The Kingdom of the Cats
{4.5/5} “‘What made you think of pulling in all those birds?’ ‘I have it from my mother, who has it from her cousin, who has it from her man’s sister, who has it from her aunt, that Prandra daughter of Tengura, the first woman to leave Ungruwarkh, does something similar with birds of prey in a different situation on a world whose name I don’t recall now.'”
The Kingdom of the Cats by Phyllis Gotlieb, published in 1985
A bunch of Ungrukh are living in the Grand Canyon on Earth, as part of an experiment. Most of them are killed by people in masks. Bren, daughter of Emerlad, and Etrem, who has black fur, have survived. Bren’s brother and sister, twins, are missing — hopefully they escaped the massacre.
This is the sequel to Emperor, Swords, Pentacles, and concludes the trilogy. Each book tells its own story, but there’s also an overarching story about people learning about Ungrukh and Ungrukh learning about how things work in the universe.
It’s about beings who can melt into the shadows, and different ideas of justice.
This is the 5th book I’ve read by Gotlieb.