14
Tiger, Tiger
Kelsey! Kelsey! Open your eyes!’
Someone was shaking me. Hard. All I wanted to do was fall back into the black peaceful sleep, but the voice was desperate, insistent.
‘Kelsey, listen to me! Open your eyes, please!’
I tried to crack open my eyes, but it hurt. The sunlight was making the painful pounding in my head worse. What an awful headache! My mind finally started to clear, and I recognized our campground and Ren, who was kneeling next to me. His wet hair was slicked back, and he had an expression of concern on his beautiful face.
‘Kells, how do you feel? Are you okay?’
I intended to answer him with a really good sarcastic retort, but, instead, I choked and began coughing up water. I inhaled a deep breath, heard a crackly wetness in my lungs, and began coughing some more.
‘Turn on your side. It helps to get the water out. Here, let me help you.’
He pulled me toward him so that I was resting on my side. I coughed up some more water. He took off his wet shirt and folded it. Then he gently lifted me and placed it under my sore head, which unfortunately hurt too much to appreciate his . . . bronzed . . . sculpted . . . muscular . . . bare chest.
Well, I guess I must be okay if I can appreciate the view, I thought. Sheesh, I’d have to be dead not to appreciate it.
I winced as Ren’s hand brushed against my head, shaking me from my reverie.
‘You’ve got a major bump here.’
I reached up to feel the giant lump on the back of my skull. I gingerly touched it and recalled the source of my headache. I must have lost consciousness when the rock hit me. Ren saved my life. Again.
I looked up at him. He was kneeling next to me with a look of desperation on his face, and his body was shaking. I realized that he must have changed to a man, dragged me out of the pool, and then remained by my side until I woke up. Who knows how long I’ve been laying here unconscious.
‘Ren, you’re in pain. You’ve been in this form too long today.’
He shook his head in denial, but I saw him grit his teeth.
I pressed my hand on his arm. ‘I’ll be okay. It’s just a bump on the head. Don’t worry about me. I’m sure Mr. Kadam has some aspirin tucked away in the backpack. I’ll just take that and lie down to rest for a while. It’ll be alright.’
He trailed his finger slowly from my temple to my cheek and smiled softly. When he pulled back, his whole arm shook and tremors rippled under the surface of his skin. ‘Kells, I—’
His face tightened. He threw his head to the side, snarled angrily, and morphed to a tiger again. He softly growled, then quieted, and drew close beside me. He lay down next to me and watched me carefully with his alert blue eyes. I stroked his back, partly to reassure him and partly because it soothed me too.
I stared up through the dappled trees and willed my headache to subside. I knew that I would have to move eventually, but I really didn’t want to. He purred softly, and the comforting sound actually helped my headache. Sighing deeply, I got up, knowing that I’d be more comfortable if I changed my clothes.
I sat up delicately, slowly, while breathing deeply, hoping that by moving cautiously the nausea would dissipate and the world would stop spinning. Ren lifted his head, alert to my efforts.
‘Thank you for saving me,’ I whispered as I stroked his back. I kissed the top of his furry head. ‘What would I do without you?’
Zipping open the backpack, I found a small box that contained a variety of medications, including aspirin. I popped a couple in my mouth and swallowed a mouthful of the bottled water. Pulling out my dry clothes, I turned to Ren. ‘Okay, here’s the deal. I’d like to change back into my regular clothes, so if you would head off into the jungle again for a few minutes, I would appreciate it.’
He growled at me, sounding a bit angry.
‘I’m serious.’
He growled louder.
I rested my palm against my forehead and held on to a nearby tree to steady my wobbly legs. ‘I need to change, and you are not staying here to watch me.’
He huffed, stood, actually shook his body and head like he was saying no, and stared me down. I stared right back and pointed to the jungle. He finally turned around, but then he padded into the tent and lay down on my quilt. His head faced inward while his tail twitched back and forth outside the opening.
I sighed and winced after turning my head too quickly. ‘I guess that’s the best I’m going to get out of you, isn’t it? Stubborn tiger.’ I decided that I could live with his compromise, but I kept an eye on his flicking tail as I changed my clothes.
I felt a little better for having on dry clothes. The aspirin had started working, and my head throbbed less, but it was still tender. I decided that I’d rather sleep than eat, so I skipped dinner but opted for hot cocoa.
