“Taking you to the court,” he replied. He spoke with one of the men. “Run ahead and tell Sukumar we have found them. And—is your name Bhavesh?—tell him we found this one as well, and we are bringing them.”
A guard sprinted through the foliage and the rest followed more slowly. Once they emerged from the denser part of the gardens, Bhavesh saw they were but a short way from where the enclosure entered the building. Nevertheless, they moved slowly as the adult tigers struggled mightily against their bonds.
Finally, the captain realized that if the men carrying the cubs moved ahead, Hiranmayi would go behind without protest. Even Akhilesh followed with reluctance. A blaze of torches greeted them at the front of the enclosure and Bhavesh realized they were looking out into the main hall of the court, seeing it from the aspect usually only known by the tigers.
Sukumar stood on the platform, dressed as he had been when he had fled the stage hours earlier. He faced them, his expression unreadable, his eyes veiled. The guard who had been sent ahead spoke into his ear, pointing at Bhavesh. Sukumar’s careful expression slipped for a moment, registering surprise, but the neutral veil returned quickly.
They were directed to the gate and it was opened for them. Bhavesh and Leandre stepped through, followed by all the guards except those holding the tigers. As soon as they drew even with the row of torches, Bhavesh saw the hall was full. Every member of the court stood facing them, their faces bright with anticipation.
“Bhavesh,” whispered Leandre, who had been pulled up to stand next to him. He inclined his head and she asked, “Will Sukumar know the story of Prahleandra and Bhavesh?”
“Why?” he asked stupidly, too busy trying to figure out what was happening to understand what she wanted.
“Answer me!” she hissed, and her golden eyes looked at him sharply.
“Yes, of course,” Bhavesh answered. “Everyone knows it—it is a legend of our people.” She nodded, and Sukumar turned and raised his hands for silence. The buzz of whispered conversation in the hall stilled.
“My guests,” he said, and his voice was clear in the silent hall. “You know of the events that took place last night.”
Is it morning? Leandre thought. The sky was still dark. How many hours have passed since Sukumar dismissed his company?
“You also know I am a man of the Sundarban.” A surprised murmur arose in the hall. Sukumar’s pedigree was well known, but he never spoke of it openly. “What you may not know is that I can trace my ancestry to Singbaba.”
This time the muttering was louder and carried a note of excitement. Singbaba was a legendary hero who had been raised by a tigress when his father abandoned him.
“There is another part of the story, kept secret for generations in my family. Singbaba’s tiger mother would return one day, and make herself known. When this happened, the debt of saving Singbaba’s life would come due, and the family must repay it or suffer catastrophe.”
Sukumar turned to Leandre and, to Bhavesh’s great astonishment, fell at her feet. The murmuring in the hall rose to a babble then hushed so that all could hear Sukumar’s words.
“What will you have of me, Mother?”
The babble rose to a roar. Leandre, her white robes floating in the soft breeze and her disheveled hair falling around her shoulders, looked down at the kneeling rajah in astonishment. Chaos reigned in the great hall.
Gradually, her eyes rose to meet Bhavesh’s. It was as if a bolt of lightning ran between them as he stared back. Then, after an almost imperceptible nod, she looked out over the room and raised her hands, palms out, toward the sea of agitated faces.
The din lessened then faded entirely. She spoke carefully in her oddly accented Sanskrit, but the words were perfect.
“First, you must release the tigers.”
“At once.” Sukumar gestured to the guards in the enclosure, who looked to the tigers then to one another, terrified.
“They will not harm you,” she said, then spoke in her own tongue. “Akhilesh, Hiranmayi. The men are going to let you go. Do not harm them.” The big cats held still as if obeying her but the men remaining in the enclosure did not move.
“Free them!” shouted Sukumar from his knees, and the two men holding the cubs dropped them and backed toward the closed gate. The rest of the guards hesitantly loosened their ropes and lifted the loops away from the tigers, who snarled but did not move. The captain of the guard opened the gate and all the men shot through.
The crowd began to speak again but Leandre snapped her head around and glared at them, and they were silent.
“That was an excellent start, Sukumar. But I meant free them entirely. Send them back to the forests where they belong.”
Sukumar swallowed then nodded. “It shall be as you wish.”
“Next, you must give this man,” she gestured toward Bhavesh, “a…a property and position near his home, for himself and his family.”
Sukumar looked toward Bhavesh, puzzled. “This man? Of course, if you wish. But why…” He stammered to a stop, apparently realizing it was inappropriate to question the embodiment of a legend.
“Why?” echoed Leandre. “I am surprised you must ask, Sukumar. Must not Prahleandra have her Bhavesh?”
At the pairing of the two names, an uproar rose among the crowd that could not be stilled. Leandre looked at Bhavesh with shining eyes and extended her hand. Realizing that swords no longer pointed at either one of them, he took it.
Sukumar looked up at the two of them in wonder. “You will go together then? To…to the place I provide for you in the south?”
Bhavesh spoke. “I too am of the Sundarban. From where else would Bhavesh spring?” He smiled and looked at Leandre.
“We will go with the tigers,” she said decisively. “All of us together.”
Bowing, Sukumar rose to his feet and turned to the crowd. He looked a little relieved. Perhaps he was glad Leandre had not asked for his head. He raised his voice and the crowd hushed enough to listen.
“Arrangements will be made. Bhavesh and…and Prahleandra will go to my family’s old home on the edges of the Sundarban. It will be restored to its ancient glory, and Akhilesh and Hiranmayi will raise their families in the forests of their ancestors.”
The crowd cheered and the tigers raised their voices as well, seeming to roar their approval. A chattering monkey climbed down from the top of the enclosure and landed on Bhavesh’s shoulder, and Leandre laughed.
“Tell me,” she said, her words audible only to Bhavesh in the din of excitement that surrounded them. “Will your mother be upset when you bring home a foreign woman?”
He laughed heartily. “Even for a woman as ambitious as my mother, a queen and a goddess ought to be good enough to bear her grandchildren.” He stopped, realizing he had spoken without thinking.
“You are going to marry me, are you not?”
Her laugh was music and her eyes fiercer than those of the tigers. “Of course I am. You are, after all, the man of my dreams.”
About the Author
Virginia welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
Also by Virginia Reede
Witch’s Knight
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