Page 143 of Tiger's Voyage

I sniffed and smiled. “Who said that?”

“Alexandre Dumas, who wroteThe Count of Monte Cristo.We were going to read it together, remember?”

“We’ve been a little busy.”

“Yes, we have,rajkumari.” He sighed and pressed his lips to my palm. “My ultimate despair was being without you. Am I without you still? Or do you belong to me as I belong to you? Do you still love me,priyatama?” My dream Ren trailed his fingers down my hair and tilted my chin so I looked at his handsome face.

Because I was pretty sure this was all a dream, I felt comfortable admitting things I would have held back from the real Ren. I closed my eyes and nodded. “I’ve always been yours. I never stopped loving you.”

Ren caressed my cheek until I opened my eyes. He smiled and said, “Then I’ll never let you go,” and captured my lips with his. He held me tenderly, and I felt the barrier of protection in my heart dissolve completely. Now I was defenseless. My heart was completely exposed and vulnerable—a nice, meaty organ ready for crushing, cutting, or just plain old consumption.

I heard the click of a lock and felt the slight breeze of a door opening and closing, but it seemed far away and unimportant. I surrendered my newly opened heart to my prince and felt enfolded and warm and cherished. Ren loved me. This was where I belonged. If I could have just stayed there forever in that golden world and forgotten about everything else, I would have, but I didn’t get my wish.

The fog rose and enveloped us. The vision disappeared, but the awareness didn’t. I felt real arms holding me, cradling me, and real lips molding to mine. Enfolded in Ren’s mellow warmth, I kissed him endlessly. I whispered of how I loved him and how I’d missed him. We were locked in a golden glow as we spoke softly, and touched, and kissed. I held him tenderly and pressed his hands to my lips. He murmured endearments that I felt more than understood.

Then I was startled out of my romantic haze when I heard the door slam open. I blinked and found myself looking into a pair of golden eyes burning with jealousy.

21

Storm

In my mind I heard Lsèlóng laugh, and though Kishan quickly masked his emotions, I knew he was upset. With flaming cheeks, I stepped away from Ren and stood between the brothers. Both of them looked at me. Turning away to hide my face didn’t help because I could still feel the prickles of two sets of eyes burning holes into my back. No one said anything, and the laughing voice in my mind became a physical laugh behind us. The green dragon was sitting casually on a windowsill in his human form. He was dressed like a prince again.

“You all have provided me a most diverting game, one I will think upon fondly for many millennia to come. Are you sure you don’t wish to stay here with me a bit longer?”

“No,” I replied. “We wish to return to our ship.”

Kishan stepped forward. “We won. We’ll take our prizes and go, dragon.”

Lsèlóng frowned. “I don’t remember offering more than one prize.”

“You said you would help us find Durga’s Necklace if we played. You’re the one who insisted on an extra prize in the game,” Ren said. “I win the girl, and Kishan wins your aid.”

Kishan narrowed his eyes at Ren, but said, “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”

“Perhaps we can bargain. If one of the tigers agrees to stay, I will give you the girlandhelp you find my brother, the golden dragon.”

“No!” I shouted in disbelief. “Youcheatedin the hunt. It’s too late to change the rules to suit your pleasure.”

“Alright!” The dragon snorted and spurts of orange flame shot out of his human nostrils. “You take the girl,” he said to Ren. Turning to Kishan, he said, “And you takethis.” He shot out a hand and a ball of fire burst from his palm, zoomed toward Kishan, and hit him in the face. He screamed and covered his eyes.

I cried out in alarm. “What did you do to him?” I ran to Kishan and put an arm around his bent frame.

The dragon studied his fingernails. “Nothing much. He’ll be blind for a while, but it’s only temporary. It is what you wanted after all.”

“We didn’t want you to hurt him,” I accused.

“What do you care? If anyone has hurt him today, I would say you are more at fault than I. Now I’m bored with you. It’s time for you to leave.”

The dragon snapped his fingers, and the three of us suddenly stood on the beach of the other island alone. The boat was nearby, and we could see the yacht anchored on the ocean. Ren scrambled to untie the boat while I put my hands on the sides of Kishan’s face and asked, “Can you open your eyes?”

“Yes. But it stings.”

“Then don’t worry about it now.” I ripped the sash from my dress and tied it around his eyes. “Keep them closed. Let’s get you back to the ship. Just hold onto me. Alright?”

He nodded and put an arm around my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around his waist and slowly guided him back to the boat. Ren helped steady Kishan as he climbed aboard, and I sat with Kishan and held his hands while Ren drove us back. The three of us were quiet as we headed for the ship.

When we arrived, Ren took care of getting the jet boat stowed away while Nilima and Mr. Kadam helped me with Kishan.