The Tiger at Midnight (The Tiger at Midnight Trilogy #1)(76)

The twins, Aahal and Farhan, watched it all with mild interest, their sharp-boned, thin faces darting between the three of them. They weren’t as identical as they looked at first glance.

Aahal’s face was narrower and his nose longer, vaguely aquiline. Farhan was slightly shorter and always had an eyebrow slightly raised, as if the world never failed to amuse him. Both had matching expressions of curiosity as they folded themselves around her, falling in step with her after tossing the gelding’s reins to Harun.

Farhan spoke first.

“Why did you move up the meet? Harun didn’t tell us much, just that we had to come retrieve you sooner than we had thought—”

“—which seemed pretty bad,” Aahal added.

Esha released a weary sigh. The twins were never ones for small talk. She rubbed the point between her eyebrows, gritting her teeth.

“Thanks, boys. Appreciate the vote of confidence. I just got to the border sooner. And didn’t Harun warn you guys to stop doing that finishing each other’s sentences thing?”

They exchanged looks.

“Sure, he told us,” Aahal said, a twinkle in his eyes. “But he tells us lots of things.”

“Anyway, you’re our squad leader. He might be prince and all, but we listen to you first and foremost,” Farhan said, with a firm nod of his head.

The words warmed her and she could feel herself relaxing. She stopped rubbing her brow, instead looping her arms around both of them awkwardly, as they were much taller than her. She pulled them into a quick hug and let go just as quick. Their expressions were of matching bewilderment but they said nothing.

Esha cleared her throat, trying to find the words to explain.

“It’s good to see you again. To see my team again. It’s been a confusing, difficult couple of weeks.”

“But you killed General Hotha. You struck a huge blow to that traitor on Jansa’s throne.”

Aahal’s response was fierce, and Esha understood the ferocity on a visceral level. The general had burned down the twins’ village with all of the families still in their beds. The twins had been out, sneaking around with their friends. Their guilt had never left them.

They spoke of her rarely, but a drunken night had revealed that they used to have a little sister.

Esha felt a flash of pain in her heart. She might have had one too—her mother was pregnant at the time of the coup.

“The General saw his own death.”

Esha’s mouth was a grim line. At least that wasn’t a lie.

Once this was cleared up, she would tell them the truth. But until then, she would hold it close to her, until she had more answers. She knew what she had to do.

The slope was steeper here and she could hear the faint wheezes of their lungs as they climbed higher. At least being chased had kept her in shape.

Pride shone in Aahal’s eyes but Farhan’s eyes were quieter, not shouting in happiness like his brother’s.

“Harun wasn’t happy you left the whip,” he said quietly, glancing back to Harun to make sure he wasn’t listening. Farhan tugged at his hair, tucking back escaped strands. He was breathing through his mouth now, clearly feeling the incline. The long, lean lines of the twins bent and unbent with a lanky grace that Esha envied.

“Oh?” Esha asked, her words breathy as she pumped her legs. She had told the team in her message days ago that she had left the whip.

Farhan shrugged. “He thought you’d blow your cover.”

Esha held back a cough.

It annoyed her that Harun had been right, even if he didn’t know it. But she felt her heart ease a bit. Harun betraying her would make no sense, but she was glad to have the reassurance that he hadn’t either way.

The rest she’d reveal to them in person, just in case. The reactions of her team, and the rest of the rebels, would be key to her ferreting out any traitors over the next week.

Anger was good.

Aahal shook his head quickly, his hair swishing across the sharp planes of his face.

“He has to look out for everyone.” He shot an annoyed look at his brother, who had never been as enamored with Harun as he was.

Aahal turned back to her, a sheepish look on his face. “And hate to say it, but you did allow two soldiers to get on your trail.”

If only he knew all of it. She had jeopardized herself, her identity, and the rebels. She hadn’t even told them the truth about the general’s death. How could she have known that meeting one boy on one night could change everything?

The randomness of fate once again struck her as being the ultimate cruelty and blessing of the gods. It seemed Kunal truly was her tiger at midnight, there to collect on her missteps.

The old folktales never lied.

“You also accomplished something each of us have dreamed of doing a hundred times over,” Aahal added, his smile so contagiously warm she couldn’t help but grin back.

“Thanks, you two.”

Aahal eyed her. “Are you going to hug us again?”

Esha grinned wildly. “Do you want me to?”

Aahal opened his mouth to respond but Esha had already jumped on his back, flipping him onto his side and holding him down in a headlock.

“Going to complain about my hugs now? Huh?”

Farhan fought against her hold but she held him tighter until he found an opening and elbowed her. Esha doubled over and he took the moment to escape her arms. He smiled triumphantly at her, even though dust streaked the back of his cotton pants, and his waist sash was undone and dragging in the dirt.