The Tiger at Midnight (The Tiger at Midnight Trilogy #1)(70)

Esha grinned, a maniacal one she liked to wear to confuse her opponents. She began lashing her whip out, so quick the soldier danced to escape meeting its touch, focusing in on the weaknesses his body whispered as he moved. He pivoted to the right and she slipped toward the left, digging her knife deep into his side, enough to harm but not kill.

There were dungeons that lived beneath the rebel base where he would be quite comfortable.

He yelped and stared at her in shock, his hands grasping at his side as he fell to his knees.

“You’ll be fine,” she said, rolling her eyes.

She struck her whip against the ground next to him, startling him enough for her to yank out the knife. She began to clean it daintily as she watched him grow pale at the sight of blood on her blade.

What an embarrassment, a soldier who couldn’t stomach the sight of blood. Or maybe it was because it was his own. What a pampered existence, to have never seen your own blood.

She sniffed, watching him. He had probably used intimidation most of his life. With a sigh, she tugged off her waist sash and threw it at him.

“Take this and hold it against your wound.” He looked at her and spat. Esha simply stared back at him until he began fidgeting under the weight of her gaze. “Or you can die. Really no matter to me,” she said with a shrug.

He grabbed at the fabric with hasty, shaking fingers, squeezing it against his body. She continued cleaning her knife as she crouched down in front of him. He glanced at it and then up at her again, in quick succession.

“Are you going to cut off my nose?” he blurted out. Esha swore she heard a cough, or a laugh, coming from the trees behind them. The soldier was too focused on her to notice.

“I’m not sure why that tale came about. I only did it once,” she replied.

He blanched. Esha got up and turned away, but not before clocking pig boy in the face. He passed out cold.

After a moment, Kunal ventured out of the thicket of trees. He craned his head toward the fallen soldier.

“Is this what I’ve been missing? And poor Rakesh—his ego will be bruised far longer than any physical harm will last.”

“Sorry about your friend,” she said in reply.

“Not a friend.” Kunal looked a bit sheepish. “Can’t stand the guy.”

“Is it because he looks like an overgrown piglet with those curls?”

Kunal squinted his eyes before they widened fully. “I never realized it, but you’re right. Huh.”

He did seem to notice the blood staining the ground around the man. Kunal’s eyes darted from the blood to her face.

“Glad I never ended up like that,” Kunal said, a faint reverence in his tone.

Esha grinned. “You’re too pretty for that,” she said. She saw the change in his body language as he came closer, and her breath caught, her skin flushing with warmth. She needed to be getting him away from here, not drawing him closer. And if the rebels found them together in a way that looked too familiar . . .

It wouldn’t be good for either of them.

“Kunal . . .”

“This is what I was trying to tell you. I found out Rakesh was coming your way.”

“And you came to what, warn me? Save me?”

“I came to make sure he didn’t find you.” She lifted an eyebrow at him, her knife still in hand. “Not because you needed my help. Clearly, you could have taken him. But still . . . I . . .” He stopped, seemingly lost for words. She let the silence grow between them.

“I wanted to—” he said, his eyes closing for a brief pause. She cut him off before he could continue.

“You came to capture me before he did. Good for you, soldier. You know what you want.” And she meant it, despite the slight twinge in her heart.

“Esha, the minute I saw the scar—and then when you were facing down Rakesh, I—” He sighed, struggling to speak.

“I can’t drag you back to win my prize,” he said finally, the corners of his mouth turning down. “I realized that the moment I found you today. And I can’t leave you here knowing who you were to me.” Esha looked up. “Who you are.” He took a deep breath and she looked at him sharply.

“This doesn’t change anything,” she said quickly, echoing his words from the pit. This was exactly what she didn’t want. Men like Rakesh would always be after her. Her job and desire for revenge hadn’t changed with the realization that a small part of her youth had remained whole.

It only made her want to work harder to avenge it. Her invitation had been selfish, before she had remembered that she was the Viper, not a real girl.

“You asked me to—”

“It was a mistake. You can’t follow me. I shouldn’t have asked.” She blew past the pained look on his face. “It was unfair of me. Go home, Kunal. For the last time, I’m telling you to go home.” Her lip curled. “Get your honorable discharge, find a sweet girl, and make a new life. I still have to fight for my old one.”

She tried to keep her voice nonchalant as she folded her arms. “You’d just slow me down anyway.”

He looked hurt for a moment, but he suddenly pulled her closer, shaking her arms out of their crossed position.

The constant whisper of the jungle, of the various birds and insects and mammals, faded back, as if there had been a disturbance. For a moment pure silence flooded the jungle, and all Esha could hear was the slow thud of their hearts.