Page 43 of Tiger's Dream
“Courtly?”
“Yes. He did not press a suit as other men. I have told you this before.”
“Ah, yes, you liked that he didn’t fawn over you or demand a physical relationship.” I stiffened as a thought came to mind. “Other men have pursued you then?” I asked. It shouldn’t have shocked me. Anamika was very beautiful. It was only natural that men had desired her. I’d have to be more vigilant in the future regarding such a thing. Maybe men had even been harassing her while I’d been languishing in the jungle for all those months. I’d have to do better for her.
“Some have tried. None of them were successful,” she said.
“Good.” I let out a sigh and she lifted sharp eyes to mine. I pulled up my knees and wrapped my arms around them. “Have you never been in love, then, Ana?”
“No. I do not see a purpose in it.”
“Did your parents love one another?”
“My parents cared for one another,” she admitted. “Their union was arranged, and they never seemed to agree on anything, but over time there was respect and affection between them.”
“I see. The reason I ask,” I said, “is that my parents were very happy together. It is something I desire for myself.”
“And you wanted this with Kelsey.”
“Yes.”
“Ren also desires this relationship?” she asked.
“He does.”
“So you were watching them to determine if their feelings for one another were genuine? You think it might have been a mistake to remain here as a tiger and let Ren leave.”
My mouth fell open. She’d hit the target dead on. “In a manner of speaking,” I said.
Ana bit her bottom lip as she thought. She wasn’t attempting to catch my attention by doing so, and yet I found myself caught all the same. “Very well,” she finally said. “Before we continue to pursue Kadam’s list, we will determine if the ones we love are happy in their relationships.”
“And if we decide they are not?”
“Then we will discuss our next course of action.” She turned to look straight at me. “But we will do this together, Kishan.”
“Agreed,” I said. If she was going to follow me around anyway, it would be better if I guided her in her future clothing choices.
We were about to discuss what we would do first when a soldier appeared at the garden entrance.
“Goddess!” The man rushed toward us and knelt at her feet. “I am so pleased to have found you at last.”
“What is it, Bhavin?”
“A runner has come with a dire need. There is a village at the base of a mountain near the meeting of the two rivers. They are under siege by a warlord and ask your help.”
“Where is this man?” I asked.
“He…he died. He was gravely injured, Goddess.”
“Damon?” she said, addressing me formally. “There is work to do. I suppose the time for training is past. Instead, we will hone our skills by challenging our enemies.”
Nodding, I placed the amulet around her neck, pulling her hair through carefully so it wouldn’t snag, and then transformed into a black tiger. Bhavin was a trusted guard and had been with Anamika since before the battle with Lokesh. He knew us as ourselves as well as our personas of the goddess and her tiger. As I watched, Anamika transformed into the goddess Durga with all eight arms. Her battle armor appeared at the same time mine did. Golden plates covered my legs and chest and a saddle materialized on my back.
The weapons of Durga burst from the open doorway, a dangerous mass of sharpened projectiles, and flew to her outstretched arms. She caught them easily, snatching each one out of the air though they arrived simultaneously, most of them blades up. The Golden Fruit soared toward us as well, and she tucked it into a leather bag on the side of my saddle. Next came the kamandal. She tied it around my neck. Anamika secured some of the weapons and kept others clutched in one of her many hands.
Her hair hung wild down her back and her warrior’s gaze was fierce. We kept the amulet on us at all times, and since we’d recently time traveled, we already had the Rope of Fire, which she’d worn as a belt, and the Divine Scarf. The last thing we needed bumped against her bare foot. Leaning down, Anamika said, “There you are.”
As the goddess held out an arm, the golden cobra wound her body around it and settled into place. Fanindra never became jewelry when the goddess went about doing her work, seeming to prefer to remain in snake form. It didn’t bother Anamika to have a live snake on her arm like it had Kelsey.
