Tiger’s Destiny Read Online Free Page A

just kill Ren and Kishan from the start?” I asked.
    Lokesh sat back and replied, “The short answer to that very shrewd question is that I wanted to savor the moment. When I first found the royal family, Dhiren was five and Kishan four. Their parents, Rajaram and his wife, Deschen, never wore their amulet pieces in public. They also surrounded themselves and their young princelings with honorable, trustworthy guards who made their palace impossible to infiltrate. I watched the royal family for several months.
    “That was when I first became fascinated with Deschen. She participated in every aspect of running the kingdom. She was clever, beautiful, and had an alluring combination of strength and softness. Any fool could see her sons would grow to be the greatest leaders of their time. I found to my surprise that I wanted to reunite the amulet, but I also hungered for Deschen and for strong sons of my own.
    “Pretending to be a wealthy merchant in the neighboring kingdom of Bhreenam, I stirred up enough talk to gain a position on the king’s council and through thievery, betrayal, and cunning I was appointed commander of his military. I siphoned money from the government, took goods from the common people, and worked to undermine the kingdom. I also sent spies to Rajaram’s land.
    “During that time, a wealthy merchant offered his daughter in exchange for favorable treatment. She was beautiful—tall, lithe, and young. And she had the most striking violet eyes.”
    “Yesubai’s mother.”
    He nodded. “Later, when she confessed she was pregnant, I was pleased. I envisioned a strong son like Dhiren but with violet eyes. I coddled her and spoiled her—”
    I suppressed a shiver as I wondered what Lokesh’s definition of coddling and spoiling might be.
    He went on. “—and it was early during her pregnancy when we were married. The night she gave birth to Yesubai, I picked up the child. The baby’s eyes were indeed violet, and it took several seconds before I realized it was a girl. I put the child back into its cradle. I was enraged. I had wanted a son and now I had a worthless girl. Without regret or pity, I strangled the life from Yesubai’s mother.”
    I swallowed, thinking about the poor girl and knew that her fate would likely be mine. “What was your wife’s name?” I asked softly.
    “Yuvakshi.” He clicked his tongue. “Now, now. I know what you’re thinking. It’s been several hundred years since that happened. I promise you that my attitude about women has progressed with the times—at least somewhat. Besides, you are much more valuable to me than my first wife was and I had no control over my temper at the time. If we find out the child you carry is a girl, we’ll simply remove it and try again.”
    I sucked in a breath and tried to turn my grimace into a smile. “Of course, you are right. I’m not worried at all,” I choked out. When I noticed the gleam in his eye, I cleared my throat nervously. “So, when did you decide to use Yesubai to gain access to Rajaram’s kingdom?”
    “How very clever of you, my dear,” Lokesh said, still looking at me in a very disturbing way. “Yesubai learned from a young age to obey me without question. She was beautiful, like her mother. By the time she was sixteen, I’d killed off the old king and taken the throne. I began expanding the military and attempted several infiltrations of Rajaram’s palace without success. He simply had the stronger military. I turned to diplomacy, which got the Rajaram family to open their arms to me, but every time I visited, one of the boys was missing.
    “Yesubai reported that she’d seen the amulet worn by the younger one. In an attempt to bring both brothers to the palace at the same time, I negotiated a marriage between Yesubai and Dhiren, but planned for her to marry whichever brother was more easily influenced. Then I’d kill the other brother and Rajaram, take Deschen for my own, and claim their pieces of the