Chapter 5
Shanika stood at the door.
Jai’s pack was slung over one shoulder. His pendant sat cool and steady against his chest. Outside, the sky was still dark, streaked with the first pale breath of dawn. The air smelled of ash and pine and change.
Neither of them spoke at first.
Shanika reached into the folds of her cloak and pulled out a small wrapped bundle. “You’ll need this,” she said quietly, handing it to him.
Inside was a jar of thick dye—rusty orange with streaks of yellow. He blinked at it.
“Sheeren,” Shanika said softly. “You’ll have to keep her hidden when you travel. Let her stay in the tattoo as much as possible. And when she must appear… use this.”
He frowned. “Because she’s albino?”
Shanika looked at him—really looked at him—and nodded, her voice barely above a whisper. “She’s not just albino, Jai. She’s the last. The final white tiger soul-bonded to the royal bloodline. Anyone who sees her true form will know what you are. And that will put a target on both your backs.”
A pause. Her gaze grew wet, though her expression stayed steady.
“There are people in the world who would kill to erase the last living proof of your heritage. And others who would use her to control you. Never forget that.”
He nodded, swallowing hard. “I’ll be careful.”
Shanika reached out, brushing his shoulder with a tenderness that nearly undid him. Her fingers lingered there, then cupped the side of his face.
“You’re strong, Jai,” she said. “And kind. Don’t let the world twist either of those things out of you.”
A pause. Her voice softened further.
“But you must be careful. You don’t yet know who your enemies are. Hide your name. Hide your bond. Trust slowly, if at all.”
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His throat tightened. “I don’t want to leave you.”
“You already have,” she whispered, eyes glassy. “The day the soul bond awakened, I knew. The boy I raised is still in there, but he’s not the same. And that’s how it should be.”
They stood there for a long moment. The dawn creeping into the trees. The weight of goodbye wrapping around them like fog.
Finally, she said, “Go. Learn. Grow. Become. I’ll still be here… for whatever you need. But I have nothing more to teach you.”
He leaned in, hugging her tightly, fiercely.
She hugged him back without hesitation—like a mother sending her child into a storm.
When they parted, no more words were needed.
He stepped away from the hut, heart a riot of grief, hope, and fear.
And he did not look back.
The path through the woods was quiet. Mist curled at his feet, and the world smelled of earth and rain.
By mid-morning, the trees thinned, revealing a winding trail that led into the wide-open world.
He walked for hours, thoughts gnawing at him. The things Shanika had said—the strength she believed in, the warning in her voice. The way she had looked at him one last time, trying to memorize his face before the world changed him.
he thought.
He clenched his jaw.
So much had been taken from him—his parents, his birthright, his childhood. And now Shanika too. He knew it wasn’t forever, but it still felt like a death. The death of the life he had lived, quiet and hidden, never knowing who he truly was.
Now the world expected him to be something. Someone.
But who?
The answer didn’t come.
Instead, a low warmth stirred beneath his skin.
Sheeren.
The magic on his shoulder shimmered, and a moment later, golden mist swirled from his collarbone, coalescing into the massive form of the tiger beside him.
She padded silently beside him, fur still streaked with the fading remnants of dye. Her true coat—snow white with faint silver markings—shone like moonlight beneath her paws. Her eyes locked on his.
The sorrow. The rage. The fear. Through their soul bond, she carried it with him like it was her own.
He reached out and touched her thick fur.
“I left her behind,” he whispered. “And now it’s just us.”
She leaned her weight gently into him, rumbling low in her chest—a grounding, comforting sound.
“I hate this,” he said, voice cracking. “I hate that my life was stolen from me. I hate the man who sits on my throne. I hate the emperor who tore my life apart like it was nothing. I hate the traitor who helped him, just to be given a crown that wasn’t his.”
Tears burned in his eyes, but he didn’t hide them.
“I spent my whole life looking for answers,” he whispered. “But all they’ve done is give me more questions.”
Sheeren didn’t answer with words. She didn’t need to.
Her grief was his. Her anger, his echo. Her comfort, a balm that kept him from breaking entirely.
Together, they walked until dusk.
And as the stars blinked awake above the trees, Jai finally looked ahead—not behind.
He didn’t know what he’d find at the academy. But he knew this:
His story had just begun.
