not going to go near the leopards and vice versa.”
    This was beyond unusual. Lucas knew he had to start looking very carefully at this slender Psy who thought disturbingly like a changeling. He said, “We’ve declared a truce that allows us to live together without major bloodshed. The bulk of the residents will be leopards but there’ll be enough wolves for it to be worth planning for them. There’s a shortage of homes for both species.”
    This was because the Psy owned a lot of building enterprises and they built the coffins Kit had mentioned—small, compact homes no self-respecting predator would go for. The Duncan family had been the first to grasp the need for changeling involvement in the initial phases of a development. In order to lure the hunters, the beasts of prey, you had to think like them.
    Zara chose that moment to speak. “This is the design I like for the cats and this for the wolves.” She put two fairly basic plans on the table. “I’m going to customize from there to take the land, the views, and the available runs into account. For a few homes, I’ll begin from scratch in order to match the client’s personality.”
    Sascha studied the designs. “To do that you’d have to know who was going to be the purchaser.”
    â€œWe’ve already got a waiting list of prospective buyers.
    Their money is sitting in our trust account.” Lucas watched Sascha’s eyes as she looked up and caught the momentary flicker in the stars that lit them from within. Surprise, baby, he felt like saying.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œIt’s the first new