Tiger's Voyage (48 page)

“You said you would help us find Durga’s Necklace if we played. You’re the one who insisted on an extra prize in the game,” Ren said. “I win the girl, and Kishan wins your aid.”

Kishan narrowed his eyes at Ren, but said, “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”

“Perhaps we can bargain. If one of the tigers agrees to stay, I will give you the girl
and
help you find my brother, the golden dragon.”

“
No!
” I shouted in disbelief. “You
cheated
in the hunt. It’s too late to change the rules to suit your pleasure.”

“Alright!” The dragon snorted and spurts of orange flame shot out of his human nostrils. “You take the girl,” he said to Ren. Turning to Kishan, he said, “And you take
this
.” He shot out a hand and a ball of fire burst from his palm, zoomed toward Kishan, and hit him in the face. He screamed and covered his eyes.

I cried out in alarm. “What did you do to him?” I ran to Kishan and put an arm around his bent frame.

The dragon studied his fingernails. “Nothing much. He’ll be blind for a while, but it’s only temporary. It is what you wanted after all.”

“We didn’t want you to hurt him,” I accused.

“What do you care? If anyone has hurt him today, I would say you are more at fault than I. Now I’m bored with you. It’s time for you to leave.”

The dragon snapped his fingers, and the three of us suddenly stood on the beach of the other island alone. The boat was nearby, and we could see the yacht anchored on the ocean. Ren scrambled to untie the boat while I put my hands on the sides of Kishan’s face and asked, “Can you open your eyes?”

“Yes. But it stings.”

“Then don’t worry about it now.” I ripped the sash from my dress and tied it around his eyes. “Keep them closed. Let’s get you back to the ship. Just hold onto me. Alright?”

He nodded and put an arm around my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around his waist and slowly guided him back to the boat. Ren helped steady Kishan as he climbed aboard, and I sat with Kishan and held his hands while Ren drove us back. The three of us were quiet as we headed for the ship.

When we arrived, Ren took care of getting the jet boat stowed away while Nilima and Mr. Kadam helped me with Kishan.

After we took him to his room and sat him in a chair, Mr. Kadam asked quietly, “What happened, Miss Kelsey?” To his credit, he gave our strange apparel and my exceptionally long hair only a cursory glance.

“The dragon blinded him. He said it was only temporary and acted as if that’s what we’d wanted him to do.”

Mr. Kadam nodded. “Very well.” He patted Kishan’s forearm. “There now, son, let me take a look.” He gently unwrapped the sash covering Kishan’s eyes and asked him to open them slowly.

Kishan blinked his eyes open a few times, and they began to tear. I gasped involuntarily when I saw that his once beautiful golden eyes were now completely black and, as we watched, small flames began to dance and build in them. He blinked again, and the flames disappeared. I covered my mouth to choke back a sob.

“What?” He turned his head toward me. “What is it, Kelsey? Don’t weep.”

I cleared my throat, dashed my thumbs over my cheeks, and knelt beside him, taking his hands in mine. “It’s nothing. Just stress. Do you want anything? Are you hungry?”

“I could use a little something.” He took my hand. “Will you stay with me though?”

“Of course.”

Nilima rose. “I will get the Fruit.”

“Does it hurt?” Mr. Kadam asked.

Kishan shook his head. “Not anymore. It’s odd not being able to see anything, but there’s no pain.”

“Good. I will have Nilima get us under way, and then I will do some research on this. Perhaps it would be wise for all of you to rest. You will stay with him, Miss Kelsey?”

“Yes.”

“Make sure he eats, rests, and drinks plenty of liquid. He feels a bit warm to me.” Mr. Kadam smiled. “Well, warmer than usual, I mean.”

I nodded. “I’ll take good care of him.”

“I’m sure you will. Notify me immediately if his situation changes.”

Mr. Kadam left, and Nilima returned with the Fruit. Kishan said he was tired and would eat later, but I managed to get him to drink a glass of apple juice while I tugged off his boots. He pulled the doublet and tunic over his head, and I drew the covers over him but he shoved the blankets off and searched for my hand.

He wanted me near him, so I sat against the headboard and put a pillow in my lap. He lay down on the pillow and I covered him with his blanket and stroked his hair. Kishan wrapped an arm around my waist as I hummed a lullaby my mother used to sing. Finally, the lids closed over his fiery eyes, and he slept at last.

