they died.”
“That is true.” Mr. Kadam’s eyes became moist, and he seemed to fix his gaze on something I couldn’t see. “I held Deschen when King Rajaram passed out of this world and then later, held her hand when she closed her eyes forever.” He cleared his throat, “That’s when she entrusted me with the care of her most precious possessions—her sons.”
“And you have done more for them than any mother could ever ask. You are a truly wonderful man. A father to them. Ren told me he could never repay you for all you’ve done for him.”
Mr. Kadam shifted uncomfortably. “That is neither here nor there. He does not need to repay me for what I gave him freely.”
“And that is exactly what makes you so special.”
Mr. Kadam smiled and stood to refill my water glass, probably to deflect attention from himself. I changed the subject.
“Did Ren and Kishan’s parents ever know they were changed into tigers?”
“As you know, I was the king’s military advisor. As such, I was put in charge of the armies. When Ren and Kishan were placed under the spell, they tried to sneak back into the palace at night as tigers. There was no way they could have gotten in to see their parents because Rajaram and Deschen were too well guarded, and Ren and Kishan would have been killed on sight. Even tigers as rare as they were would not have been allowed to enter the palace grounds. Instead, they came to me. I had a small house near the palace so I could be summoned at any time.”
“What did you do when you saw them?”
“They scratched at my door. You can imagine my surprise when I opened the door to find a black and a white tiger sitting there staring at me. At first, I grabbed my sword. Military instinct is strong, but they didn’t react to me. I lifted my sword above my head ready to strike, but they both sat there calmly, watching, waiting. For a time, I thought I was dreaming. Several minutes passed. I opened my door wider and moved back, keeping my sword at the ready. They entered my house and sat on my rug.
“We watched each other for hours. When I was summoned to attend training, I begged off, telling the servant that I felt ill. I sat in my chair all day and watched the tigers. They seemed to be waiting for something. When evening came, I prepared a meal and offered meat to the animals. They both ate and then lay down to sleep. I stayed awake all night, watching them. I had trained my body to go several days without sleep, so I remained vigilant, though they slept as harmless as kittens.”
I sipped my lemon water. “Then what happened?”
“Early in the morning, just before the sun came up, something changed. The white tiger shifted and changed into Prince Dhiren; the black one followed suit and became Kishan. Ren quickly explained what had happened to them, and I immediately requested audience with their parents. I explained that it was imperative that Rajaram and Deschen accompany me to my home without guards. Their private guard took a lot of convincing, and only the king’s absolute trust in me led him to comply with my wish.
“I led them back to my home. When I opened the door, Deschen let out a small scream when she saw the tigers. Rajaram moved in front of his wife to protect her. He was very upset with me. I begged them to enter and told them the tigers meant them no harm.
“After I’d finally convinced them to close the door, the two brothers rose to stand before their parents as men. They had very little time left and quickly changed back and allowed me to relate the story. The five of us stayed in counsel all day in my little home. Runners came to say that a vast army led by Lokesh was approaching and that he had already destroyed several villages and was on his way to the palace.”
“What did you all decide to do?”
“Rajaram wanted to destroy Lokesh, but Deschen held him back, reminding him that Lokesh may be the only way to save the boys. They gave me a special charge: to take the boys and leave. Deschen couldn’t bear to part with her sons, so arrangements were made for her to come with me under the pretense that she would be visiting her homeland.
“In reality, we