Tiger’s Destiny Read Online Free

wanted to, I could kill you by freezing you in an instant,” Lokesh gloated. “The only reason you can breathe is because I haven’t frozen your lungs or cardiovascular system.” He cupped my chin almost lovingly. “There now, wasn’t that an effective demonstration?”
    Lokesh released me, and I blinked and realized I could move again. My shoulder hurt. I clasped the torn piece of my dress to my shoulder and nodded, swallowing thickly. “Very effective.”
    “Do you have any other questions?” he asked.
    “I’ll let you know,” I muttered, as I desperately tried to control my shaking limbs. I was hoping to get him to show his hand and figure out an Achilles’ heel, but I wasn’t prepared for that .
    While I pulled myself together, Lokesh strode toward the mantle and stoked the fire. The flames crackled and danced. I was grateful that he was at a further distance.
    I told him about Durga’s other quests without divulging the actual prizes to give myself time to recover from his disturbing assault. He was most interested in the golden dragon’s hoard. I told him Mr. Kadam’s theory was that these prizes had been stolen from Durga and that she wanted them back.
    “How old is your Mr. Kadam? I know he wears the other piece of the amulet,” Lokesh said.
    “A few years older than Ren and Kishan.” Hoping to learn more about the amulet, I pushed on. “How is it that you can look like a young man? Is it the amulet?”
    “Partially. Shortly after I’d found the second piece, I realized that my life was prolonged. Though my natural state is to look fifty, I can alter my form to appear to be a young man at will. Often I choose the age that will help me to accomplish my aim.”
    “I know the amulet has kept Mr. Kadam from aging, but he doesn’t have the ability to make himself look younger like you do,” I commented, circling back to the amulet.
    “He only has one piece of the amulet and his ancestors never wore it.”
    “What difference does that make?”
    “The power is compounded the more pieces you have,” Lokesh explained. “The descendants of those who wore amulets live very long lives, even if they’d never worn it.”
    I need to know more. It’s the only way to figure this whole puzzle out.
    “Yes, Mr. Kadam mentioned that his children and his children’s children lived longer-than-average lives. Do you think that is why Ren and Kishan have lived so long even without wearing the amulet?”
    “The amulet cursed them. In defying me, they suffer an eternity of life as beasts.”
    The curse. I bit my lip and thought back on everything we had learned from our previous quests. Isn’t the amulet protecting Ren and Kishan? I need to know more.
    “Does that expression mean that you still care for the beasts, my dear?”
    “It’s not that. I just worry that they may return and try to take your amulet pieces,” I lied with a look of concern plastered on my face.
    “Do not fret. Should they return, we can easily weave a trap for them from your magic threads, and obviously I know more of the power of the amulets than they.”
    I smiled shyly, laying it on thickly through lying lips. “May I ask how you found the amulet pieces, my . . . liege? I’m sorry if it’s forward of me to designate you as such, but you were an emperor, and a man of your stature should be addressed properly.”
    Smiling, he studied me shrewdly and then said, “I wandered for many years asking scholars, monks, and kings for information about a great battle that united the kingdoms of Asia. During that time, I began studying the black arts and witchcraft. I sought those rumored to be dark wizards and learned whatever they would willingly teach me and extracted whatever they held back. I followed many clues that led only to dead ends. But, one by one, I discovered all five parts of the amulet. Ren and Kishan were the last pieces of the puzzle. Even now it irritates me that they have eluded me this long.”
    “Why didn’t you