I smiled up at him. ‘Yes. Thank you so much.’
I twined my arms around his neck and hugged him affectionately. His body seemed stiff. He didn’t hug me back. I pulled away and saw that his lips were tight, and he wouldn’t make eye contact.
‘Ren?’
He pulled my arms from around his neck, held my hands in front of him, and finally looked at me. ‘I’m glad you feel better.’
He moved away from me to the other side of the fire and changed into a tiger.
Not good, I thought. What just happened? He’s never acted cold to me before. He must still be mad at me about the kissing thing. Or maybe he’s still upset about Kishan. I don’t know how to fix this. I’m not good at talking about relationship stuff. What can I say to make it right?
Instead of talking about us or our relationship or the non-kiss, which was obviously hanging in the air between us, I decided to change the subject. I cleared my throat.
‘Uh, Ren? You need to go off on a hunt before we leave. Your brother said you needed to eat, and I think you should really con-sider it.’
He just huffed and rolled on his side.
‘I’m serious. I promised him you would, and . . . I’m not leaving the jungle with you until you go out to hunt. Kishan said that you’re too thin for a tiger and that you need to eat a boar or something. You like hunting anyway, remember?’
Ren walked over to a tree and began rubbing his back against it.
I offered, ‘Do you have an itch on your back? I can scratch it for you. It’s the least I could do after the massage you gave me.’
The white tiger stopped twitching for a moment and looked at me, and then he dropped to the dirt and rolled over on his back, wrenching his body back and forth while his legs pawed the air.
Hurt that he would brush me off that way, I shouted, ‘You’d rather rub your back in the dirt than to have me scratch it for you? Fine! Do it yourself then, but I’m still not leaving until you hunt!’ I spun around and grabbed the backpack, crawled into the tent, and zipped it up.
Half an hour later, I peeked out. Ren was gone. I sighed and began collecting firewood again to bulk up our supply.
I was dragging a heavy log over to the fire pit when I heard a voice coming from the forest. Kishan was leaning against a tree watching me. He whistled.
‘Who knew such a small girl would have such big muscles?’
I ignored him and finished dragging the log, then dusted off my hands and sat down with a bottle of water.
Kishan sat down beside me, a little too close, and angled his legs in front of him. I offered him a bottle of water, and he took it.
‘I don’t know what you said, Kelsey, but whatever it was, worked. Ren is out hunting.’
I grimaced. ‘Did he say anything to you?’
‘Just that I was supposed to watch you while he was gone. A hunt can take several days.’
‘Really? I had no idea it would take that long.’ I hesitated, ‘So . . . he doesn’t mind you staying here while he’s gone?’
‘Oh, he minds,’ he chuckled, ‘but he wants to make sure you’re safe. At least he trusts me that much.’
‘Well, I think he’s mad at both of us right now.’
Kishan looked at me curiously with a raised eyebrow. ‘How so?’
‘Um . . . let’s just say we had a misunderstanding.’
Kishan’s face turned hard. ‘Don’t worry, Kelsey. I’m sure that whatever he’s upset about is foolish. He’s very argumentative.’
I sighed and shook my head sadly. ‘No, it’s really all my fault. I’m difficult, a hindrance, and I’m a pain to have around sometimes. He’s probably used to being around sophisticated, more experienced women who are much more . . . more . . . well, more than I am.’
Kishan quirked an eyebrow. ‘Ren hasn’t been around any women as far as I know. I must confess that I’m now exceedingly curious as to what your argument was about. Whether you tell me or not, I won’t tolerate any more derogatory comments about yourself. He’s lucky to have you, and he’d better realize it.’
He grinned. ‘Of course, if you did have a falling-out, you’re always welcome to stay with me.’
‘Thanks for the offer, but I don’t really want to live in the jungle.’
He laughed. ‘For you, I would even consider a change of residence. You, my lovely, are a prize worth fighting for.’
I laughed and punched him lightly on the arm. ‘You, sir, are a major flirt. Worth fighting for? I think you two have been tigers for too long. I’m no great beauty, especially when I’m stuck out here in the jungle. I haven’t even picked a college major yet. What have I ever done that would make someone want to fight over me?’
Kishan apparently took my rhetorical questions ser--iously. He reflected for a moment, and then answered, ‘For one thing, I’ve never met a woman so dedicated to helping others. You put your own life at risk for a person you met only a few weeks ago. You are confident, feisty, intelligent, and full of empathy. I find you charming and, yes, beautiful.’
The golden-eyed prince fingered a strand of my hair. I blushed at his assessment, sipped my water, and then said softly, ‘I don’t like him being angry with me.’
Kishan shrugged and dropped his hand, looking slightly annoyed that I’d steered the conversation back to Ren. ‘Yes. I’ve been on the receiving side of his anger, and I’ve learned not to underestimate his ability to hold a grudge.’
‘Kishan, can I ask you something . . . personal?’
He chuckled and rubbed his jaw. ‘I am at your service.’
‘It’s about Ren’s fiancée.’
His countenance darkened, and he murmured tightly, ‘What do you want to know?’
I faltered for a moment. ‘Was she beautiful?’
‘Yes. She was.’
‘Will you tell me a little about her?’
His face relaxed a little, and he stared off into the jungle. He ran a hand through his hair and mused, ‘Yesubai was bewitching. She was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen.’
He spoke quietly, ‘The last day I saw her, she wore a spark-ling gold sharara with a tinkling jeweled belt, and her hair was coiled and twisted up with a golden chain. She dressed elegantly, arrayed as a bride in all her finery, that day. That last image of her is something I will never forget.’
‘What did she look like?’
‘She had a lovely, oval face, full pink lips, dark lashes and eyebrows, and the most amazing violet eyes. She was petite, only coming up to my shoulder. When her hair was down, she often covered it with a scarf, but it was smooth, silky, and black as a raven’s wing. Her hair was so long it cascaded down her back to her knees.’
I closed my eyes and pictured this perfect woman with Ren. The idea of it pierced me with an emotion I didn’t know I could feel. It punctured my heart, ripped a gaping hole right through the center.
Kishan continued, ‘The minute I saw her, I knew that I wanted her. I would have no other but her.’
I asked, ‘How did you two meet?’
‘Ren and I were not allowed to engage in battle at the same time for fear that both of us would be killed, and then there would be no heir to the throne. So, while Ren was off in combat, I was stuck at home train-ing with Kadam, learning about military strategy and working with the soldiers.
‘One day, as I was returning home from weapons practice, I decided to take a detour through the gardens. There was Yesubai, standing near a fountain where she had just plucked a lotus blossom from. Her scarf hung down around her shoulders. I asked her who she was, and she quickly turned around, covered her glorious hair and face, and looked at the ground.’
I asked, ‘Is that when you realized who she was?’