said dully. “He was threatening him. I wish I would have known that at the time.”
“Yes, he was threatening Ren. He knew I wouldn’t do anything to harm him.”
“Right. Of course you wouldn’t.”
“What does that mean? And what do you mean you wish you would have known that at the time? Do you mean you wouldn’t have stopped?”
“No. Yes. Maybe. I don’t know what I would have done. I can’t predict how I would have reacted.”
The subject of our discussion perked up the tiger’s ears. He looked at me.
“Well, then I’m glad you misunderstood. Otherwise, Ren might not be here right now.”
Kishan sighed. “Kelsey.”
“No! It’s nice to know you would have been willing to sacrifice him!”
Mr. Kadam shifted in his chair. “It would not have been an easy decision for him, Miss Kelsey. I have trained both boys that, though each individual is of great importance, sometimes sacrifices for the good of all must be made. If he had the opportunity to rid the world of Lokesh, his first reaction would have been to end the tyrant’s life. The fact that he stayed his hand at all speaks to the depth of emotion he felt at the time. Don’t think less of him.”
Kishan leaned forward, pressed his fingertips together, and stared at the floor. “I know how much he means to you. I’m certain I would have made the same decision if I had known Lokesh was speaking of Ren and not of you.”
“Are you sure about that?”
He raised his eyes to mine, and several unspoken thoughts passed between us. He knew what I was asking. There was more to my question than Mr. Kadam and Nilima were aware of. I was asking Kishan if he would knowingly let his brother die to secure the life he wanted to have. It would be easy for him to step in and fill Ren’s shoes if Ren wasn’t around any longer. I was asking him if that’s the kind of man he was.
Kishan studied me thoughtfully for a few seconds and then, with utter sincerity, said, “I promise you, Kelsey, that I will protect him with my life, until the end of my days.”
His golden eyes glittered and pierced mine. He meant it, and I suddenly realized that he had changed. He wasn’t the same man I’d met in the forest a year before. He’d lost the cynical, sullen, woebegone attitude. He was a man fighting for his family, for a purpose. He’d never make the same mistake he’d made with Yesubai again. Looking into his eyes, I knew that no matter what happened in our future, I could rely upon him for anything.
For the first time since I met him, I saw the mantle of a prince fall about his shoulders. Here was a man who would sacrifice for others. Here was a man who would do his duty. Here was a man who acknowledged his weaknesses and worked to overcome them. Here was a man telling me that I could choose another, and that he would watch over us and protect us even if it broke his heart.
I stammered, “I . . . apologize for doubting you. Please forgive me.”
He smiled sadly. “There’s nothing to forgive, bilauta.”
“Shall I pick up the story from here?” I asked softly.
“Why not?” he replied.
The first thing I told Nilima was how I used the Golden Fruit to stop up the gas tanks with sponge cake and the guns by filling them all with beeswax. The problem was that it worked only on the guns and cars I could see. That’s why Lokesh had been able to escape in his car and the men I couldn’t see still had weapons that worked.
I described the jawbreaker shower, how Lokesh got away, and about how Fanindra led us to Ren. Then I talked about meeting myself. I told her I had disguised myself as the Baiga servant who was helping Lokesh, which was probably why Ren punched me in the jaw. I explained that the servant had been forced to work with Lokesh and how he had shorn his hair as a sign of contrition, offering it to Ren while begging for his forgiveness.
I went into great detail about the Baiga feast and told Nilima about the two women who were offered to my sons as wives. She rolled her eyes and commiserated with me as she sipped her nectar. I added that Kishan apparently wanted one of the sisters for a wife, but that Ren had