Page 190 of Tiger's Dream
Lokesh and his ancestors were never meant to wield the power.They were only caretakers. We watched Lokesh stumble. The veins in his arms stood out almost black against his skin.It’s destroying him, she said.Making him mad like Kadam said it would.
Will it affect Kadam the same way? I asked.
Ana bit her lip.The more the power is used, the more it destroys those who employ it.But Kadam holds only one piece. She put her hand on my arm.We will keep watch over him.
Then what’s protecting us? I asked.
The girl next to me gave me a look that spoke volumes. The only problem was, I didn’t know exactly what she was saying or not saying.
Perhaps someday we will find out, she answered softly.
Lokesh had worked up a good sweat after an hour or so of using the amulet. He reached for a towel and mopped his brow just as there was a knock on the door. He wrenched it open. “What is it?” he hissed.
“Your daughter is ready. Even now she is with the younger prince. I thought it best not to leave them alone too long.”
“Very prudent of you,” Lokesh said. “Give me a moment and then escort them in.”
The man disappeared and Lokesh used the power of the amulet to cool his frame. He pulled on his robe and smoothed his hair. As he did, his servant entered, bowing, and escorted Yesubai and my old self into the room.
How proud I’d looked then. How happy and self-assured. Yes, I’d been worried about Ren but I was more concerned with the girl on my arm. Ana was right that my memories of Yesubai didn’t do her justice. Then, all I’d seen was her beauty. The kindness in her eyes. The love she obviously felt for me. Now, I could see the fear shimmering just under the bloom of her cheeks, the tremble of the glossy lips that marred her smile, and the unshed tears causing her eyes to glisten.
After they sat and Lokesh gave his final instructions, soldiers were given orders and Ren was escorted into the room. Ren had been battered, but it was nothing compared to the torture Lokesh had himself inflicted on Ren in the future. At that point in his life, Ren was still full of hope and defiance. Even when he saw me sitting on the throne with Yesubai and knew of my treachery and her disloyalty, his anger and sorrow were tiny things when weighed next to losing Kelsey.
Ren said, “Why have you—you, who are almost family—treated me with such…inhospitality?”
“My dear prince,” Lokesh answered, “you have something I desire.”
I winced, making myself listen again to every word Ren said. It was almost as if he were asking me the questions instead of Lokesh. Yes, Yesubai’s father had caused us pain, but now it was me doing this. I, Kishan, was actually the one who was going to make him, make us suffer for years.
“Nothing you could want can justify this,” Ren said. “Are our kingdoms not to be joined? Everything I have has been at your disposal. You needed only to ask. Why have you done this?”
Why, indeed? Though my brother couldn’t see me, I strode over to him and put a ghostly hand on his shoulder. Both of us stared at Lokesh as he rubbed his jaw. Being with Ren like that, standing next to him, was the way it always should have been. Brothers, side by side.
“Plans change,” Lokesh said. “It seems that your brother would like to take my daughter for his bride. He has promised me certain remunerations if I help him achieve that goal.”
The two went back and forth. My hands itched to do something. To stop Lokesh. Here. Now. But I wasn’t supposed to do that. I was there to make a decision. One that would affect not only my life but the lives of every single person I loved in the world.
My younger self hissed, “I thought we had an arrangement. I only brought my brother to you because you swore that you would not kill him! You were to take the amulet. That’s all.”
“You should have learned by now that I take whatever I want,” Lokesh answered.
Was that whoIalways was, a man who took? I’d taken Yesubai. I’d taken Kelsey. And now there was Ana. If I made the decision to keep the power of the amulet, would I be taking away her choices? Ren’s?
That’s when I heard it.
I will stand by you, brother.
Stunned, I quickly glanced up and saw Ren was looking directly at my old self and he was looking back.Was that my voice or Ren’s?Was it possible we’d always be connected somehow through the Damon Amulet, or was I just hearing the echo of thoughts coming from my younger self? There was no way to know.
Lokesh’s outcry diverted all eyes to him. “Perhaps you require a demonstration of my power. Yesubai, come!”
The poor girl whimpered and twisted her body on the golden chair as he approached. Before he could reach her, Ren, ever the hero, intervened and brought her father’s attention back to him.
My brother cried, “You are like a coiled cobra that has been hiding in his basket, waiting for the moment to strike.” He looked at Yesubai and then at my old self. “Don’t you see? Your actions have freed the viper, and we are bitten. His poison now runs through our blood, destroying everything.”
How ironic that it actuallywasa viper that was ultimately Lokesh’s undoing. If only Fanindra were here now.
“Do you want to hear her scream?” Lokesh threatened as the tiny hold he kept on his sanity extinguished. “I promise you she does it quite well. I offer you a choice one last time. Relinquish your piece to me.”
