Page 31 of The Last Tiger

I nudge Kenzo with my elbow, indicating the path with my eyes. Let’s go.

He shakes his head, his gaze fixed on the Dragon soldiers.

“Sweep the neighborhoods again,” an officer barks. “We can’t have any stragglers. Not till we’ve found him.”

“Yes, sir!”

The Dragon soldiers salute and split off into the streets.

“Now’s our chance,” I hiss. “C’mon.”

“We should go around—take the back path to the forest,” Kenzo replies. “Safer.”

“That’ll take twice as long,” I reply. “We need to go now, before someone that’s not us finds the tiger.”

“You can’t seriously be thinking of marching straight through a town crawling with Dragon soldiers. Don’t be so rash.”

“I’m not rash ,” I snap. “ You’re rash.”

“Great comeback, Eunji-ji.”

“I have a plan,” I tell him. “Okay? We need to get to the tiger as fast as we can.”

With that, I spring to my feet and dash through the marketplace, weaving in and out of the broken carts.

Keep your eye on the prize. Focus all your attention on your destination. Nari’s teachings echo in my mind. Filter out any distractions. With the grace of a dragon, you can weave through any course of obstacles with extraordinary speed.

As I reach the far end, I glance back, expecting to see Kenzo directly behind me—

But he’s nowhere to be seen. I pause, looking for him.

Where did he go?

Suddenly something seizes my wrist and yanks upward.

“What do we have here ?”

I curse. It’s a Dragon officer. The lieutenant squeezes his fist, causing the bones in my wrist to scream with pain. “Just where do you think you’re going, Tiger cub?”

I grit my teeth. My mind races to craft a lie.

“I—I was just—” I rack my brain for an excuse.

I give the officer a quick once-over, silently calculating how many moves it might take to overpower this guy.

He may be bigger than I am, but I’ve been trained to fight against people who still have the upper hand on me in strength.

I still myself and carefully, imperceptibly curl my fingers into a fist—

“ There you are! I was so worried about you, wondering where you’d run off to.”

Kenzo suddenly appears behind me, smiling broadly. “Thank you so much for finding her, Officer—I really appreciate it.”

The man’s tiny eyes dart back and forth between us through narrowed lids. “And you are…?”

“Ah.” Kenzo chuckles. His laugh is so calm, it somehow manages to give even me a momentary sense of ease.

“How rude of me, failing to introduce myself. My father would be ashamed to see it—I trust that you won’t tell him.

” He bows deeply. “You may have heard of my father—Director Kobayashi, that is, minister of development? I’m his son, Kenzo Kobayashi. Pleasure to meet you.”

The soldier wavers, registering Kenzo’s words, then swallows, looking scared. He straightens his spine immediately. “You’re Minister Kobayashi’s son?”

“Indeed,” Kenzo drawls. “I was just looking for this one—and here she is, thanks to you! Always getting into trouble, she is. You know how Tiger cubs can be—like wild creatures, scurrying about.”

I bristle at the demeaning term as Kenzo throws his arm around my shoulder and yanks me free from the grip of the perplexed soldier.

“Residents of Kidoh must remain sheltered in their homes until further notice,” the officer states blankly, his resolve fading. “She’s breaking curfew.”

“Of course. However, Officer,” Kenzo replies with a dreamy look as he pats my arm, “my wife, Eunji, and I, we’re no longer residents here.

We’re just passing through on the first stop of our honeymoon.

I realize that word tends to trickle down quite slowly from the empire to our little Kidoh. Or perhaps you’ve heard the news…?”

The officer’s face lights up with understanding. “Of course—the wedding! Congratulations, sir.”

Kenzo nods piously.

“Thank you. We’re so happy to be together. Aren’t we, Eunji-ji?” Kenzo snakes his hand down to mine and squeezes it.

“Mm-hmm,” I croon back, faking a smile. I squeeze his hand back. REALLY tightly, stopping only when I register a very satisfying pop. Kenzo’s grin doesn’t wane in the slightest, though the vein near his temple seems to bulge slightly. Pleased, I turn and bow to the officer.

“Don’t worry, Officer. I’ll keep this one in check,” Kenzo says through his teeth, releasing my hand. “Now, you, sir, seem to be rather busy, so we’ll release you back to your duties.”

“Thank you, sir. I appreciate that, sir.”

“Oh, and one last thing—” Kenzo adds, leaning in as though he’s about to share some great secret.

“I’d kindly oblige you to not inform anyone of our presence here in Kidoh today.

As you know, our wedding has been quite a public affair, and the two of us would prefer a bit of privacy on our honeymoon travels.

Rather not have the press on our backs, yes? ”

The soldier nods. “Certainly. Congratulations again, Mr.Kobayashi—”

“Thank you. And thank you for your service.”

Kenzo winks at the officer, flashing his signature ivory teeth before taking me by the elbow and hustling me away.

The instant we’ve rounded the bend, I shove him off my arm. “You just blew our cover. Now the whole empire is going to know that we’re here.”

“Didn’t you hear? He said he wouldn’t tell anyone.”

“And you just believe him?” I scoff.

“Why shouldn’t I? I asked him nicely. People do things for you when you ask nicely.”

