The Tiger at Midnight (The Tiger at Midnight Trilogy #1)(14)

The commander nodded at Kunal, Amir, Laksh, and Rakesh. “I’ve brought you four soldiers down here to witness something, but any mention of this to the rest of the Fort before I give the order, and you can guarantee you’ll be in irons for a fortnight.”

Amir and Rakesh exchanged looks as Kunal walked over to Laksh.

His friend’s face was pinched in confusion, his hands freshly cut open from fighting and smelling faintly of smoke and iron. He must have been training in the lower levels, near the blacksmiths, when they grabbed him. He gave Kunal a questioning look but Kunal had no words, instead nodding his head toward the body.

The other soldiers recoiled when the white sheet was lifted back, revealing the general. Kunal was the only one who didn’t move a muscle, focusing his gaze down the hall.

“Our general will no longer lead this fort with the might of his sword. He was murdered in his bed last night.” The commander’s voice changed from soft regret to steel. “There was no attempt at subterfuge or diversion; it was a cold-blooded act. The killer wanted us to know what they had done. In fact, they left this.”

With a flick of disgust, the commander pulled a whip out of his pocket and tossed it on the ground. Its metal hilt, emblazoned with dual snakes, clanged against the marble floor, the sound echoing throughout the cavernous hall.

“The Viper,” Amir whispered, his tone almost reverential.

“Impossible,” Laksh said.

Kunal looked up at them both sharply.

Kunal had always believed the Viper was a myth. The Viper was said to be many things: a creature with otherworldly powers of disguise gifted by the trickster spirits, a human spy who wielded two whips like the forked tongue of a serpent, a dark incarnation of Naria intent on justice. No matter what you believed, one thing was clear: the Viper’s mission was to bring down the Jansan army.

Not that the famous spy couldn’t be based on reality; a Dharkan who caused mischief and meted out justice was believable enough. But the Viper’s exploits were so prolific that the stories bordered on the impossible.

In the course of six moons he had supposedly been all over Jansa—stopping a Jansan blockade of the port of Punohar, stealing a shipment of iron to the capital, and most troubling of all, assassinating a lower council member of the House Ayul in the west. It was whispered that the council member had been corrupt, stealing part of the royal tax he collected—but still.

Despite that, neither the Blades nor any other rebel group had ever claimed him or his exploits as their own. For all purposes, the Viper acted alone. The romance of a lone vigilante and the incredible stories had elevated the Viper to legend in the hearts and minds of both Jansans and Dharkans.

Kunal, and most of the captains, thought it was a cover for a number of rebel spies. It was possible various resistance groups even shared the title. But so far, they had no proof of that connection.

Something was off, though, like incorrect shading of a sunset. The Viper was known to leave little trinkets, all with the trademark double snakes.

But his own whip? The whips that had come to define him? Why leave one of those behind?

“This Viper—the coward who has destroyed our ships, killed good soldiers, taken back land we had won—deserves a reckoning. So I have a mission for you four soldiers. It won’t be easy,” Commander Panak said. “You have each been handpicked to represent your regiment. Whoever finds the murderer, this Viper, will be named the next commander of the Fort and will lead the next generation of soldiers—if you choose to accept.”

Kunal’s heartbeat quickened. This was what his uncle had wanted for Kunal, and had been pushing him toward, since he had come to the Fort as a shy eight-year-old. It would be dangerous but also an opportunity. One he wouldn’t get otherwise.

Uncle Setu had been a hard man, but he had taken Kunal in and had shown him a new life when his old one had fallen to pieces. That was worth the weight of a thousand suns. He owed his uncle his life.

As a last act of gratitude to the man who had raised him, he would do this. Kunal would find the coward who had murdered his uncle and bring him back here to pay for his actions. It was a jewel on top that he could also become commander, the very thing his uncle had wanted so desperately for him.

“You will all take the guise of being part of a larger counter-resistance task force, but you will be able to act and pursue the Viper independently. Your only requirement for this mission is to check in every week at a nearby garrison. If you miss two check-ins, you’ll be deemed out of action.”

Kunal tried not to show his surprise. That meant the mission would be wholly theirs—to plan and to execute.

“Retrieve the Viper within the next two moons, and come back as commander.” Kunal looked at the others, waiting for the catch. “Fail to capture the Viper, allow another soldier to capture the Viper first, and you will face a punishment, determined by the new commander and me. This is no normal mission, so the reward and punishment can’t be either.”

Kunal blanched, realizing this could mean he’d lose his promotion to the Senap Guard. Or worse, if Rakesh became commander. He swallowed his unease. He didn’t plan to lose.

The commander swept his gaze across the four soldiers in front of him. “I’m giving you ample time. You have two moons before the start of the Sun Mela.”

Kunal wondered why the Mela, their biennial games celebrating Naria’s defeat of the Lord of Death, had been chosen as the date. He didn’t have time to think on it too much as the commander looked straight at Kunal.