Page 29 of Tiger's Voyage

“Yes, but I promised that I wouldn’t kiss you until I knew you and Ren were over. And I don’t think you are.”

“Ha! Oh, I think weare.”

“No. In fact, your little tirade proves that you’re not.”

I stood up on my toes as high as I could, getting as close to being nose to nose with Kishan as was possible. “Fine. Then neither one of you needs to walk me back.”

I grabbed my backpack and left him standing in shock. I stomped through the jungle, letting my anger guide me for several moments before I slipped my phone out of my pocket and searched for Ren’s dot on the map. I could see Kishan’s dot following me at a distance. He was far enough back that I couldn’t see or hear him, but he was near enough to close the distance if I needed him.

Walking through the jungle relatively alone was good for me. It gave me time to cool down. I was still angry and muttered to myself the entire way, but at least my blood pressure normalized, so I didn’t have to worry about having a stroke. And when I realized that I had possession of the Golden Fruit and the Scarf, I grinned wickedly thinking about the two of them starving or having to hunt. In fact, I made myself a big ice cream cone and soothed my temper with chocolate brownie and mudslide as I walked.

Several hours later, I found Ren leaning against the Jeep, which was parked in the shade of a tree. He watched me as I tromped through the undergrowth. He’d probably heard me coming for the last ten minutes. He looked behind me, surprised that I was alone, then glared, changed into the white tiger, and walked between some bushes so he wasn’t in view anymore.

I studiously ignored him, sank down to the dirt with my back against the Jeep, and took a long drink of sugar-free lemonade from my canteen. I would have preferred water, but we’d run out and the Golden Fruit couldn’t make plain old H2O.

Kishan emerged from the jungle and briefly stared at me with a fathomless expression before unlocking and opening the Jeep doors. Ren emerged from the bushes and silently leapt into the backseat. I wasn’t about to cozy up next to Ren so I chose the passenger seat, cranked up the air conditioning, made a pillow, and leaned my chair back. It was a very quiet ride home.

The second the Jeep stopped in front of the house, I leapt out of the car, slammed the door, and stomped inside.

“We’re home, Mr. Kadam! I’m taking a shower!” I yelled and disappeared into my room.

Finally feeling refreshed and almost human again a few hours later, I whipped up a bowl of mixed fruit and a chicken salad sandwich and looked for Mr. Kadam in the peacock room.

“Mr. Kadam? I can’t tell you how much I missed being around a gentlema—” I said, stopping abruptly when I saw he was with a freshly showered Ren.

“Miss Kelsey, come in,” Mr. Kadam beckoned, approaching me with open arms.

I took an awkward step forward, hugged Mr. Kadam, and glared at Ren. His hair was wet and slicked back, and he was wearing a fitted V-neck shirt in dragonfly blue over a pair of straight-legged gray herringbone designer pants. He was barefoot, and he was the most gorgeous thing I’d ever seen. He folded his arms across his chest, which made his arm muscles bulge. I scowled at him.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Ren said with a mocking flourish and left, deliberately brushing his arm against mine as he passed.

“I hope that hurt,” I muttered quietly and heard his soft laugh as he went into the kitchen.

Mr. Kadam seemed completely oblivious of our exchange. “Miss Kelsey! Come and sit with me. I have something to show you!”

“What is it?”

“I’ve finally finished decoding the third prophecy, and I’d like to hear what you think,” Mr. Kadam said and slid his translation across his desk.

The words were written in beautiful calligraphy. I read:

Lustrous gems of blazon black

Once graced her satin’d skin.

A ruthless knave her neck ransack’d;

The strand sank deep within.

Now beads hide buried in the sea;

A brave one brings them out.

Deadly monsters bite and sting—

Too horrible to rout.

But trident wield, kamandal imbibe,