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 promi-nent 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. ‘Vas?ˉyata karanaˉ! Badamaˉ′ 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.