The Tiger at Midnight (The Tiger at Midnight Trilogy #1)(101)

Kunal didn’t know how else to respond but to nod and force the smile he knew he was supposed to have on his face. His heart began to sink. There was no chance he’d get back in time to find Esha still in the clearing. She was not easy to track.

The irony. He no longer wanted to be back at the Fort.

“How are you here? We’re technically within the Dharkan border,” Kunal asked.

“We could ask you the same thing,” Laksh said wryly.

Amir jumped in. “We met up a few towns back at one of the garrisons, me and Laksh, by pure accident and found those two in town as well. The border soldier regiment has thinned out, so they were almost glad to see us. We said we’d keep an eye on things during our journey back to the center of Jansa.” Amir threw a reproachful look at Laksh.

Amir’s face softened as he turned toward Kunal. He had always been a kind boy and Kunal was glad that hadn’t been ripped from him over the past two moons of the competition. Kunal’s mind whirred with thought, hearkening back to his conversation with Esha. He had the chance to press for information here, but he would have to be delicate. Offer information of his own.

“The center of Jansa?” Kunal asked casually.

“Lagor,” Amir said, referencing a city close to Gwali, the capital.

“We’ve been recalled from our coastal posts and thought we would enjoy a night in town before heading in,” Saran said. “Ran into these two fools and decided to take the shortcut to make up for the night.”

“Recalled? I thought maintaining our hold over the borders and ports was a priority,” Kunal asked.

Saran nodded. “It was. And there are still some soldiers there, but some of us have been redirected for the king’s newest directive now that we’re at cease-fire.” A faint pounding filled Kunal’s chest. “We don’t ask questions. All I know is that there is precious cargo we’ve been assigned to protect.”

“Jewels?”

Saran gave him a look that indicated he might be acting a bit too curious.

“No. I heard from one of the other guards in his cups that it’s a girl. He’s kept the cargo under lock and key, won’t let anyone near it at pain of death. If it is a girl, maybe it’s a potential bride. I’d lock her up too.”

He snorted and laughed at his own joke as the others rolled their eyes. Kunal tossed him a chuckle to soften him up, trying to mask his disgust.

A girl? Lock and key? He wouldn’t put it past Vardaan to “protect” his future bride, but something didn’t fit. He’d see if he could press him more later, when Saran was in his own cups.

Saran continued. “I got to whet my sword in town, though. We were tipped off about a deserter—a small, weak man. Infantry, of course. I wouldn’t have pegged him as a smuggler. He was hanged wearing the ridiculous hat we found him in.” He rolled his eyes. “He kept babbling something about the heen rayan, as if the Lost Princess was real.”

“Good memory on your Old Jansan. But as Master Nambudh would’ve told you, rayan can mean princess or prince, depending on the context,” Kunal said, a small smile escaping. Saran had been in his class, despite being a few years older.

He made a face at Kunal. “There was a reason I always looked off your work. I don’t give one whit about these dead languages. That’s not why I joined the Fort.” He shot a grin over to the young soldier, Jageet.

Jageet joined in, a new recruit by his armor. “At least you got to see some action this time. I would have loved to fight a Dharkan or two. My sword is aching to slice through a few of them. Their blood would be a nice decoration, don’t you think?”

The younger boy grinned as Kunal felt a dull roar in his head. This was what he had been fighting for?

“I hear the Dharkan women aren’t so bad on the eyes, or rough to the touch either,” Jageet continued, winking.

Kunal’s vision turned hazy—the dull roar had become deafening in his mind.

“Are those remarks really fitting for a soldier of the Fort? Of Jansa?” he snapped. Kunal stopped himself in time from saying what he was really thinking.

The rebels I met were worth more than all the bronze armor you proudly wear.

The sharpness of his tone brought a flush to the young soldier’s face, his fingers curling, looking as if he was about to fight back with his fists.

Amir jumped in, ever the peacemaker, changing the topic to who would be on guard duty that night. Kunal continued to fume, but schooled his face into a blank mask that would have made Esha proud. The thought sent a pang through his heart.

He needed to figure out how to get out of here and find her—if he could find her. If he moved quickly, he might be able to catch up with her before she reached the rebels’ contact for her meeting.

Kunal raised his head and caught Laksh staring at him with a thoughtful expression, his face shadowed in the twilight. When his eyes connected with Kunal’s, he looked away, engaging in the others’ conversation. Kunal furrowed his brow.

He had to figure out how to escape without drawing attention, and it had only been due to Amir’s grace that his carelessly antagonistic remarks had been brushed aside.

What worried him more was that Laksh hadn’t mentioned to the others how he had found Kunal—or asked why Kunal had been there in the forest. It was a weapon waiting to be used.