While I waited for him to come back, I looked through my backpack to see what Mr. Kadam had provided for dinner. Ah, he outdid himself again – freeze-dried chicken and rice with chocolate pudding for des-sert. I poured some water from my bottle into a little pot and set it on a flat rock that I had pushed into the coals. When the water bubbled, I used a T-shirt as a pot holder and transferred the hot water to my dinner pouch. I waited several minutes for it to reconstitute, and then enjoyed my meal, which wasn’t half bad actually. It sure was tastier than Sarah’s tofu turkey at Thanksgiving.
The sky started to darken, and I decided I’d feel safer in my tent, so I climbed in and folded my quilt up to use as a pillow.
Ren returned shortly after that, and I heard him place more wood on the fire. He said, ‘No sign of him yet.’ Then he changed back to a tiger and settled himself at the tent opening.
I unzipped the tent and asked him if he would mind me using his back as a pillow again. He moved and stretched out as an answer. I scooted closer, laid my head on his soft fur, and wrapped my quilt around me. His chest rumbled rhythmically in a deep purr, which helped me to fall asleep.
Ren was gone when I awoke and returned around lunchtime as I was brushing out my hair.
‘Here, Kells. I brought you something,’ he said unassumingly, hold-ing out three mangoes.
‘Thanks. Uh, dare I ask where you got them?’
‘Monkeys.’
I stopped in mid-brush. ‘Monkeys? What do you mean monkeys?’
‘Well, monkeys don’t like tigers because tigers eat monkeys. So, when a tiger comes around, they jump up in the trees and pummel the tiger with fruit or feces. Lucky for me today they threw fruit.’
I gulped. ‘Have you ever . . . eaten a monkey?’
Ren grinned at me. ‘Well, a tiger does have to eat.’
I dug a rubber band out of the backpack so I could braid my hair. ‘Ugh, that’s disgusting.’
He laughed. ‘I didn’t really eat a monkey, Kells. I’m just teasing you. Monkeys are repellant. They taste like meaty tennis balls and they smell like feet.’ He paused, ‘Now a nice juicy deer, that is delectable.’ He smacked his lips together in an exaggerated way.
‘I don’t think I really need to hear about your hunting.’
‘Really? I quite enjoy hunting.’
Ren froze into place. Then, almost imperceptibly, he lowered his body slowly to a crouch and balanced on the balls of his feet. He placed a hand in the grass in front of him and began to creep closer to me. He was tracking me, hunting me. His eyes locked on mine and pinned me to the spot where I was standing. He was preparing to spring. His lips were pulled back in a wide grin, which showed his brilliant white teeth. He looked . . . feral.
He spoke in a silky, mesmerizing voice, ‘When you’re stalking your prey, you must freeze in place and hide, remaining that way for a long time. If you fail, your prey eludes you.’ He closed the distance between us in a heartbeat.
Even though I’d been watching him closely, I was startled at how fast he could move. My pulse started thumping wildly at my throat, which was where his lips now hovered as if he were going for my jugular.
He brushed my hair back and moved up to my ear, whispering, ‘And you will go . . . hungry.’ His words were hushed. His warm breath tickled my ear and made goose bumps fan out over my body.
I turned my head slightly to look at him. His eyes had changed. They were a brighter blue than normally and were studying my face. His hand was still in my hair, and his eyes drifted down to my mouth. I suddenly had the distinct impression that this was what it felt like to be a deer.
Ren was making me nervous. I blinked and swallowed dryly. His eyes darted back up to mine again. He must have sensed my apprehen-sion because his expression changed. He removed his hand from my hair and relaxed his posture.
‘I’m sorry if I frightened you, Kelsey. It won’t happen again.’
When he took a step back, I started breathing again. I said shakily, ‘Well, I don’t want to hear any more about hunting. It freaks me out. The least you could do is not tell me about it. Especially when I have to spend time with you outdoors, okay?’
He laughed. ‘Kelsey, we all have some animalistic tendencies. I loved hunting, even when I was young.’
I shuddered. ‘Fine. Just keep your animalistic tendencies to yourself.’
He leaned toward me again and pulled on a strand of my hair.
‘Now, Kells, there are some of my animalistic tendencies that you seem to like.’ He started making a rumbling sound in his chest, and I realized that he was purring.
‘Stop that!’ I sputtered.
He laughed, walked over to the backpack, and picked up the fruit. ‘So, do you want any of this mango or not? I’ll wash it for you.’
‘Well, considering you carried it in your mouth all that way just for me. And taking into account the source of said fruit. Not really.’
His shoulders fell, and I hurried to add, ‘But I guess I could eat some of the inside.’
He looked up at me and smiled. ‘It’s not freeze-dried.’
‘Okay. I’ll try some.’
He washed the fruit, peeled off the outside with a knife from the backpack, and sliced off segments for me. We sat next to each other and enjoyed the fruit. It was juicy and delicious, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing how much I liked it.
‘Ren?’ I licked the juice from my fingers and took another piece.
‘Yes?’
‘Is it safe to swim by the waterfall?
‘Sure. It should be safe enough. This place used to be very special to me. I came here all the time to escape the pressures of palace life and to have time to be alone and think.’
He looked at me. ‘In fact, you’re the first person I’ve ever shown it to, other than my family and Mr. Kadam, of course.’
I looked at the beautiful waterfall and began to speak quietly, ‘There are dozens of waterfalls in Oregon. My family used to take picnics by them. I think we saw most of the falls in the state. I remember standing close to one watching it with my dad while the cloud of spray slowly soaked us.’
‘Did any of them look like this one?’
I smiled. ‘Nope. This one’s unique. My favorite time to visit was in the winter, actually.’
‘I’ve never seen a waterfall in the winter.’
‘It’s beautiful. The water freezes as it falls down the craggy mountains. The smooth rocks around the falls become slick with ice, and, as more water pours over them, icicles start to grow. The spiky ice slowly swells and lengthens as it creeps down the hill, stretching and crackling and breaking until the icy tips touch the water below in long, thick, twisted ropes. The water that’s still moving seeps, dribbling over the icicles slowly and glazing it in shiny layers. In Oregon, the surrounding hills are lush with evergreens, and are sometimes tipped with snow.’
He didn’t respond.
‘Ren?’ I turned to see if he was still paying attention, and I found him studying me intently.
A slow, lazy smile lit his face. ‘That sounds very beautiful.’
I blushed and quickly looked away.
He deliberately cleared his throat. ‘It sounds amazing, but cold. The water here doesn’t freeze.’ He took my hand and laced our fingers together. ‘Kelsey, I’m sorry your parents are gone.’
‘Me too. Thanks for sharing your waterfall with me. My parents would have loved it here.’ I smiled at him and then jerked my head toward the jungle. ‘If you don’t mind, I’d like a bit of privacy so I can change into my swimsuit.’
He stood and bowed to me dramatically. ‘Never let it be said that Prince Alagan Dhiren Rajaram denied the request of a beautiful lady.’ He washed his sticky hands in the pool, changed to a tiger, and trotted off into the jungle.
I gave Ren some time to move off, slipped on my swimsuit, and dove into the water.
It was crystal clear, and it quickly cooled my hot, sweaty skin. It felt delicious. After swimming and exploring in the pond, I swam to the falls and found a rock to sit on just under the spray. I let the water pound over my body in icy cold blasts. Later, I scooted over to the sunny side of the rock and folded my legs up out of the water. Pulling my wet hair over my shoulder, I let the sun warm me.