Carefully making my way around our campsite, I added a couple of logs to the fire pit and put the water on to boil. Crouching down, I worked the fire for a while with a long branch to get it crackling again and got out a packet of hot chocolate mix. Ren watched every move I made.
I dismissed him. ‘I’m fine. Really. Go off on one of your scouting trips or whatever.’
Ren just sat there stubbornly, twitching his tiger tail.
‘I’m serious.’ I spun my finger in a circle. ‘Go circle the grounds. Look for your brother. I’ll just gather some firewood and go to bed.’
He still wouldn’t move and made a noise that sounded slightly like a whining dog. I laughed and petted his head.
‘You know, despite appearances, I’m usually pretty good at taking care of myself.’
The tiger harrumphed and sat beside me. I leaned against his shoulder while mixing my hot chocolate.
Before the sun set, I gathered wood and drank a bottle of water. When I crawled into my tent, Ren followed me. He stretched out his paws, and I carefully positioned my head on them to cushion it. I heard a deep tiger sigh, and he settled his head next to mine. When I woke up the next morning, my head was still cushioned on Ren’s soft paws, but I’d turned, buried my face in his chest, and had thrown my arm around his neck, cuddling him close like he was a giant stuffed animal.
I pulled away a little awkwardly. As I got up to stretch, I cautiously felt my lump and was happy to find it greatly reduced. I felt much better.
Famished, I broke out some granola bars and a package of oatmeal. I heated enough water over the fire again to pour into my oatmeal and make another cup of hot chocolate. After breakfast, I told Ren to head off on patrol and that I was going to wash my hair.
He waited for a while, watching my movements until he felt reassured, then took off, and left me to fend for myself. I grabbed a small bottle of biodegradable shampoo that Mr. Kadam had included for me; the soap smelled like strawberries. He’d even included conditioner.
Changing into my swimsuit, shorts, and sneakers, I hiked down to my sunning rock. Staying on the edge of the falls, well away from the place I’d been hit by falling rocks, I gently wet and soaped my hair. Leaning slightly into the sparkling water, I let it softly rinse out the bubbles. The cool water felt good on my sore head.
Moving over to the sunny side of the rock, I sat down to brush my hair. When I was done, I closed my eyes and turned my face toward the early morning sun, letting it warm me as my hair dried. This place was a paradise, no question about it. Even with a bump on the head and my dislike of camping, I could appreciate the beauty of my surroundings.
It was not that I didn’t appreciate nature. In fact, I liked spending time outdoors with my parents when I was growing up. It was just that I always enjoyed sleeping in my own bed after appreciating nature.
Ren came back around midday and sat by me companionably while we ate our freeze-dried lunches. It was the only time I’d ever seen him eat as a man other than the mango fruit. Afterward, I rooted around in my bag for my book of poetry. I asked Ren if he’d like me to read to him.
He’d changed back into a tiger, and I didn’t hear a growl or another type of tiger protest, so I grabbed my book of poetry and sat down with my back resting against a big rock. He padded over next to me and surprised me by morphing into a man. He flipped onto his back and laid his head in my lap before I could get a word in. Then he sighed deeply and closed his eyes.
I laughed and said, ‘I guess that means yes?’
Keeping his eyes closed, he mumbled, ‘Yes, please.’
I flipped through my book to pick a poem to read. ‘Ah, this one seems appropriate. I think you’ll like it. It’s one of my favorites, and it’s also written by Shakespeare, the same guy who wrote Romeo and Juliet.’
I began reading and held the book with one hand while absent-mindedly stroking Ren’s hair with the other.
SHALL I COMPARE THEE TO A SUMMER’S DAY?
by William Shakespeare
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
His voice was soft. ‘That was . . . excellent. I like this Shakespeare.’
‘Me too.’ I was thumbing through the poetry book searching for another poem when Ren said, ‘Kelsey, perhaps I could share a poem of my country . . . with you.’
Surprised, I set my book down. ‘Sure, I’d love to hear some Indian poetry.’
He opened his eyes and stared up at the trees overhead. Capturing my hand, he twined my fingers through his and rested our hands on his chest. A slight breeze was blowing. It caused the leaves to dance and twist in the sun, weaving shadows and sunlight across his handsome face.
‘This is an old poem of India. It’s taken from an epic story that’s been told for as long as I can remember. It’s called the Sakuntala by Kalidasa.’
Thy heart, indeed, I know not:
but mine, oh! cruel, love
warms by day and by night;
and all my faculties are centered on thee.
