Tiger’s Destiny Read Online Free PDF Page B

the setting more.
    We sat at a small, intimate table, and though my face was frozen into a plastic smile, beneath the many layers of sleeves, my hands were clenched into fists.
    Lokesh clapped his hands to begin a traditional ten-course Chinese wedding feast, not unlike the one I ate with Li at his cousin’s wedding. There was shark’s fin soup, stuffed melon, two whole lobsters in garlic-butter sauce, five-spice beef, squab with noodles, roasted suckling pig with fried rice, sautéed prawns with honeyed peas, Peking duck, scallion-and-ginger fish, and pink buns filled with sweet lotus paste.
    I tried to stretch out the meal by talking about the symbolism of each course, but Lokesh remained silent. In fact, all he seemed to be in the mood for was scrutinizing me. His dark gaze studied me like a hawk watching a rabbit.
    At one point during the meal, I felt an icy touch find my ankle under my layered skirts. Slowly, the biting cold traveled up my bare leg and caressed my thigh. I wasn’t sure if he was using his air or his water power or a combination of both, but I kept silent and nibbled at the dinner as best I could.
    The minutes ticked by, and still there was no sign of Ren and Kishan. If they didn’t make an appearance soon, I’d be Mrs. Lokesh Shu or whatever his last name was. I was on my own. Helpless darkness swelled within me. It overwhelmed me until I felt as heavy as a stone sinking into a muddy river. This was not what I’d envisioned for my future.
    Instead of walking down the aisle to a man who looked at me with love and tenderness, I’d be walking toward a villain—someone who’d rather twist my arm than place it on his. Instead of Mr. Kadam taking my arm proudly, soothing my nerves, and giving me to the care of a man he called a son, I had no one. Instead of promises and sweet vows of love, I’d hear bubbly lies roiling with black filth. When the bubbles burst, I’d be covered in layers of corruption.
    The feast was finally cleared away, and I couldn’t stall the wedding any longer. Lokesh took my hand.
    “Are you ready, my dear?” Lokesh asked and, without waiting for my response, called for the magistrate to enter.
    Though I wanted to wring my hands and run away, I placed my palm confidently in his and smiled. “Of course.”
    “Shall we proceed?” asked a smooth, silky voice.
    I gasped and whipped around. The magistrate’s blue eyes flashed with anger, and his priestly robes whipped behind him as he strode into the center of the room. Ren! I thought he was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
    Weapons flew through the air. The chakram whirled, and darts from the trident sped toward Lokesh, who easily deflected them.
    Lokesh gripped my arm and laughed. “Greetings, Dhiren. You must have received your invitation.”
    “You will wed her over my dead body,” Ren threatened.
    Lokesh shrugged. “As you wish.”
    With a twitch of Lokesh’s fingers, Ren stopped moving.
    Lokesh shifted his eyes nervously around the candlelit ballroom, seeking the black tiger.
    Where is Kishan? I need to defrost Ren. Think, Kelsey. Think!
    Seeing no other move, I draped my arm around Lokesh’s, hoped against hope, and asked, “Did you kill Ren?”
    “No, my dear. He’s still alive.”
    “Good,” I purred. Determined to act out my part well, I turned to Ren, gave him a pitying glance, and said, “It’s really too bad you had to find out this way. But since you’re here, you can be a guest at my wedding.”
    Lokesh smiled and instructed the guards to find the real magistrate. Ren’s blue eyes burned into mine.
    “Oh dear, how rude of me. Of course, a guest should kiss the bride,” I said mockingly before kissing the man who had come to save me, biting his lip until I drew blood. I’m so sorry! I thought, wishing Ren could read my mind . . . and then I slapped him square across his beautiful face.
    His pupils widened with shock, and I imagined the sting in his heart was much greater than the sting