Page 118 of Tiger's Destiny
Ren was holding the reins in one hand and was pinning my body so tightly against him, I could barely breathe. I could feel his racing pulse where my wrist touched his neck. Almost instinctively, I stroked his back, hoping to knead away some of his tension.
I said softly, “It’s okay, Ren. I’m alright,” repeating it over and over.
Ren slowed his horse to a canter and then to a walk. He pressed his cheek against mine and murmured, “I thought you were in the camp when the flood came. I was so relieved when your guards returned and told me they left you on the cliff.”
“I made them go. I used the fire amulet and toasted them just a bit.”
I saw a hint of his brilliant white smile appear briefly. Then it was gone so fast I thought it must have been my imagination.
He sighed, “Kelsey, my love, I can always trust you to do exactly the opposite of what I would prefer.”
“If I would have stayed in camp like you preferred, you might not have had this wonderful opportunity to lecture me.”
He looked into my eyes, and my breath caught. I felt like I was leaning toward him, slowly, by incremental degrees. The chasm I’d built between us was narrowing. My heart beat faster. My internal compass pointed toward him. He was my north. He was beautiful, and he was amazing, and he was perfect, and he was . . . bleeding.
“Ren! You’re hurt! Why haven’t you healed yet?”
I yanked the sleeve of my shirt over my hand and dabbed at a bloody gash on his scalp that was hidden in his hair.
He shifted me slightly and squeezed my waist. “It would seem that Kishan and I no longer have the ability to spontaneously heal.”
“What? How is that possible? Can you still become tigers here?”
Ren nodded. “Perhaps the beasts have become mortal like the prophecy said.”
“No. No! We didn’t go through all of that so you could becomevulnerable! You’re supposed to becomehuman! When we get to camp, Phet will have some explaining to do.”
“Phet? What are you talking about?”
“Phet was riding with me.”
“You mean the man who kidnapped you was Phet?”
I snorted. “Kidnapped? Did I look like I was being held against my will?”
“I rescue first and ask questions later. Speaking of which, you don’t sound much like a grateful maiden who was just rescued.”
I bunched the fabric at my wrist and pressed it against his wound, which brought my face that much closer to his. He winced but wouldn’t look away from me.
“I didn’t need any rescuing,” I muttered.
He brought his hand up, eased the hood away from my face, and softly trailed his fingertips over my cheek and lips. “The truth is, I would rip you away from the arms of any man, villain or no.”
“You would?” I inquired softly and drew even nearer.
He angled closer too until our lips were almost touching. “Yes,hridaya patni, I would.”
Delicate tension wove between us but we were soon joined by other riders. Before I could blink, we were back at camp. The moment was gone.
Ren dismounted and swung me down from the horse. Broken and wounded men from all of the different armies were clustered into groups around small fires. Some were tending to their weapons and armor, some slept, and some sat quietly, staring straight ahead. We set off in search of Anamika, who was tending the wounded.
She glanced up when we approached and gave me a long look.
“So you are safe after all, little sister. General Xi-Wong is dead, and Amphimachus has lost a leg,” she said flatly. “The Tibetan leaders are here, but there are only a handful of men from Myanmar left alive. They believe their leaders have been taken by the demon.”
She stood, and I took note of how weary she seemed. Her clothes were caked with dried blood, and her hair hung messily around her face.
“Anamika, let me,” Ren offered and held out his hand for thekamandal.
