Page 155 of Tiger's Dream
“What I mean is…” She wrung her hands and paced away and then came back. “I was searching for a…for a companion.”
“A compa… Oh. I see. This is my fault, Ana. This is more than just about duty, isn’t it? You thought I was abandoning not only our work but you as well.”
“Yes…no. I mean, not exactly.”
“No, this is on me. I screwed up everything.”
“What are you saying?” she asked as she summoned an animal.
I slapped a hand against the back of my neck as she did and explained everything that happened with Kadam. Her eyes grew wide, and she held up a finger as she bent down to the snake and the goat-like creature. “Will you serve?” she asked them.
They must have agreed because she smiled and soon a chimera stood before me. The animal dug her head into my gut and sniffed loudly. “Uh, yeah, can you make it so she’s attracted to Ren and not me?” I asked.
Ana laughed while the beast snorted, blowing hot breath over my legs.
“No, I’m serious,” I said, trotting behind her as she started walking off. The chimera followed behind me, nipping my heels. “This one has a thing for tigers.”
“Don’t we all,” she muttered under her breath.
“What was that?” I asked.
“Nothing.” Ana patted her thigh and the beast leapt over to the goddess, her snake tail wagging. “Will you guard the Rope of Fire?” she asked the reptilian cat creature. The animal gave me a sad sort of whine and then huffed and trotted off through the trees.
“You know we’re doing this out of order, right?”
“I know. I didn’t expect to come here. In fact, I wasn’t trying to create Bodha at all.”
“You weren’t?” I frowned. “Then what were you doing?”
“Like I said. I was trying to find a companion.”
“And you ended up with the Flaming Lords?”
“They are the Lords of the Flame.”
“Yeah, whatever. Considering that they drugged you, and you still haven’t explained how that happened, by the way, and almost forced you into marrying one of them, you were certainly lenient with them.”
Ana shrugged. “They did not mean to harm me. Not truly.”
“Uh, yeah, they did. I know them a little bit better than you do. They did something similar to Kelsey. They—”
“You don’t know them, Sohan. Not really. They are not human like us. The way they do things is different. They were born of stars. They aren’t used to being confined to the human bodies I’ve given them.”
“Even now they aren’t exactly human.”
“No. They once lived in crystal cities. They were beautiful; their bodies shone as bright as the stars. The place where they were born was destroyed and they were cast into the darkness of space. The one they loved stayed behind to make certain everyone escaped but I fear she is lost. Perhaps one day they will find her. I do not, however, hold out hope as they do.”
“Fine, but that’s no excuse to kidnap women.”
“No, you are right. But in their hearts, they do not wish to harm.”
I folded my arms across my chest and leaned against a fire tree. “Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“Then why were you scrambling away when you thought I was them? Why were you begging them to stop?”
“They were…they were touching me.”
