Page 185 of Tiger's Dream
“I don’t understand,” Ren said, his voice evocative and demanding. “What’s going on, Kishan? Tell me!” he insisted and tried to sit up.
“It’s a veil of concealment,” I said. “We’re hiding your memories of Kells so Lokesh won’t find her.” I reached a hand through the bars to help support him and winced at how skinny he’d become. Touching the amulet, I made the cage just a little bigger. Not so much that Lokesh would notice but even a few inches on all sides would make him more comfortable.
How many years of his life has Ren wasted away in cages?
Guilt for leaving him there nearly incapacitated me, but then I remembered the conversation we’d had. It was months before for me but centuries for him. Even then, when he didn’t know Kelsey, he’d accepted his fate. I was sure if he knew everything now, he’d do the same thing again. My brother was a noble man and one deserving of every happiness he had. He’d earned it.
“But why are you here? I don’t understand.”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I tried to explain,” I told him gently. “Besides, I barely understand it myself. Just trust me when I say that this is necessary.” I touched his shoulder, squeezing it lightly, then left Ren and mumbled to Ana, “Are you almost finished?”
“Nearly.”
Ren’s whole body shook and then went limp. We watched as he transformed into a tiger.
Ana said, “Now it is done. Sleep, white tiger, and dream of the girl you love one last time.” She wove magic in the air and used it to cushion Ren’s body as she lowered him down. Then she gave him fresh food, clean water, new straw, healed him, and summoned the power to bathe and dry his body. Ana scratched the ruff of his neck and touched her lips to his head, the bars melting away as she neared and reforming when she stood.
When she was satisfied, Ana let her glamour drop away, and we leapt through time, stopping at various points to ensure Ren’s memory block stayed in place. The first stop was Phet’s hut. The phony monk was rubbing globs of pink goo into Ren’s hair. We stopped time and everyone remained frozen in place except for Kadam. “It’s about time the two of you showed up,” he said. “I don’t know how much longer Ren was going to sit through this.”
Ana laughed, covering her mouth to stifle the giggles, and we reinforced the block.
Kadam as Phet waved us off. “Thank you. I’ll take the rest of it from here.”
The two of us zipped away to the Star Festival next. Ren nearly remembered everything when he took Kelsey to the tree he filled with paper wishes. Ana was transfixed by the idea and pulled a few notes from the tree, keeping them for herself. When I asked her to show them to me, she refused, and when he saw me and asked me who my new girl was, Ana smiled and worked her spell to remove our appearance from his mind once again and fortified his mind lapse so he couldn’t remember Kells.
Next, we went to his room at our home, where he pored over his pages of poetry, all of them about Kelsey. Ana froze time and peeled a page from his fingers. “This is very…effusive,” she said.
“You don’t know the half of it,” I replied. Ana reinforced the block and we moved to the next place.
Freezing time in the red dragon’s palace, Ana studied the golden light blooming on Kelsey’s palm. Ren stood behind her, the two of them harnessing enough energy to create a supernova. Tapping her lip with her fingers, Ana said, “When they use their power in such a way, it burns through the memory block. It’s similar to what happens when we…we embrace.”
“Ah,” I said. “That makes sense then, I suppose.”
“It comes from their bond as an incarnation of the goddess and her tiger. That’s also why she’s able to open all our locks and gateways. They’re channeling the same type of power.”
I frowned. “But, Ana, Kelsey tested out that power with me on the boat. Kells and I couldn’t generate that power together.”
“Perhaps that is because you are not her tiger,” Ana answered softly and held out her hand.
“No,” I said, sliding my palm over hers, relishing the familiar tingles associated with our touching. “I belong to someone else.”
Ana stepped into my arms and twirled her finger, letting time proceed naturally. We watched as Kelsey and Ren lit the star. When they were finished, both of us saw the moment he remembered.
“Kelsey,” he said, his entire being attuned to her. Emotion filled his face as he called to her again. But she was exhausted. She didn’t notice. I felt sorry for him then and might have been tempted to let him at least talk to her, but Ana, ever efficient, quickly swept the memories from his mind again.
“If I hadn’t thought to make Ren averse to touching her, we would spend a whole lifetime just trying to keep them apart,” Ana said. “How did you manage to betroth yourself to a girl who was besotted with your brother?”
“He was an idiot and broke up with her. She almost died because he couldn’t physically save her. It made him sick to be close. Ren decided she was better off with me. It broke both of their hearts.”
“Yours too,” she said quietly.
“Mine too,” I agreed.
We next went to the top of the wheelhouse on theDeschen,where Ren and Kelsey were reclining on pillows, eating popcorn. Ren stared at his bowl like it held the secrets to the universe. He mumbled something about a blue dress and Ana said, “He’s remembering something and it’s triggering more.” Lifting his head, he smiled and took a step toward Kelsey. As he did, Ana swept her hand over his face and he faltered.
In a flash, we were on theDeschenin a room I recognized as Kelsey’s. We heard her humming in the bathroom. “Are we healing her from the kraken bite?” I asked.
Ana shook her head and frowned. “That was not on the list. Did you use the kamandal?”
