Page 7 of Tiger's Destiny
“Yesubai’s mother.”
He nodded. “Later, when she confessed she was pregnant, I was pleased. I envisioned a strong son like Dhiren but with violet eyes. I coddled her and spoiled her—”
I suppressed a shiver as I wondered what Lokesh’s definition of coddling and spoiling might be.
He went on. “—and it was early during her pregnancy when we were married. The night she gave birth to Yesubai, I picked up the child. The baby’s eyes were indeed violet, and it took several seconds before I realized it was a girl. I put the child back into its cradle. I was enraged. I had wanted a son and now I had a worthless girl. Without regret or pity, I strangled the life from Yesubai’s mother.”
I swallowed, thinking about the poor girl and knew that her fate would likely be mine. “What was your wife’s name?” I asked softly.
“Yuvakshi.” He clicked his tongue. “Now, now. I know what you’re thinking. It’s been several hundred years since that happened. I promise you that my attitude about women has progressed with the times—at least somewhat. Besides, you are much more valuable to me than my first wife was and I had no control over my temper at the time. If we find out the child you carry is a girl, we’ll simply remove it and try again.”
I sucked in a breath and tried to turn my grimace into a smile. “Of course, you are right. I’m not worried at all,” I choked out. When I noticed the gleam in his eye, I cleared my throat nervously. “So, when did you decide to use Yesubai to gain access to Rajaram’s kingdom?”
“How very clever of you, my dear,” Lokesh said, still looking at me in a very disturbing way. “Yesubai learned from a young age to obey me without question. She was beautiful, like her mother. By the time she was sixteen, I’d killed off the old king and taken the throne. I began expanding the military and attempted several infiltrations of Rajaram’s palace without success. He simply had the stronger military. I turned to diplomacy, which got the Rajaram family to open their arms to me, but every time I visited, one of the boys was missing.
“Yesubai reported that she’d seen the amulet worn by the younger one. In an attempt to bring both brothers to the palace at the same time, I negotiated a marriage between Yesubai and Dhiren, but planned for her to marry whichever brother was more easily influenced. Then I’d kill the other brother and Rajaram, take Deschen for my own, and claim their pieces of the amulet.
“It turned out there was no controlling Dhiren. His brother, Kishan, however, was more susceptible to a pretty face.”
I thought about what Kishan had told me of Yesubai. I couldn’t visualize her being so cold and deceitful. I decided to give Yesubai the benefit of the doubt. Whatever she had truly felt and done, she didn’t deserve the life she got.
“So you really didn’t want to kill Ren when he and Kishan changed into tigers?” I asked, trying to make sense of how and why the curse happened.
“No. I wanted to use him. Keep him under my thumb and cause him pain. Drag out his death slowly. I tried to control him through blood magic. I bought a medallion from a priest of the dark arts. Those I’d used it against had become mindless servants, willing to do anything I asked.
“But it didn’t seem to affect Dhiren or Kishan. The amulets they wore may have affected the spell and it changed them into tigers instead. It was not I who set the Tiger’s Curse into motion. In retrospect, I should have killed Dhiren when I had the chance, but I felt I had already won. Obviously, things didn’t go my way.”
With a flourish, Lokesh took my hand and put his mouth roughly against it—his version of a caress. His black eyes flashing menacingly, he held my gaze and said the words that made my blood run cold.
“Time’s up, my pet. Will you offer yourself to me freely in exchange for the tigers’ lives?”
shotgun
Iswallowed thickly. I’d been planning on “offering myself freely” to someone I truly loved and who loved me. It wasn’t too long ago that I had the luxury of choosing whether that someone would be Ren or Kishan. I had chosen Kishan, but none of that mattered now. I was all out of options. If I didn’t agree to go through with Lokesh’s plans, we would all surely die.
Knowing there was nothing else I could say, I affixed a forced smile to my face. “Yes, I’ve decided to accept your offer. There’s something to be said for a mature man of the world. And your power . . . excites me.” Panicked, but trying desperately not to show it, I demurred, “But . . . I have one small request.”
Lokesh’s eyes glittered impatiently. “And what is that?”
My mind sifted through possible ways to put off his advances when suddenly the answer came to me. I quickly explained, “My parents died when I was young, and I was left alone. I don’t want that to happen to our son.”
“That will not happen.” Lokesh raised my wrist to his mouth and nibbled on it brusquely. “I fully intend to instruct my son in all aspects of my power as you will instruct him in yours. I intend to be ahands-onfather.”
“I’m sure you will be,” I reassured him. “But what I’m trying to say is . . . I want him to have your name. I don’t want to bring an illegitimate child into the world. You suffered much because of that status, and I will not have my son be usurped. I want you to . . . to . . .” I gulped, not believing I was actually saying the words, “marry me.”
Lokesh took a step back and stared. “You wish to be my wife?”
“Surely you didn’t expect me to be your concubine? You offered as much to Yesubai’s mother. I wish the same. I want our union to be not only one of strategy, but also one that’s binding by tradition, if not legally. You can use whatever name you wish but I want to be married before we . . . try to have a child.” I lowered my gaze and took his hand, squeezing it lightly.
After a quiet moment he declared, “You are wise to bargain for this. It shows you are thinking of our son and his place in the world. I will do as you wish. Wewillmarry and as a gift to you, I will allow you to remain chaste until you come to my marriage bed. Is this satisfactory?”
“Yes, thank you, my . . . husband.”
Lokesh smiled like a cat cornering a mouse. “Then I will leave you to create a bridal gown while I arrange the wedding and a feast. I will send a servant to retrieve you tomorrow for our wedding supper. I’d escort you myself but there is much to do and I still do not trust you enough to leave you to your own devices. You understand, of course?”
“Of course,” I answered, relieved that I’d bought myself another twenty-four hours to come up with an escape plan.
Kissing me before he left, Lokesh pulled and pushed and bit and shoved as if I was a piece of clay being molded into whatever shape he desired. When he finally drew away, I managed a shy smile, though it hurt.