Thee, O slender maid,
love only warms;
but me he burns;
as the day-star only stifles the fragrance of the night-flower,
but quenches the very orb of the moon.
This heart of mine,
oh thou who art of all things the dearest to it,
will have no object but thee.
‘Ren, that was very beautiful.’
His eyes turned to my face. He smiled and reached a hand up to touch my cheek. My pulse quickened, and my face felt hot where he touched it. I became suddenly aware that my fingers were still twined in his hair, and my hand was resting on his chest. I quickly removed them and twisted them in my lap. He sat up slightly, leaning on one hand, which brought his beautiful face very close to mine. His fingers moved down to my chin and, with the lightest touch, he tilted my face so that my eyes met his intense blue ones.
‘Kelsey?’
‘Yes?’ I whispered.
‘I would like permission . . . to kiss you.’
Whoa. Red-alert! The comfortable feeling I was enjoying with my tiger just a few minutes before had disappeared. I became acutely nervous and prickly. My perspective swung 180 degrees. I was, of course, aware that a man’s heart beat inside the tiger’s body, but, somehow, I’d shifted that knowledge to the back of my mind.
Awareness of the prince burst into my conscious mind. I stared at him, astonished. He was, well, to be blunt, he was out of my league. I’d never even considered the possibility of a relationship with him, other than friendship.
His question forced me to acknowledge that my comfortable pet tiger was actually a virile, robust example of masculinity. My heart started hammering against my ribcage. Several thoughts went through my head all at once, but the dominant thought was that I would very much like to be kissed by Ren.
Other thoughts were creeping around at the edge of my consciousness too, trying to wiggle into the forefront. Thoughts like – it’s too soon – we barely know each other – and maybe he’s just lonely – spun through my mind. But, I clipped the threads of those thoughts and let them blow away. Stomping down on caution, I decided that I did want him to kiss me.
Ren moved just a smidgen closer to me. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and then . . . waited. When I opened my eyes, he was still staring at me. He really was waiting for permission. There was nothing, and I mean nothing I wanted more in the world at that moment than to be kissed by this gorgeous man. But, I ruined it. For some reason, I fixated on the word permission.
I nervously rambled, ‘What . . . umm . . . what do you mean you want my permission?’
He looked at me curiously, which made me feel even more panicky. To say I had no experience with kissing would be an understatement. Not only had I never kissed a boy before, I’d never even met a guy I wanted to kiss until Ren. So, instead of kissing him like I wanted to, I got flustered and started coming up with reasons to not do it.
I babbled, ‘Girls need to be swept off their feet, and asking permission is just . . . just . . . old-fashioned. It’s not spontaneous enough. It doesn’t scream passion. It screams old fogy. If you have to ask, then the answer is . . . no.’
What an idiot! I thought to myself. I just told this beautiful, kind, blue-eyed, hunk of a prince that he was an old fogy.
Ren looked at me for a long moment, long enough for me to see the hurt in his eyes before he cleared his face of expression. He stood up quickly, formally bowed to me, and avowed softly, ‘I won’t ask you again, Kelsey. I apologize for being so forward.’
Then he changed into a tiger and quickly ran off into the jungle, leaving me alone to berate myself for my foolishness.
I shouted, ‘Ren, wait!’ But it was too late. He was gone.
I can’t believe I insulted him like that! He must hate me! How could I do that to him? I knew I only said those things because I was nervous, but that was no excuse. What did he mean he would never ask me again? I hope he asks me again.
I replayed my words over and over again in my mind and thought of all the things I could have said that would have given me a better result. Things like, ‘I thought you’d never ask’ or ‘I was just about to ask you the same question.’
I could have just grabbed the man and kissed him first. Even just a simple ‘Yes’ would have done the trick. I could have said dramatically, ‘As you wish,’ ‘Kiss me. Kiss me as if it were the last time,’ or ‘You had me at hello.’ He’d never seen the movies, so why not? But, no. I had to go on and on about ‘permission.’
Ren left me alone the rest of the day, which gave me plenty of time to kick myself.
Late in the afternoon, I was sitting on my sunning rock with my journal open, pen in hand, staring into space, utterly miserable, when I heard a noise in the jungle near our camp.
I gasped in shock as a large black cat emerged from the trees. It circled the tent and stopped to smell my quilt. Then it walked to the fire and sat there for a moment not afraid of it at all. After a few minutes, it loped off into the trees, only to come back into the clearing from the other side. I sat still, hoping it hadn’t seen me.
