The Tiger at Midnight (The Tiger at Midnight Trilogy #1)(49)

Her feet pounded onto a flimsy slab of wood and she used its bounce to jump and roll over into the next rooftop, which slanted downward.

Footsteps resounded behind her and Esha glanced back to see Kunal charging ahead on the rooftop, about to use the same wooden slab to traverse the space.

Her nostrils flared out as she made eye contact with him.

She’d do this all day if she had to.

Her feet bounced off the ledge of the slanted roof and she curled her body into itself as she crouched and leaped over, landing unsteadily in a squatted position. Loose rabble dotted the rooftop and she grabbed a few stones, hurtling them behind her to slow him down or throw him off course.

He dodged them neatly, ducking and bending under her throws.

“Esha!” he cried.

She ignored him, pushing her feet forward again. Up ahead, there were a series of windows across the stone archway.

They looked empty—she could finally end this chase. Knock him out and be halfway to Amali before he woke up.

Esha pushed forward, taking care not to look down as she scampered over the narrow stone archway connecting the roofs. These buildings were tall enough that a fall would ensure several broken bones, though perhaps not instant death.

Esha darted into the open window as the archway came to a stop, narrowly missing falling over the edge.

She tumbled into the room, straight into a pile of old, dusty tapestries and rugs.

A violent sneeze itched at the back of her throat but she held it back through brute force of will, clamping her nose closed with her fingers.

She scrambled to the side of the window, waiting for him.





Chapter 32


Kunal fell into the room, steps behind her, and tumbled onto the ground.

Towering stacks of jute carpets surrounded him and piles of tapestries were thrown across the room. Rows of tall looms and small weaves lined the walls, showcasing vibrant and colorful threads of silk and cotton.

Kunal pulled his foot free from a snag of cotton, to be greeted by a blow to the head from behind and a knife to his throat.

“You’re becoming predictable, soldier. Or you just really like me. I thought I had made it clear you would never be able to capture me again when I escaped your ropes,” Esha said, standing behind him.

He could hear the smirk in her voice. The scent of night rose wafted over his shoulder, distracting him from the sharp point of steel against the tender skin of his larynx.

“How was I able to follow you, then?” Kunal answered.

Instead of tightening up, she moved closer, so that her arms around him were more of a caress.

“Oh, I’ve no doubt you’ve got some ability as a Senap,” she said. “But I’m the Viper, remember?” Her voice was edged with steel and silk, softly menacing. “A monster and a murderer.”

A muscle in his neck jumped as he clenched his jaw.

He grabbed her wrist, twisting it away from her body and spinning her in. Her body was flush against his now, and he held her other hand with the knife in the air, daring her to try to wiggle out.

Her eyes flashed in annoyance as she found she was stuck.

“Shouldn’t you be more scared I’m going to kill you, soldier?” she hissed.

“I should be. But I’m not.”

“Mistake,” she replied instantly. “You’re a fool.”

“I’m a lot of things . . . but I’m pretty certain I’m not a fool. Haven’t I proven I’m not some savage Jansan soldier?”

The question caught her off guard, her eyebrows flashing up in shock, her lips pursing.

Ah, he had hit a nerve.

His hunch had been right, that there was something behind that anger and hatred. Something real.

“You could’ve killed me in my sleep. Slid your knife against my throat. Taken away my breath with the end of your whip.” His tone softened. “Yet I’m here. Alive, in spite of how much you hate me and my comrades.”

“It would’ve been too much of a mess. What would that poor merchant family have thought, coming home to a dead and decaying body of a somewhat attractive soldier?”

There it was. That confusing, blithe ruthlessness coupled with a compliment.

He gave her a look.

Esha shifted, and Kunal looped his foot around her leg, making sure she couldn’t use it to knee him. Tendrils of black hair had escaped from her braid and formed a halo around her face. They tickled the bottom of his chin.

“I don’t understand what you want from me,” Esha said.

“I’m asking you why you let me live.”

“Because—” Esha looked trapped, and not just because she was encircled by his arms. Her eyes darted around and when she realized nothing would save her, she lifted her chin and stared him dead in the eye. “I have my own code of honor, soldier. While I think the concept of a life debt is unconscionably stupid, I do have honor.”

“Kunal.”

“What?”

“My name is Kunal. Not soldier.”

She scoffed. “I know that.”

“Do you? I don’t like being drawn as only a soldier, just as I’m sure you want to be seen as more than the Viper.”

It was a gamble. He had seen only glimpses of that. Flashes of weariness when she thought he wasn’t looking last night. A sigh hidden beneath harsh words.