I was soothed by the closeness as well. Being with her like that reminded me of being with my mother. Granted, there was an aspect of it that was very different. I was aware, of course, that Anamika was a lovely young woman and there was nothing motherly about being near her, but at the same time, there was a certain comfort to it. I felt completely at ease. She wasn’t, at that moment, judging me or harassing me. She was just…there.
We stayed like that for a while until I realized she’d fallen asleep with her back against the fountain. After easing away, I switched to human form and picked her up. When she wasn’t in battle gear and sporting all the arms and weapons of Durga, when she was just Ana, she seemed so small. I knew she wasn’t. She was nearly my height. But most of her was legs. Long, long legs.
I set her down on her bed, purposely placing the kamandal and all her weapons nearby, then I took the scarf and headed to the bathing chamber. After a quick bath, I used the scarf to change into an old man in a suit. Thinking it best to leave the scarf with Ana, along with a note, I headed back to her room.
She’d turned on her side, her fist cupped under a cheek. Her pink lips were slightly open and her hair tumbled over her face. I pulled her blanket up around her shoulders and then glanced in her mirror. Adjusting the tie, I smoothed down my salt-and-pepper hair and grunted. With my gray suit, I looked more like I was dressed for a funeral than a party, but decided it would do. Quickly, I jotted a note and left the scarf next to it, then I clutched the amulet and disappeared.
The room folded around me, and everything went white as I raced through time in a stream of wind. I materialized on a rooftop and made myself invisible, which was a smart thing since there were people everywhere. They were dressed in impeccably tailored clothing and they were smiling and laughing. I headed around a dark corner and, finding I was alone, let myself become visible.
I stood on a long balcony that wrapped around the roof. The entire upper floor of the building was made of glass, and the lights from the skyscrapers surrounding me twinkled like diamond stars, bathing everything in soft light. At first I thought I’d carried the scents of rose and jasmine from Anamika’s room with me, but as I turned a corner, I saw the entire floor was covered in flowers of all description.
I fingered a familiar flower, a tiger lily, and frowned. This was going to be painful.
Following the other guests, I made my way toward the sound of lilting music and the quiet murmurings of a large gathering. Passing an elevator where more guests arrived, I noticed ushers taking cards and checking lists. Luckily, I’d bypassed that. What would I have said? My invitation must have gotten lost in the cosmic mail?
Each step I took was weighted, like I was trying to stay upright as I strode deeper into the ocean. The farther I went, the greater the risk of drowning. Even though I was disguised, I felt recognizable, out of place, like a flower in a fruit basket. I nodded at people when necessary and made my slow way over to the bar. When the man asked what he could get for me, I stared at him mutely for a moment and then said, “Just some water, please.”
He slid me a sparkling water and I took a seat, sipping on it as I scanned the room. Nilima was the first person I noticed. She entered the party wearing a beautiful dress. Her smile was brilliant as she took the arm of a tall man who looked vaguely familiar. I sucked in a breath when I realized who it was—Anamika’s brother, Sunil. He looked just as happy as she did and much more comfortable than I would have expected considering he was from a different time.
Looking around, I recognized Kelsey’s foster parents and a few of the people who worked for Rajaram Industries. Sipping my drink, I studied Nilima and Sunil. He was deftly keeping all the other men wanting to dance with Nilima at bay. His hardened expression when anyone approached was very effective. Seeing her glare at him and lean close to give him a lecture was heartening. I smiled, happy that Nilima might have found someone, and I hoped when I told Ana that she would be pleased.
Despite my interest in them, they weren’t who I’d come to see. A kind of breathless anticipation, a churning in my stomach stole through me. When the bartender asked if I wanted a refill, I gave him a curt nod. A trickle of sweat crept down the back of my neck, and I tugged at my collar, feeling hot.
Then, all at once, the music halted and a new song began—a lovely one I remembered that Ren had written for Kelsey. My heart wrenched. Almost as one, the expectant crowd turned to watch the front of the room. Before I could prepare myself, they were there. The wedding guests cheered as the couple entered the room. Ren beamed and waved a hand as he proudly guided his new wife. He looked dashing in his sherwani coat, his dark hair slicked back, but Kelsey was breathtaking.
Once my eyes found her, I couldn’t look away. All the light in the room seemed to slant toward her, framing her lovely face. My mouth went dry and it was all I could do to inhale and exhale. Together, the couple began winding their way through the room, accepting congratulations from the well-wishers.
Inside, I was a man tormented—the teeth and claws of my tiger scratching and biting, eager to break free and attack my rival. On the outside, I was cold and numb, slowly melting like snow in the sun. The sparkling, happy melody washed over me, finding nothing to latch onto. And I sat frozen in place like a man who’d just lost everything.
My eyes clung to them. To Ren’s back, where the tailored coat clung to his warrior’s frame. To his face that looked confident, happy, full of life. And then my tawny-gold tiger eyes, hidden behind a pair of tinted glasses, sought out the one I still loved. She was a brilliant flame in her white dress, and the sweetness of seeing her as a bride pierced my chest and melted my bones.
They made their way over to me, and I sat there, as still and as mute as a statue, just staring at them as they came closer and closer and then stopped in front of me. My mouth went dry and I stopped breathing.
Ren offered a hand and said, “Thank you for coming.”
I parted my lips to reply but found I couldn’t. All I could do was give a slight nod. He cocked his head as if he was going to say something, and I thought, for a panicked second, that he might have seen through my disguise. Maybe he’d recognized my scent. But no, he no longer had that ability. It was sad to think of Ren as being just a human. But that’s what he’d wanted. He’d never embraced the tiger as I did.
Someone caught his attention and Ren’s eyes left me. I finally let out a pent-up breath. Then I inhaled. Peaches and cream. She was in front of me. Close enough to wrap my arms around her. Close enough to kiss. Her soft brown eyes twinkled and her lips slid into a sweet, welcoming smile.
Having her so close, her scent enveloping me, was like rain on parched earth. I soaked up every second. When she offered her hand, I took it gently and just held on. She shook it and then her hand slipped away. It was like someone had stolen the sun. Kelsey and her warmth had left me. Each step she took, putting more distance between us, was like a draught of slow poison that sunk into my veins bit by bit.
Nilima’s voice echoed as she spoke into a microphone. “The bride and groom will now have their first dance!”
The guests clapped and an undercurrent of comments ensued as they remarked on the couple, on the exquisite food and décor, on the beauty of the bride. My body flamed up like a dry tree in a fire when I overheard a few jealous young women saying Ren had married beneath him. I bit my lip until I could taste blood and the tang of salt.
But then the dance began.
Almost involuntarily, my eyes followed them as they made their way around the floor. They moved in absolute harmony—Ren debonair and confident with his hand pressed against Kelsey’s back. His lovely new bride had eyes only for him. Her fingers were twined in the hair at the nape of his neck, and he leaned close to press his lips to her ear and whisper something. The crowd stilled, as transfixed by the obvious love between the couple as I was.
They are happy.