It was much larger than the panther that had attacked me near the Cave of kenhari. In fact, as it came closer to where I was sitting, I made out jet-black stripes on a dark, sable coat of fur. Bright, golden eyes scanned the camp, seemingly calculating. I’d never heard of a black tiger, but it was most certainly a tiger! It must not have seen me because, after circling our camp and sniffing the air a few times, the tiger disappeared back into the jungle.
Still, just to be safe, I sat on my rock for a long time to make sure it was gone for good.
After hearing nothing for a while, and feeling stiff, I decided it was safe to move. At the exact same second, a man stepped out of the jungle nearby. He boldly approached me, looked me slowly up and down, and said, ‘Well, well, well. We are full of surprises, aren’t we?’
The man was dressed in a black shirt and pants. He was very handsome, but in a darker, more swarthy way than Ren. His skin was antique-bronze, and his hair was ink-black, longer than Ren’s, but also swept back from his face and slightly curled.
His eyes were gold with specks of copper. I tried to identify the color. I’d never seen anything like it before. They were like pirate gold – the color of gold doubloons. In fact, pirate was a good way to describe him. He looked like the kind of guy who might be found gracing the cover of a historical romance novel, playing the part of a dark lothario. As he smiled at me, his eyes crinkled slightly at the corners.
I knew immediately who I was looking at. This was Ren’s brother. Both men were very handsome and had the same regal bearing. They were about the same height, but while Ren was tall, lean, and muscular, this man was heavier and brawnier, with more powerful arms. I thought he might take more after their father. While Ren, with his more prominent Asian features – the slightly almond-shaped blue eyes and golden skin – surely took after his mother.
Strangely, I wasn’t afraid, though I recognized an undercurrent of danger. It was almost as if the tiger part of him had overtaken the man.
I stated, ‘Before you say anything, I think you should know that I know who you are. And I know what you are.’
He stepped forward and quickly closed the gap between us. Then he cupped my chin, lifting my face for his perusal.
‘And who or what do you think I am, my lovely?’
His voice was very deep, smooth, and silky – like hot caramel. His accent was more pronounced than Ren’s and he hesitated as if he hadn’t used his voice in a long time.
‘You’re Ren’s brother, the one who betrayed him and stole his fiancée.’
His eyes tightened, and I felt a twinge of fear. He clicked his tongue, ‘Tch, tch, tch. Now, now. Where are your manners? We haven’t even been properly introduced yet, and here you are making wild accusations against me. My name is Kishan.’
He lifted a lock of my hair and rubbed it between his fingers before tilting his head. ‘I do have to give Ren credit. He always manages to surround himself with beautiful women.’
I was about to step away from him when I heard a tremendous bellow from the trees and saw Ren crash through the camp and leap, snarling, into the air. His brother quickly moved me to the side and then leapt also, changing into the black tiger I’d seen before.
Ren was beyond rage. He roared so loudly that I felt the vibrations of it quiver through my body. The two tiger bodies smashed together in the air with an explosive clap and fell hard to the ground. They rolled in the grass, clawed at each other’s backs, and bit whenever they got a chance.
I scrambled as far off to the side as I could and ended up near the falls, behind some bushes. I tried to shout at them to stop, but the fighting was so loud that it drowned out my voice. The two big cats rolled apart and faced each other. They crouched close to the ground, tails twitching, ready to pounce. They began circling the fire, keeping it between them.
For the moment, they were growling menacingly and locked in a staring contest. I decided that this was the best time to intervene, when the claws were on the ground and not in the air. I approached the two tigers slowly, staying closer to Ren’s side.
Mustering my courage, I entreated, ‘Please, stop it. Both of you. You’re brothers. It doesn’t matter what happened in the past. You need to talk to each other.’
I implored Ren, ‘You were the one who wanted to seek him out. Now’s your opportunity to talk, to tell him what you need to say.’
I looked at Kishan. ‘And you. Ren’s been a captive for many years, and we’re working on a way to help both of you. You should listen to him.’
Ren changed into a man. He said sharply, ‘You’re right, Kelsey. I did come out here to talk to him, but I see that he still cannot be trusted. There’s no . . . vestige of consideration in him. I should never have come here.’