“Maybe that’s how it works for you .” I roll my eyes. “We were lucky he hadn’t heard the news of what really happened at the wedding. It’s only a matter of time before word gets out.”

“Sorry, not sure I heard you correctly. I believe the words you meant to say were thank you ?”

I cross my arms, fuming, forging ahead of Kenzo toward the riverbank. Over the top of the valley in the distance, smoke rises into the sky. We hustle along until we reach a cluster of mottled trees—the edge of the forest.

The glassy river moves forward as always, indifferent to the chaos engulfing the town not so far away.

Staring at it, for a second, I’m taken all the way back to that night when I first came here with Seung.

I glance over the river’s edge, resisting the urge to pick up a particularly flat, skippable stone.

I wonder if he still comes here to the river, alone.

Perhaps he brings someone else.

I step around a tree trunk, entering the woods. Kenzo follows behind me as we make our way toward the tiger’s cave.

Kenzo and I walk through the woods without exchanging words.

“Why did you do that?” I ask, finally breaking the silence.

“Do what?” Kenzo picks at a nail, examining his hand.

“Lie to that soldier for me.”

“I wasn’t lying. Technically.”

I lower my head, stepping under a branch. “I meant, why didn’t you just let him get me? You could’ve swept in, let that guy ship us back to the empire, force us to return and apologize so you can get back your glory and your position and whatever. But instead you lied so we could keep going.”

Kenzo shrugs. “We’re already here. Might as well take a look around. Also, you looked like you needed help.”

“I had it under control.”

“Oh yeah. Seems that everything was going exactly according to plan.”

I stop, frustrated, trying to get my bearings. The woods look different by day than they did by night. I pick a direction and march, Kenzo following.

“I had the upper hand. He didn’t know I possessed Dragon ki. I was about to make a move.”

“Okay,” Kenzo says. “Let’s say that you managed to take him down. Then what? When the dozens of soldiers in the neighboring streets hear you fighting and they charge you, then what? Not everything can be solved with punching and kicking, Eunji. Sometimes, you have to use your words .”

“That’s not what they taught us at Adachi,” I mutter.

“Maybe that’s why I left early when I had the chance.” Kenzo chuckles softly to himself, then sighs. “Look, Eunji. Maybe you don’t need me to protect you. But that’s not going to stop me from trying. You’re my wife, and—”

“I’m not your wife, and I never will be.

You act as though you’re doing me some favor.

” I grit my teeth, frustrated. “But you don’t really care what happens to me.

You’re just helping yourself. To please your family, to get your position in the army back, and to maintain your honor on some arbitrary vow. ”

“Aren’t we both?” Kenzo stops walking and squints down at me disdainfully.

“Isn’t that why you’re here, chasing this tiger?

You accuse me of acting in my own self-interest as if it’s a crime, but Eunji-ji, that’s what we’re all doing.

You included. That’s how the world works.

Everyone does what they have to to survive.

I happen to have come out on top. And I intend to stay there. ”

I stare at the ground. I suppose he’s right in one way—I am doing this for my own sake, and that of my family.

But—for whatever reason—compared to Kenzo, it feels different.

There’s him—the perfect son, the prodigy.

And then there’s me—the trapped daughter, the runaway.

He, at least, has the privilege, and the power, to make his own decisions about what’s right and wrong. I don’t even have that luxury.

“Why don’t we just go home, Eunji,” Kenzo says, reaching after my wrist. “This isn’t the path for you. You don’t even know where the cave is.”

“ Who are you to say where my path lies, Kenzo?” I knock his hand away, pissed. “I’m not the same powerless little girl that I was a year ago. Spirits below , I ranked at the top of my class! I’ve mastered Dragon ki. I’m stronger now. I learned how to fight. You can’t break me down that easily.”

Kenzo pauses, an indecipherable expression on his face.

“How does it feel—now that you’re strong?” he says quietly.

“It feels great,” I reply, “and it’ll feel even greater once I’ve captured the tiger and seen to it that our wedding is postponed—permanently.”

We continue to traipse through the forest, falling back into a tense silence as we step over fallen branches, climb over the occasional trunk. I scan our surroundings, searching for the familiar clearing, but the scenery looks exactly the same everywhere around us.

If I were a cave, where would I hide…?

Wait a second.

“How did you know?” I whip around.

“Hm?”

“You said I don’t even know where the cave is. But how did you know that the tiger was hiding in a cave?”

Kenzo raises an eyebrow and smiles lopsidedly at me. “Where else would a tiger hide?”

I frown. That doesn’t—

But then the question leaves my mind, because, almost as if on cue, it comes into view.

There’s the glen, surrounded by green grass and brightly colored flowers—the only patch of the forest that isn’t fire-scarred or drought-parched.

The tiger’s cave stands there, its mouth wide open.

Only there’s a problem. It’s completely empty.

The tiger’s gone.

I drop to my knees in disbelief. And that’s when I see it, right in front of my eyes: a trail of paw prints laid in the mud, still fresh and moist, leading away from the cave and into the brush. Beside them, a trail of human footprints.

Someone got here before us.

And they took the tiger with them.