Quietly studying his handsome face, I stroked his brow and listened to his rhythmic breathing. Hearing a noise, I looked up. Ren stood in the door, watching me with a sober expression. He didn’t say anything. Kishan shifted in his sleep, moved the pillow, and cushioned his head on my thigh instead. I adjusted the quilt over his shoulders, and he settled again.

When I looked up, Ren was gone. I held Kishan for another hour, spending the time thinking about what had happened. When I tried to leave, Kishan reached out in his sleep, pulled my arm across his chest, and held on to me. Eventually, I slept too, overcome by the experience of the green dragon’s island.

I woke with stiff, sore muscles some hours later and managed to maneuver myself away from the heavy sleeping form of Kishan. Still wearing my princess dress, I headed through the connecting door to my own room, showered, and changed. Shampooing through my knee-length hair took a long time, but brushing through it took even longer. I dressed, checked on Kishan, and grabbing a pair of scissors, went in search of Nilima.

I found her and Mr. Kadam in the wheelhouse. As Nilima prepared to shear my overly long locks, Mr. Kadam told me about the research he’d done on blindness and mythology.

“One of the Pleiades named Merope had a son named Glaucus who was blind. The term
glaukos
means “bluish green or gray,” and from that word, we get
glaucoma
. Meropia is a physical condition of partial blindness. Another Greek oracle, Tiresisas, was blinded by the gods for either seeing them or disclosing their secrets. The three sisters, sometimes called the three spinners of destiny, or the Moirae, shared an eye among them—an all-seeing eye, it was called.”

“I remember them. Hold on a second. Nilima,” I pulled a lock of my now waist-length hair over my shoulder and frowned at it. “I think I want it shorter than that.”

“I’m sorry, Miss Kelsey. I was given specific instructions to cut it no shorter than waist length.”

“Oh,
really
?”

“Yes. Ren threatened to fire me, and technically, he has the right.”

“He won’t fire you. He’s bluffing.”

“Still, he seemed very serious.”

“Fine. I’ll just cut it myself later.”

“
No,
you
won’t.
” I turned at the sound of the threatening male voice. Ren leaned against the doorway with his arms folded across his chest. “I’ll throw all the scissors into the ocean.”

“Go ahead. I’ll figure something else out. Maybe I’ll use the
chakram
. You wouldn’t dare throw that into the sea.”

“Try it. You’ll have to deal with the consequences, and you
won’t
like them.”

I frowned at the stubborn expression on his face until Nilima turned my head and began snipping again.

“Shall I go on?” Mr. Kadam asked.

“Please,” I said, tight-lipped.

“There’s also Phineas, who was punished for revealing too much about the gods. He was blinded and put on an island with a buffet full of food he could never touch.”

“I remember him,” I said. “Jason and the Argonauts saved him. They fought the harpies so he could eat, and then he told them how to get through the Clashing Rocks at Bosphorus.”

“Correct. Polyphemus was the cannibalistic Cyclops blinded by Odysseus. I can’t see a connection with that story, but I thought I’d mention it. Then there was Oedipus, who took his own eyes after discovering he’d fulfilled the words of the oracle in marrying his own mother. He found her dead after she committed suicide and gouged out his eyes with pins.”

Acerbically, Ren said, “Perhaps taking a woman belonging to another would apply.”

“First of all,
Mr. Subtle
, Kishan didn’t
take
me anywhere I wasn’t willing to go. Secondly, I don’t believe
Laius
told his wife to get lost. And thirdly, I don’t think the story of Oedipus has anything to do with this!” I spat hotly. “The
obvious
theme here, which you could figure out if you could control the green-eyed monster currently inhabiting your body, is prophecies and oracles.”

Mr. Kadam cleared his throat uncomfortably. “I would tend to agree with you, Miss Kelsey.”

I smirked at Ren, who sighed deeply and said, “So you think Kishan is supposed to become some kind of an oracle? That he’ll lead us to the fourth dragon?”

“Only time will tell.” Mr. Kadam rose. “Perhaps I will go check on him now.”

“He was sleeping when I left,” I added as he made a hasty exit.

Ren accused, “Yes. You’ve been the best of nursemaids. Offering him the softest of pillows to rest his weary head on.”

