The Tiger at Midnight (The Tiger at Midnight Trilogy #1)(15)

“Kunal Dhagan.” He looked up at the sound of his name, his surname the only nod to his mother’s family that his uncle had let him keep. “You’re not officially a Senap yet, but I asked that you, as the nephew of the general, would represent them in this mission.” His voice softened, though his expression didn’t. “This will be a thankless task. I won’t think less of any who ask to leave now.”

Kunal’s gaze didn’t stray. This was expected of him; the commander had said as much. He could entertain doubts later.

The other soldiers seemed to be thinking the same, but they had less cause to stay. If they left, it wouldn’t be a blot on their family’s honor. It wasn’t their duty to find the killer.

Kunal looked over at Laksh, whose mouth was set in a determined line, and felt a surge of gratitude, even if this meant they would eventually become competitors. He was the only other soldier he’d be happy to lose to.

“Start out in the morning, soldiers. You may work together but don’t forget, whoever comes back with the Viper is my new commander.” He looked around at each of them, locking eyes with Kunal in particular.

Kunal set his jaw. This was his chance to become commander, lead the Fort, and honor his uncle. His uncle wouldn’t be alive to see it, but he knew this was what he would’ve wanted for him.

“For the glory of the king!” Commander Panak yelled, and the soldiers slapped their chests in response, repeating his words with fervor, their shouts ringing through the room.

“Find the cursed bastard and bring him to me.” The commander swept out of the room, the clanging of his armor following him.





Chapter 7


Alok nearly dropped his bowl, looking at the two of them as if they were stupid.

“Why would you ever agree to such a mission?”

Laksh sighed. “This is a great opportunity, Alok. It would take a normal soldier ten years, at least, to become commander.”

“And it’s our duty, Alok,” Kunal said.

It was his duty, his obligation to his uncle.

“But, Kunal, remember your last conversation with him.”

“He was just upset that I had applied to be posted at Gwali. And maybe he was right, maybe my place is here,” Kunal said. “At the Fort.”

“He expected you to be at the Fort; that doesn’t mean he was right. Think about what you want, Kunal.”

“I want to do this.”

“You don’t have to—”

Kunal glared at his friend and to his surprise, Alok shut up.

“Thanks for the rousing support.”

Alok looked at him with an odd expression. “I’m your friend. I don’t want to see either of you dead. The Viper was able to sneak into the Fort and stab the damn general. The general,” he said, slamming the table in front of them.

Laksh shushed him, looking around the low light of the Mess Hall.

A small thought bloomed in Kunal’s head. The Viper was able to sneak into the Fort last night . . .

The hall door was thrown open and rows of soldiers turned their heads to look for the disturbance. Two soldiers brought in a body and Kunal almost shot up, before realizing it was too small to be his uncle’s.

The boy they had seen in irons. His disheveled state was a stark contrast to the way his uncle’s body had been treated—he hadn’t been cleaned or given the proper rites.

Murmurs rippled through the hardened soldiers, mutterings and prayers.

Commander Panak rose from his seat, his hand at the sword that hung off his hip. “Let it be a warning; this soldier failed in his duty last night. In death he will not be honored, as he wouldn’t be in life.”

Alok gasped, so quietly only Kunal heard, but he understood. The soldier might have been alive when found, but his failure had ensured his death. Kunal had assumed wrong. He hadn’t passed in the night due to injuries.

This—this was unnecessary. Nothing in Kunal’s body or soul could tell him otherwise. The soldier had been so young, new to the Fort, and untrained.

Death surrounded them as soldiers, and they wielded it as they did their weapons. To be scared of death as a soldier was to invite it in to claim you. Kunal forced himself to draw his eyes up and rest on the boy’s frame, which looked smaller in death. To remember and respect him, the small stories, the dreams and hopes he had nestled in his chest, as they all did.

A soldier’s life was ruthless, cold, and Kunal hadn’t always known how to stomach it. He inhaled, saying a small prayer over the boy’s life, and then savagely brought up the walls around his heart.

Kunal let the calmness of duty and discipline settle over him, edging away any other feeling. The mess hall devolved into a mass of chatter and noise as the Fort leadership left, the servants taking the body away.

He turned off his emotions and focused back on the task at hand. He wouldn’t end up like that boy, he wouldn’t fail. His uncle deserved justice. And he would do whatever it took to ensure it was served.

Which meant he had a Viper to catch.





Chapter 8


Esha tossed the hilt of the knife in the air, catching it and flipping it up again as she waited for her contact, Jiten, to wake up.

The shop was a contradiction. Rows of teacups and other trinkets were interspersed with bronze maces and sinister-looking knives. Amid all the chaos Esha had placed Jiten, who sat in a wooden chair, out of reach of any weapon—or trinket.