“Sooo dreamy!” drawled the rakkhoshi Priya as she came over to stand next to me. Like the other Pink-Sari Skateboarder demonesses, Priya had been down in Sesha’s undersea hotel when it started to crumble, but had been sucked out into the ocean a little before us. Yet somehow, her camo pants, tank, and the pink sari she wore around her neck like a cape were already dry.
By the look on her face, I thought at first Priya was talking about Mati being dreamy, but then she went on in a fake-girly voice, “Prince Neelkamal’s just so darned dedicated to equality, you know? That kind of attitude is, like, really attractive in an absolute monarch filthy with inherited wealth and unearned power.”
The fire demoness breathed stinky smoke out of her nose as she shot the sarcastic words out of her mouth. I was still feeling stupid for thinking that all these people were here for me, but at least I wasn’t soaking anymore.
“Thanks for the blow-dry.” I coughed, waving my hands in front of my face. “What’s with the shave?”
“The revolution doesn’t have time for hair products.” Priya ran a long-taloned hand over her newly bald head. “But apparently, it does have time for fangirls. And boys.”
Priya pointed, and I realized Neel was having an odd effect on the crowd. Not only was no one even looking in my direction, but a bunch of the younger servants, not to mention most of the palace ladies and more than a couple of the palace lords, were staring all googly-eyed at Neel. One courtly guy pretended to faint while a lady next to him fanned him with her hand.
“He’s ba-ack!” I heard someone trill.
“And about time!” I heard someone else say all breathy and giggly.
Gross. I mean, seriously, people. Okay, maybe they were right about Neel being cute, but all this public swooning was really too much.
Meanwhile, even though his ears were a little darker than normal, Neel was acting all casual, like being an equal-opportunity heartthrob was his royal right. I rolled my eyes but stopped short of making throw-up noises, because I’m mature like that.
Priya’s fangs glinted as she went on. “Don’t be jealous. I know you have a thing for our half-demon prince.”
“I do not!” A mixture of anger and some other emotion shot straight through my system. Where had Priya gotten that ridiculous idea? I really, really, really hoped Neel hadn’t heard it too. “He and I are just friends! And not even that most of the time!”
Right then, the musicians stopped their songs, and as if on cue, the small crowd of people all knelt. The only one left standing in front of Neel was the turnip-headed minister, who waved his pillow, nearly dropping the paper crown.
“Your Majesty, you must be crowned!” the minister squeaked.
“Crowned! As what? Raja of french fries? Monarch of meat rolls?” Neel shot me a panicky look, then put his hands out straight, palms flat, as if to stop the paper crown from getting anywhere near his head. “Look, I just got out of a horrible detention center. Plus, I’ve lost my grandmother. I don’t have time for sick jokes.”
“What did you say? What happened to Ai-Ma?” Mati’s voice was sharp. I felt my heart squeeze painfully at the mention of Neel’s grandmother’s name.
“It’s true.” Priya bowed her bald head, her sarcasm all gone now before Mati’s distress. “Ai-Ma sacrificed herself to save her daughter. And Princess Kiranmala.”
The blue butterflies I’d seen before swarmed around me now, like they were mourning Neel’s old demoness grandmother too. Ai-Ma had died saving Neel’s mother, but she’d also saved me. If not for her jumping in, Sesha would have killed me, and I couldn’t help but wonder if that made Neel blame me, even a little bit, for her death. I reached into my backpack and felt the warmth of the Poroshmoni and Chintamoni Stones, the two jewels that Sesha wanted to use to live forever. Instead, they had caused Ai-Ma’s death. I pushed them deeper into my pack, promising myself I’d get rid of them the moment I found a safe place.
“I’m so sorry.” Mati stood up with Neel’s help now, grasping his hand. “I didn’t know.”
“It happened so fast …” Neel’s voice cracked, and I felt my own eyes almost spill their tears. Naya was openly blubbering, and next to me, even Priya sniffed, loud and long.
I covered the serpent scar on my right upper arm with my other hand. I was so ashamed that my biological father was responsible for Ai-Ma’s death. If I could cut the scar off my arm, I would.
“This terrible news is all the more reason to crown Prince Neelkamal right away!” blustered Sir Gobbet. “Sesha grows in power every day! We must gather the forces of resistance, no matter how, er”—here the little man gave the PSS demonesses, then me, sideways glances—“unusual our alliances.” He waved the pillow again in Neel’s direction.
“No way.” Neel backed up, swiping angrily at his eyes. “I’m not even the crown prince. My father made sure of that. Where is he anyway?”
I saw worried looks being exchanged among all the lords, ladies, servants, and musicians.
When no one answered, Neel asked again. “Why exactly are you trying to make me the Raja? Where is my father?” I reached out to touch his shoulder. Neel was looking way less confident than he ever had. Being in that detention center had really affected him.
“The Raja is all right, as far as we know,” Mati said in a rush. “But he’s gone into hiding. Had to flee the dimension with a few of his ministers in fear for his own life.”
I started. I too had spent my life in a different dimension because I had been forced to go into hiding from the Kingdom Beyond.
“Gone into hiding? In fear for his life? Why?” Neel’s voice got a little louder with every question. “How could you let this happen, Sir Gobbet?”
“It was shocking. A violent and unexpected takeover of the throne by the Kingdom of Serpents,” began the tiny minister.
“A coup d’état!” It was the talking bird Tuntuni. He flew in a circle above our heads, then landed on Neel’s shoulder, amending, “Or a coup d’snake, if you will.”
“Tuni!” Neel gave our birdie friend a high five.
“Say, Princie! What did the ocean say to the shore?” squawked the bird. Next to complaining, telling bad jokes was one of his favorite hobbies.
“This is really not the time,” I began, but Naya interrupted me. “What did the ocean say to the shore? Nothing! It waved!”
“Yes!” The bird collapsed in laughter while the rest of us rolled our eyes. “Oh, I’ve got another good one! Why did the fish blush?”
“Dude, my dad’s gone into hiding in another dimension. I’d like to hear how that happened,” said Neel.
“Why did the fish blush?” Naya crinkled her nose. “Because it was gill-ty?”
“No!” shrieked Tuntuni. “Because the sea weed! Get it? The sea wee-ed?”
I had to laugh at that one. Tuni and Naya were practically in stitches, and I even caught Neel and Mati cracking little smiles.
“Sire, let me tell you about the coup d’snake,” sputtered little Sir Gobbet. “And why it really wasn’t, most absolutely, my fault.”
This brought all our attentions back to the matter at hand. “How could this happen? Sesha was just with us in the undersea hotel,” Neel said.