I could just as easily ask you to embrace the goddess version of yourself.
She froze with her hand on my head. You are correct that I do not exactly welcome my own destiny. After a moment of silent reflection, she sent a thought to my mind again. You have already started your journey toward our destiny, have you not, Kishan?
Her hand fell from my shoulder as I paced a few feet away. Switching to a man, I kept my back to her and said, “You’re referring to the checked-off item.”
I cocked my head but only heard her quiet breathing as a response. Turning around, I found her gazing at me steadily, waiting patiently for my explanation. I ran a hand through my hair and crouched in front of her. “Kadam asked me to take the amulet and not tell you. He said we needed to save her.”
“Kelsey,” Anamika stated.
“Yes. I had assumed that something was wrong at home, that she’d been attacked, but what really happened was…well, it was completely unexpected.”
“Tell me,” she said as she tucked a leg beneath her other one, exposing a long and lovely bare limb.
Suddenly uncomfortable, I stood up and began pacing. “We didn’t go to Kelsey’s present or her future, we went to her past.”
“Her past? Why?”
“When she was a teenager, her parents died in a car accident.”
“What is a teenager?”
“A teenager is a young girl. Not a child and not yet a woman.”
“I see,” she remarked thoughtfully, “and what is a car?”
“A car is a sort of—” I racked my brain trying to come up with a way to describe it. Instead I offered my hand. “Perhaps it will be easier to show you.”
Anamika stood and held out her hand. As I wrapped her warm hand in mine, I couldn’t help but notice how soft her skin was and how the fragrance of lotus and jasmine wafted from her hair. She smiled, catching a glimpse of the direction of my thinking, but then I quickly shuffled thoughts of her legs and the scent of her hair to the back of my mind and brought my recent experience with Kelsey to the forefront.
During our time together, she’d rarely opened her mind to me and, as a courtesy, I kept mine from her as well, though it was entirely possible to fully know everything each of us felt and experienced. It was also possible to limit what was shown like I had done with Kelsey. I pulled up everything that had happened since Phet revealed himself to me and let her see it through my eyes.
Anamika absorbed everything quietly, and yet I could sense the surprise and the awe overwhelming her. Questions filled her mind as she studied the scenes from my perspective that played out for her like a movie. After she saw the death of Kelsey’s parents and witnessed the removal of myself from Kelsey’s mind, she stretched out gentle mental fingers in an attempt to see more. I cut her off and let go of her hand.
“You’ve seen enough,” I declared abruptly.
She studied me with clear green eyes that were full of sympathy. Taking my hands in hers and offering simply the peaceful warmth of our connection, she said, “Please do not be angry. I am sorry for the intrusion. I did not mean to see more than you wanted to show.”
“But you did see more.”
Anamika nodded. “I saw your intention. What you’re considering is dangerous.”
“Dangerous for whom?”
“For all of us. My teacher”—she paused—“Kadam said that seeing our past selves could be disastrous.”
Setting my jaw stubbornly, I replied, “I just want to see if she’s happy.”
“And if she is not?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
Grasping her hands behind her back, she headed across the garden toward the wide stone archway with a determined stride. I trotted behind her to keep up.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“To get my weapons.”
“You won’t need weapons where I plan to go.”
She halted midstride and placed her hands on her hips, which emphasized her small waist and raised the hem of her favorite green hunting dress to mid-thigh.
I rubbed a hand over my jaw. “You will, however, need some new clothes.”
As she sputtered a protest, I grabbed her hand, spun, and headed toward the castle, nerves and excitement quickening my stride.
Moments later, I wore a dark business suit and tie and had decided to play the part of an auditor. I’d used the scarf to dress Anamika as my assistant.
“Why are we not going directly to visit Kelsey and Dhiren?” Anamika asked.
“Because I don’t want to interfere unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
“So you will find the information you seek at your…compenny?”
“It’s company, and yes, I should be able to learn more if I can access the computer.”
“I do not understand companies or computers.”
“I know. Look, your job is to just be my assistant.”
“Must assistants wear this uncomfortable clothing?”
She tugged irritably at the gray jacket before making disparaging remarks about the color of her pink silk blouse. After running her hands down the trim skirt and kicking the chair with her soft woven slippers, she demanded, “I want to at least keep my boots.”
“You’re lucky,” I answered her with a wry grin. “If the scarf could make high heels, you’d be wearing those instead.”
Sweeping her long hair over her shoulder, she headed to the mirror, muttering under her breath all the while about heels that were high and companies.
I folded my arms across my chest and smiled. Even with modern clothing, Anamika looked every bit the wild warrior princess. Clearing my throat, I said, “We’ll have to do something about that hair.”
She spun and glared defensively at me. “What is wrong with my hair this time?”
“It needs to be…well…contained. Perhaps a bun at the nape of your neck?”
“My hair cannot be contained. Many have attempted it but they were all unsuccessful.”
“I see.”
Rubbing my thumb across my jaw, I studied her long tresses. “Sit,” I commanded.
She took a step back, eyes full of alarm. “What do you mean to do?” she asked warily.
“I mean to fix your hair.”
Lifting her chin haughtily in the air, she answered, “No.”
“It needs to be done, Ana.”
She shook her head and backed farther away from me.
My senses sharpened and something in me shifted. I felt a sudden impulse to hunt. A growl rumbled through my chest as I stalked closer. When her back hit the wall, I narrowed my gaze on her slim neck and took another step, transfixed by the pulse that jumped wildly at my approach.
Reaching out a hand to touch her hair, I asked, “Are you frightened of me, Ana?”
She swallowed, then raised her eyes. It wasn’t fear I saw there, but there was something else, something…vulnerable. As quickly as I recognized it, she blinked and her beautiful green eyes glittered with defiance.
“I am not afraid of you, black tiger.”
I mocked her gently, “No. You are just afraid of having your hair brushed.”
With a hiss, she shoved me away and sat down. “I am afraid of nothing,” she said as she handed me her hairbrush.
Sweeping her hair over her shoulder, I pressed my lips to her ear and said, “Forgive me if I don’t believe you, Goddess.”
Anamika waved her hand in the air like a queen dismissing a minion and I chuckled. She sat stiffly as I drew the brush through her long, dark hair. The sensation was soothing and made me think of my mother.
When I was a young boy, I liked to brush my mother’s hair. It was our little secret, she’d say. After I’d started training with Kadam, I took my mother’s brush and hid it. A few days later, she sent for me and asked if I’d taken it. Scowling as only an eight-year-old boy can, I proceeded to tell her that a warrior as formidable as I was to become would lose all credibility, his reputation would be ruined, if it was discovered that he liked to brush women’s hair.