The Tiger at Midnight (The Tiger at Midnight Trilogy #1)(103)

“I ran into Rakesh a few towns back. He had claimed to have found the Viper and was making a nuisance of himself throughout the town,” Kunal said. Esha released a bit of her breath. Every successful lie needed to have more truth than not. “I chased him down and it was there that the Viper found us.”

A sharp intake of breath—she didn’t know from who—but Kunal had succeeded in capturing their attention.

“Why didn’t you tell us that immediately? What was he like? The Viper?” Amir asked, his eyes wide in awe. “Was he a human?”

Laksh let out a bark of a laugh. “Of course the Viper is human. Kunal is here alive, isn’t he?” His intelligent eyes narrowed. “Say, Kunal, how did you get out alive?”

Kunal pushed down his rising unease.

He had to believe this story or no one else would. He couldn’t reveal the Viper’s connection to the Blades; he at least owed that to Esha.

“It wasn’t easy. The Viper led us into an ambush by the Blades and Rakesh and I were taken and captured because we were too focused on winning over the other.” He tried to look contrite. “The Blades took us captive and I only just escaped. As far as I know, Rakesh is still imprisoned.”

Saran spoke. “He’s alive?”

Kunal nodded. “I think so. But I don’t know if he’ll get out alive.”

“You did,” Laksh said plainly. Terror gripped Kunal’s heart for a second but he kept his face expressionless, guileless.

“I did,” Kunal said in the same tone. “I wasn’t stupid enough to wear visible Jansan armor and go around boasting of my prowess. I was dressed as a townsperson and that’s who the Blades thought I was after the Viper ran away. Someone in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Kunal heard a snap of noise in the trees around the camp but forced himself not to look away from Laksh’s eyes. The noise wasn’t the heavy tread of a man but spoke of something lighter. Hope rose in his chest.

“I had to fight my way out.” Kunal let a small smile play across his lips. “Took out a few rebels, but had to run for my life. You know the rules. We don’t go back for anyone.”

The soldiers around the camp nodded solemnly. It was a stupid rule and one Kunal had always hated. He could see a similar feeling in Amir’s eyes—he had never been cut out for this life.

Laksh murmured in light agreement. Amir turned shining eyes toward Kunal. “So, what was the Viper like? Are the stories true? He’s clearly wily, leading you to the rebels and escaping.”

Kunal paused, analyzing how much to reveal before he spoke.

“I can’t speak to all the stories. But the Viper I met was a woman.” A murmur went through the soldiers, and Laksh watched Kunal carefully.

The young boy gasped in disbelief. “No, she must have been a decoy.” Kunal almost let out a sigh of relief. He latched on to the idea, nodding firmly.

“That’s what I thought. The real one had discovered us on his trail and had set us up.”

Amir sat back heavily, a frown on his face. “Maybe the real Viper hadn’t even been in the area. I heard that the Viper can take on multiple forms and one is of a wily woman.” He sighed. “Either way, I’m happy to see you alive, Kunal. It was lucky we found you. I know this is a competition and all, but I frankly don’t care anymore. I’m ready to go back to my warm cot and thrice-daily meals at the Fort.”

Laksh tilted his head. “It was lucky, indeed. Escaped, no vicious Crescent Blades after you, at least from what we can see.” He smiled, though it seemed a little cold. “You’re here now, though. We should celebrate.”

Kunal took it all in, the lightning-fast shift in Laksh from cold to warm. Had he guessed Kunal had lied at the garrison? Was that the reason he was acting so odd?

Laksh handed him a small metal cup with wine and Kunal took it, tilting his head in acknowledgment. The soldiers grew loud, trying to outshout each other as they drank.

Kunal resolved to keep an eye on him.

For now, he was on his own.





Chapter 63


Kunal rose in the early morning, when night was still bidding farewell to the world, only tendrils of light hinting at the morning to come.

The others had gotten drunk but Kunal had turned his cups into the grass when no one was looking, thinking of a plan all the while. He had always thought of his fellow soldiers as good men at the core, but he was beginning to realize that stemmed more from his own hope for the world than reality—Laksh and Amir being exceptions.

His weeks away had turned something in his belly. The blood and death and war—he couldn’t take it back.

But he no longer felt that single-minded duty or only saw things in black and white. It was as clear in his heart as his mother’s voice. He had spent a night trying to fit back in with the soldiers, but it only led him to realize he would never fit in again.

Kunal moved like the breeze, his movements quick but silent as he stole some of the soldiers’ weapons. He paused and left Laksh’s weapons by his side, taking a long look at him.

And right where Kunal had sat, he nestled the whip he had lifted from Esha’s pack into the dirt. Let them think he was taken again to be killed.

After all, he had seen the Viper.

They wouldn’t follow and memory of him would fade—soldier’s rule was not to return for those captured. He hoped Laksh, and Alok back at the Fort, would forgive him one day. He would’ve given anything for a chance to explain to them, but he had only a small window of opportunity to act.