‘But, Ren—’
Ren moved in front of me and spat angrily at the black tiger. ‘Vası¯yata karana¯! Badama¯´ sa! I’ve been circling you for two days! You had no right to come here when you knew I was gone! And you will never touch Kelsey again if you know what’s good for you!’
Ren’s brother changed back to a man as well, shrugged his shoulders, and said casually, ‘I wanted to see what you were protecting so fiercely. You’re right. I’ve been following you for two days, getting close enough to see what you were up to, but staying far enough away so that I could approach you on my terms. As for me staying here to listen to you, there is nothing you could say that would hold any interest for me whatsoever, Murkha.’
Kishan rubbed his jaw and grinned as he traced the long scratches left by his fight with Ren. He darted his eyes in my direction, and with a cursory glance at his brother, added, ‘Unless, of course, you’d like to talk about her. I’m always interested in your women.’
Ren moved me back and responded with an outraged roar. Morphing in midair, he attacked his brother again. The two rolled through the camp biting and scratching, banging against trees and slamming down on sharp rocks. Ren lashed out with a paw aimed for his brother, but he hit a tree instead, leaving deep, jagged claw marks in the thick trunk.
The black tiger took off running into the jungle, with Ren chasing after him. Their two angry roars echoed through the trees, frightening a flock of birds that took off squawking. The fight continued as they moved from one part of the jungle to another. I could follow their path by standing on my rock and watching the trees shake in the jungle and tracking the procession of irritated birds, rousted from their comfortable perches.
Ren finally barreled back into the campsite with his brother half riding his back, sinking in his claws and biting his neck. Ren stood up on his back legs and shook his brother off. Then he leapt up onto a large rock overlooking the pool and turned to face him.
Gathering himself, the black tiger leapt on top of Ren, who jumped up to block him. The move ended up pushing them both into the pool of water.
I stood at the side of the pool watching the fight. One tiger would explode from the water and pounce on the other, pushing him under. Claws raked faces, backs, and sensitive underbellies as the two large cats battered and mauled each other repeatedly. Neither one seemed to dominate the other.
Just when I thought they’d never stop, the fighting seemed to wane. Kishan dragged his battle-weary body up out of the water, walked a few paces away, and collapsed on the grass. Panting heavily, he rested for a minute before starting to lick his paws.
Ren was next out of the water. He placed himself between his brother and me and buckled at my feet. Deep scratches covered his body and blood oozed from cuts that stood out sharply against his white fur. A nasty gash went from his forehead to his chin, slicing across his right eye and his nose. A large puncture wound from a bite on his neck seeped slowly.
I stepped around him and quickly retrieved the backpack. I dug through the bag until I found the first aid kit, popped it open, and took out a small bottle of rubbing alcohol and a large roll of gauze. My innate fear of blood and wounds was set aside as a natural protective instinct kicked in. I was more scared for them than of them and knew they needed help. Somehow, I found the courage.
Moving to Ren first, I flushed rocks and dirt out of the wounds with clean bottled water, and then I poured rubbing alcohol on the gauze and pressed against the worst of them. He didn’t seem mortally wounded, as long as I could stop the bleeding, but there were several deep rips. On his side, the shredded skin was torn so badly it looked like it’d been through a meat grinder.
He softly growled as I moved from his back to his neck and cleaned the puncture wound. I took a large padded bandage from the kit, sprinkled rubbing alcohol on it, pressed it over the badly shredded section on his side, and put pressure on it to stop the bleeding. Ren softly roared at the sting while I grimaced in sympathy. I left the pad in place. Last, I cleaned his face and murmured reassuring words as I worked on his forehead and nose, careful to avoid the eye. It didn’t look as bad as it did the first time I saw it. Maybe I was imagining it was worse than it was.
I did the best I could, but I was worried about infection, and I was seriously concerned about Ren’s side and eye. A tear fell down my cheek as I pressed gauze against his forehead.
He licked my wrist as I worked. I stroked his cheek and whispered, ‘Ren, this is awful. I wish this hadn’t happened. I’m so sorry. It must hurt terribly.’ A tear dropped and splashed on his nose. ‘I’m going to go take care of your brother now.’
I wiped my eyes and retrieved another roll of gauze. I went through the same process with the black tiger. A particularly bad, gaping tear started at his neck and went down to his chest, so I spent a lot of time on that area. A bite on his back was deep and full of dirt and small pieces of gravel. It was bleeding profusely at first, which was probably a good thing because the blood helped to flush out the wound. I applied pressure for a few minutes, until the blood slowed enough that I was able to clean the bite. His back quivered, and he growled when I put rubbing alcohol on it.
