How to Save a Firecat (and Yourself)

Someone has stolen a firecat. Firecats are nearly sacred in Dua, integral to the legends around the royal family and the country itself. The large red-gold cats are famous for how they choose to bond with humans—most often members of the royal guard. For someone to have to have taken a firecat, and a defenseless cub at that, is close to treason, even an immigrant like Rye knows that. After being forced from his home in Horun, Rye is just trying to keep his head down and survive. He's already exhausted and anxious when the busy inn where he works is shut down for a search by the royal guards about the missing firecat cub—the firecat cub currently hidden in Rye's tiny attic room. Rye has an explanation, but can a refugee from Horun get royal guards to believe him and help the cub before they both end up hurt? If only Rye could understand the strange ways of those in Dua, particularly the handsome royal guard Tasrit, who calls Rye pretty and worries over how overworked he is. Rye will have to trust Tasrit and act with more courage than he knows he has, to hopefully save the cub, save himself, and find a brighter future for himself than he thought possible. Features a bonus f/f short story—Queen in Private