“Umm … perhaps I will go with Grandfather,” Nilima said. She set down the scissors, looked at my expression, and then changed her mind and took them with her. She quickly slid between Ren and the door, making her escape.

I pulled a rubber band out of my pocket and began braiding my hair. “Has anyone ever told you, you sound petty when you’re jealous?”

“Do you think I care what I sound like?”

“Obviously you don’t.”

“You’re right. I don’t. And yes, I’ll admit, I
am
jealous. I’m jealous of every minute you spend with him, of every concerned expression you send his way, of every tear shed, of every glance, every touch, and every
thought
. I want to rip him to pieces and purge him from your mind and from your heart. But I can’t.”

I swiveled in the chair, stood, and tossed my braid over my shoulder. “Kishan needs me right now, and I’m sorry if you can’t accept that.”

He took a step closer. “
Kishan
isn’t the
only
one who needs you, Kelsey.”

I sucked in a breath. “Maybe not. But his need is more immediate.”

“For now. But the fuse is lit. You can run all you want to, but you leave a trail of gunpowder in your wake. There’s going to be a reckoning eventually.” He took another step forward and cupped my chin, tilting my head up until I looked in his eyes. “You should know that I was there in the dragon’s lair too. I was in that foggy dream world with you. I heard your secret confessions. I
know
the innermost feelings of your heart. You will never belong to him. You belong to me, and it’s about time you came to terms with that.”

I bit my lip and stewed. He had a point, but I was irritated. “It’s very bold to assume that I
belong
to you. I’m not some slave girl or some bartered bride you can buy from her father. There’s no contract governing my affections. I make my own decisions. I’m my own person, and I belong to who I
want
to belong to, for as
long
as I want to. Don’t ever presume that you have the right to do with me what you will. Just because you’re a
prince
, doesn’t make
me
your subject. So get off your high and mighty horse, your
highness
, and find some other girl to intimidate into submission.”

We stood toe-to-toe and nose-to-nose. I was breathing hard. His eyes narrowed and then darted down to my lips. He smiled dangerously.

“‘Teach not thy lip such scorn, for it was made for kissing, lady, not for such contempt.’”

I was about to protest when he yanked me against him and crushed his lips against mine. I ineffectually pushed against his chest as his lips bruised my mouth. He held me in an inescapable grip. He found my hands and trapped them at my sides so I couldn’t flail against him any longer. I tried to kick him, but he adjusted his stance so I had no leverage. He bit my lip softly, and then instead of trying to escape, I moaned and kissed him back feverishly. He took my braid in his hand, wrapped it several times around his wrist, and yanked my head back to deepen the kiss. It hurt but in a
very
…
good
…
way
.

When he finally raised his head, he smirked.

I gasped for air and narrowed my eyes. “If you even
think
of saying that was enlightening, I’m going to blast you overboard.”

He ran his fingertips gently over my swollen bottom lip, smiled, and nudged me toward the door. “Go. Take care of Kishan.”

Confused, I stepped through the door.

“And, Kelsey—”

I turned. “What?” I asked impatiently.

“I’m serious about the hair.”

I screeched in disgust and stomped off, ignoring his soft laugh. I muttered all the way down the stairs.
Imperious, smug, too-enticing-for-his-own-good alley cat! Thinks he can put his paws all over me. Strong-arm me
to get what he wants.
I rubbed my hands up and down my arms where I could still feel the pressure of his grip and ran a finger across a stilltingling lip.
Bully. Might as well throw me over his shoulder and make off
with me like some pirate stealing a wench.

I suddenly imagined a long-haired Ren dressed as a swashbuckler— tall black boots, a white shirt with laces open at the throat, and a red cape. He’d be brandishing a sword and stalking slowly toward me, pinning me against the railing. While I’d be helpless, in a torn gown, with a heaving bosom and …
sheesh! Obviously I’ve read too many of
Mom’s romance novels.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts and was scowling when I entered Kishan’s room.

“Kells? Is that you?”

I sighed and slapped a smile on my face though he couldn’t see it. “Yes. It’s me. How are you feeling?”

“Better.”

Nilima sat next to him. “He wouldn’t eat until you came,” she said.

“He’s a pretty stubborn cat. Okay. I’m here now. What’s on the menu?”