I held the gauze over the wound, and more tears dribbled down my chin. I sniffed, ‘You could probably use stitches on that one.’ Addressing both tigers, I scolded softly, ‘You two will probably get an infection and your tails will fall off.’
Kishan made a huffing noise that sounded suspiciously like laughter, which made me stiffen and get a little angry.
‘I hope you both appreciate the fact that cleaning your wounds freaks me out. I hate blood. Also, for your information, I will decide who will or won’t be touching me. I’m not some ball of string that gets tossed between you two cats. I’m also not the person you’re really fighting about either. What happened between you two is long over and done with anyway, and I really hope you can learn to forgive each other.’
Golden eyes looked into mine, and I explained, ‘The reason we came here is because Ren and I are trying to break the curse. Mr. Kadam’s been helping us, and we have a good idea of where to start. We’re going to be looking for four gifts to offer Durga, and, in exchange, you both get to be men again. Now that you know why we’re here, we can get back to Mr. Kadam and be on our way. I think both of you may need to go to a hospital.’
Ren rumbled in his chest and started licking his paws. The black tiger rolled to his side to show me a long scratch that went from his neck down to his belly. I cleaned that one too. When I finished with him, I walked back to my bag and placed the bottle of rubbing alcohol inside. I wiped my eyes on my sleeve and jumped when I turned and found Ren’s brother standing behind me as a man.
Ren got up, alert, and watched him carefully, suspicious of Kishan’s every move. Ren’s tail twitched back and forth, and a deep grumble issued from his chest.
Kishan looked down at Ren, who had crept even closer to keep an eye on him, and then looked back at me. He reached out his hand, and when I placed mine in it, he lifted it to his lips and kissed it, then bowed deeply with great aplomb. ‘May I ask your name?’
‘My name is Kelsey. Kelsey Hayes.’
‘Kelsey. Well, I, for one, appreciate all the efforts you have made on our behalf. I apologize if I frightened you earlier. I am,’ he smiled, ‘out of practice in conversing with young ladies. These gifts you will be offering to Durga. Would you kindly tell me more about them?’
Ren growled unhappily.
I nodded. ‘Is Kishan your given name?’
‘My full name is actually Sohan Kishan Rajaram, but you can call me Kishan if you like.’ He smiled a dazzling white smile, which was even more brilliant due to the contrast with his dark skin. He offered an arm. ‘Would you please sit and talk with me, Kelsey?’
There was something very charming about Kishan. I surprised myself by finding I immediately trusted and liked him. He had a quality similar to his brother. Like Ren, he had the ability to set a person completely at ease. Maybe it was their diplomatic training. Maybe it was how their mother raised them. Whatever it was made me respond positively. I smiled at him.
‘I’d love to.’
He tucked my arm under his and walked with me over to the fire. Ren growled again, and Kishan shot a smirk in his direction. I noticed him wince when he sat, so I offered him some aspirin.
‘Shouldn’t we be getting you two to a doctor? I really think you might need stitches and Ren—’
‘Thank you, but no. You don’t need to worry about our minor pains.’
‘I wouldn’t exactly call your wounds minor, Kishan.’
‘The curse helps us to heal quickly. You’ll see. We’ll both recover swiftly enough on our own. Still, it was nice to have such a lovely young woman tending to my injuries.’
Ren stood in front of us and looked like he was a tiger suffering from apoplexy.
I admonished, ‘Ren, be civil.’
Kishan smiled widely and waited for me to get comfortable. Then he scooted closer to me and rested his arm on the log behind my shoulders. Ren stepped right between us, nudged his brother roughly aside with his furry head, creating a wider space, and maneuvered his body into the middle. He dropped heavily to the ground and rested his head in my lap.
Kishan frowned, but I started talking, sharing the story of what Ren and I had been through. I told him about meeting Ren at the circus and about how he tricked me to get me to India. I talked about Phet, the Cave of Kanheri, and finding the prophecy, and I told him that we were on our way to Hampi.
As I lost myself in our story, I stroked Ren’s head. He shut his eyes and purred, and then he fell asleep. I talked for almost an hour, barely registering Kishan’s raised eyebrow and thoughtful expression as he watched the two of us together. I didn’t even notice when he’d changed back into a tiger.