The Tiger at Midnight (The Tiger at Midnight Trilogy #1)(22)

The hairs on her neck prickled, and she could sense the tiger wasn’t far behind. With frantic speed, she searched the path before them.

“There!” she said, and pointed.

She grabbed Kunal’s hand and pulled him forward, dropping it as they reached the bottom of a tall banyan tree. She scrambled up, not waiting for him. The only thing she remembered about forest tigers was to get as high away from them as you could at night. The tiger wouldn’t be able to follow—its abnormal size would make it too heavy even for the sturdy branches of a banyan.

Kunal climbed and collapsed beside her. In the distance, she could hear the soft shuffles of the tiger, pacing below them. She was safe for now.

Never greet a tiger at midnight, for they are the manifestations of your past misdeeds.

Esha drew a breath of relief and looked straight at Kunal, into the eyes of the man who might be looking for her, the Viper, but didn’t know it yet. Stuck in a tree together till morning and her only protection a flimsy cover story about a poppy seed–selling trader girl.

It seemed she was due for her misdeeds.

Their breaths evened out in the empty air of the night once the danger had passed. For the first few minutes, silence reigned. But Esha knew it wouldn’t last, and prepared herself for the questions.

Kunal broke the silence first. “A forest tiger? At midnight? I thought the tiger at midnight was only a story told to scare children,” he managed to get out, rubbing his side as he looked at her.

She cocked an eyebrow at the movement, but said nothing. No need to be kind to a soldier, even if he was hurting. He must have been through worse on campaigns in the northern mountains, where snow leopards prowled.

“I thought so too, but aren’t you glad you knew the story? A merchant who had been cheating his customers meets a tiger at midnight, as does his brother, a virtuous scholar. Only one escapes.” Esha caught the tone of her voice and changed it, made it lighter and softer. She drew a breath. “I’m glad I didn’t have to face that tiger alone—and that we both made it out.”

Something flickered in his face, but Esha couldn’t catch it. “The last I saw you, I had left you on the path to the harbor. How in the Sun Maiden’s—” He paused and schooled his face into a neutral mask with an ease she admired. “How did you end up here, in the forest?”

The lie rolled smoothly off her tongue. “I was too late. By the time I made it down to the harbor, the boat had already left—and I wasn’t on it.” She frowned, hoping he wouldn’t press her story. “The harbormaster said I might catch them at Mulgahi. The horse I had borrowed became skittish at a noise and threw me off halfway through the forest. By the time I recovered, the horse was gone and I was lost. Thankfully, I had my pack on my body, otherwise I would’ve been left with nothing. I’ve been trying to make it back to the road since.” She shivered as she bit her lip and looked up at him from under her lashes. “I thought I was going to die in this forest, miles away from my family.”

To his credit, his face softened, and he didn’t press further into her story. She tucked away that nugget about him—he was sentimental. It might come of use again before the night was over.

“We’re not dying tonight,” he said firmly. He seemed to hesitate and drew closer to her. “And we won’t die tomorrow. You know how the tale goes—a tiger at midnight is no normal tiger. It will disappear at dawn, fading back into the land after meting out any justice. Otherworldly or no, the tiger will lose interest by morning.” He focused his eyes dead center on hers. “How did you not only get yourself lost in the forest, but manage to find a tiger? Are your ‘misdeeds’ catching up with you?” Kunal grinned as he said it, but Esha felt her stomach turn. How little he knew.

“Apparently, my poppy seeds have caused several stomachaches,” she whispered. His face relaxed and he laughed. Below, the tiger shrieked again, and Esha shivered.

Kunal’s face paled and he mouthed “sorry” at her.

“We should climb higher,” she said in response. “The branches up there will be a bit more out of reach and we can tie ourselves to the trunk so we don’t fall while sleeping.”

Esha stood up quickly, wanting to end the conversation about supernatural tigers and justice being meted out. She wobbled as she found her balance on the banyan branch, and offered him a hand. She was stuck with him for the night, misdeeds or no.

He nodded and rose to his feet. The incandescent bark was surprisingly soft and as they climbed, it began to paint them. When Esha collapsed into a wide branch, her arms, knees, and shoes were glowing a soft green. She stared at the green bark on her skin, marveling at the vivacity of the color and the way it dissolved into glittering dust at her touch.

A grunt from below reminded her she wasn’t alone. The adrenaline from before was slowly leaving her veins and a deep weariness was taking hold. Kunal pulled up behind her and settled into the wide notch of the opposite branch.

“How do you know all of this?” he asked as he watched her tug a rope from her bag and hack it into two lengths. She stared back.

He was observant, which was dangerous.

“I grew up near the rain forest,” she offered. A half-truth. Her grandfather’s home had been in the overgrown jungles near the base of the Ghanta Mountains in Dharka—but Jansans wouldn’t know the difference between a rain forest and a jungle anyway. “My father made sure we knew how to take care of ourselves.”