The Tiger at Midnight (The Tiger at Midnight Trilogy #1)(74)

Bhandu shifted, and Kunal struggled to move, fear overtaking the pain holding him down. Bhandu began to tug out his knife and Kunal wiggled an arm up, wrenching his shoulder around when he was pushed back down. Bhandu’s eyes widened as his fingers brushed the smooth line of Kunal’s armor, now peeking through the torn cloth on his chest.

“Uh, I don’t think he’s just a man,” Bhandu said. “He’s a—” Kunal heard a quick intake of breath from Esha as she interrupted Bhandu.

“He’s a soldier,” she said quickly. Her voice became terse, as if annoyed. “I don’t kill every person I meet, especially if they might have valuable information. I left him alive because I managed to turn him.”

The footsteps stopped and Kunal felt himself relax, enough to let his cheek rest on the ground again. He’d let Esha talk and when he could, he’d try to escape. When it didn’t feel like he was being pinned down by fire.

“And how did you do that?”

Kunal didn’t like that tone.

Esha didn’t seem to either. “I have my methods for turning assets, Harun. You don’t get to question them when you’re never out in the field.”

Her words made the archers behind her tense up and move away. Even the boy on top of him cocked an ear.

Esha took a deep breath, the sharpness in her voice becoming calmer. “I always complete my missions. I always get it done. My way.”

A sigh.

“Yes, you do. It’s been a rough couple of days, wondering if we would get to you first.”

“You needn’t have worried. I always make it home.”

Kunal felt his heart squeeze behind the haze of pain that was descending on him. Fear gripped him. This was no natural pain.

Kunal blinked up at the sky, wondering why it felt like the ground was disappearing and pain had become every inch of his body. It burned, the wound in his arm burned. Slowly, the color in the world around him began twisting in swirls.

The boy on top of him looked at him, his smirk turning to a frown. He heard shuffling footsteps, and chestnut eyes appeared above him, looking down with worry.

In the distance, he heard shouted words.

“What in the Moon Lord’s name did you do, Bhandu?”

“Nothing, I didn’t do—”

“It’s the poison, Esha,” the deep, mysterious voice said.

He heard a low growl and the world faded to black.





Chapter 49


She saw red—vivid, raging, furious red.

Her fist slammed into Harun’s side and he yelped, jumping back in pain. Bhandu was wagging a finger in front of Kunal’s face, slapping him without any gentleness.

“How could you? Poison?”

Harun looked at her in confusion, but his eyes were keen. He straightened to his full height, towering over Esha. She didn’t back down an inch. “Why do you care? He’s just a soldier.”

“A soldier we can get information from, Harun. And when did we start using poison? It’s a dirty trick. A soldier’s trick. We make that decision together, or not at all.”

Esha gave Harun a pointed look and he had the decency to look a little sheepish. He might be the prince, but she was the Viper. They each had their role and this wasn’t a dictatorship.

One of the twins flicked a long lock of silky straight hair from his eyes. “Seems fitting, then, doesn’t it?” he said.

Esha tried to calm herself. She had to tread carefully. Maybe a dash of honesty would work.

“Normally, I would be all for it. But this might undo all the work I put in to turn him. He came here to warn me about the other soldier in pursuit.” She gestured at Kunal, trying to school her face at the sight of him unconscious.

Half-lies but also half-truths.

Harun shifted in his position, folding his arms across his torso. The breeze lifted and played with the edge of the thin uttariya tied around his forehead to keep back his long black hair.

“How did you manage to turn him?” His expression was blank but the words weren’t idle. Esha felt the danger and evaded carefully, slapping away his words with a flick of her wrist.

“Later. What matters is I got it done and I even managed to find a potential turncoat for us. A Fort soldier. That is, if you don’t kill him and waste my weeks of work.”

He stared her down, his dark eyes thoughtful and probing. It was a gaze that would have a normal girl blushing in her sandals.

Thank god she wasn’t one. She had practiced for years to be able to get past that stare of his.

Finally, he laughed, and the tension in the forest clearing lifted.

“Only you would convince the enemy to turn. Well, if he’s good enough for you, we’ll give it a chance. Lift him up, Bhandu. We’ll take him back and patch him up.” She glared at him. “It’s a mild poison. Hallucinogenic. Painful. But won’t cause death in the dose we gave.”

Esha bit her tongue in frustration. She had revealed too much.

Harun’s gaze told her he thought the same, so she changed the subject.

“Why are you even out in the field?” she asked. Bhandu struggled with Kunal behind them, gesturing at the twins to come help him. She tried to avoid looking at Kunal, knowing Harun was watching her closely. “Why didn’t you send Arpiya?”

The question was twofold—she needed to know what had been so important to draw Harun out of the palace and she missed her friend. She had hoped to see Arpiya today.