Nikita watched them for about ten seconds before rolling her eyes. Then she stretched out her fingers, flicked her wrist, and a moment later threw a tiny conjured blanket over the coin, immediately dousing it. “Voilà,” she said.
Brynne lowered her hands, looking disappointed. Behind her, Mini had tugged her T-shirt over her nose and mouth. Sheela, still giggling, pulled off the blanket. If anything, the Agni coin gleamed a little more. But that was it.
Aru turned away, a hot flush of embarrassment creeping up her face. Coming up with a fake prophecy and looking for Agni had been her ideas, but what if they didn’t work? Then what would happen?
Gently, she lowered BB into his new cradle. The firebird had already fallen asleep, and although Aru was happy to have Boo back in some form, she still felt lost. The old Boo might’ve been able to help them figure a way out of their predicament.
Aru stared at the counter. Luckily, the flames hadn’t scorched the stone, but the bright red card now looked charred around the edges. Oops, thought Aru, as she tried to wipe it clean. It was, she noticed, an invitation dated for tomorrow.
You are cordially invited to the wedding of Ravi & Trena
~Portal entrances will be locked at the commencement of the ceremony,
so please arrive in a timely fashion.
At this time, the bride and groom are not accepting any enchanted gifts. Thank you~
Brynne groaned. “Well, that was a total bust—”
Just then, an odd sound filled the kitchen. A very loud and incessant hum.
“It’s coming from the coin!” said Mini.
The Pandavas stared at the golden disk. It began to vibrate on the stone countertop. A friendly automated voice said:
“HELLO. WE ARE SORRY, BUT YOUR REQUEST CANNOT BE COMPLETED AT THIS TIME. PLEASE CHECK YOUR CONNECTION TO A SACRED FLAME AND TRY AGAIN. THANK YOU.”
The coin went still.
“Sacred flame?” demanded Brynne. “What does that mean?” She was frowning, but there was a new light in her eyes, and it looked a lot like hope.
“That makes sense!” said Mini. “Agni is always present at sacred functions that involve a fire! Like pujas done at home, or funerals, or—”
“Weddings,” said Aru, holding up the invitation. “This one is tomorrow. We could go to it and talk to Agni.”
Aru hadn’t been to many weddings—most invitations kindly requested that Aru not attend—but she remembered that in Hindu ceremonies the bride and groom walked around a sacred fire while a priest chanted and invoked several gods…including Agni.
“Let’s say we manage that,” said Brynne. “What do we do next? Stroll up to the middle of their ceremony and toss the coin into the fire? Won’t someone, I don’t know, NOTICE?”
“Not if we’re careful,” said Aru.
“You mean sneaky.”
“Same thing,” said Aru. “And if Sheela says the fake prophecy in the morning, no one will expect to see us anyway!”
“You’ll each need a whole new wardrobe,” said Nikita, raising an eyebrow.
“Excuse me,” said Mini loudly. “But we can’t go to the wedding! We’re not on the guest list!”
Aru grinned.
Mini took one look at her face and her shoulders sank. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”
With an hour to go before the wedding ceremony started, Aru held still as her mother fastened the final hook on the back of her blouse. Nikita had only been too happy to make them brand-new outfits overnight, and Aru, who loved Indian clothes but always ended up in the itchiest of garments, had found herself pleasantly delighted when hers was delivered in the morning. It was a rich, golden lehenga. The full-bodied skirt was covered with small mirrors in intricate shapes, and the cap-sleeved blouse boasted miniature lightning bolts in saffron thread.
It was gorgeous.
It was ridiculously useful.
And it was comfortable.
All the Pandava outfits (including the one belonging to Aiden, who preferred to call himself “Pandava adjacent”) were flame-retardant and decorated with small enchanted mirrors that refracted light and turned the wearer invisible. Nikita had even charmed the threads to disguise the Pandavas’ voices as well.
“You’re beautiful, Aru,” said her mom, smiling at her in the floor-length mirror’s reflection.
Aru didn’t really believe her, but she smiled anyway. All last evening, they hadn’t spoken about the journey that lay ahead of Aru, or how this might be the last time the two of them would be together. Instead, Aru’s mom had ordered takeout, put on National Treasure, and laughed when Aru recited every single line. It would’ve been a great day, if only Aru could’ve been sure there’d be more days to come.
“I wish I could go with you,” said Krithika now.
Aru hugged her tight, once again feeling how thin her mom had become over the past few months while searching for the location of the labyrinth. “You just got back, Mom. I need you to stay here. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
Krithika sighed and rubbed Aru’s back. “I’ll keep watch. I’ll be waiting for you, Aru, and if by some chance you see Kara…Well, maybe one day there will be time to explain.”
When Aru thought of Kara’s crumpled expression and the pain on Krithika’s face, all she felt was a deep sorrow. The Sleeper had twisted the truth. He’d made it seem like Krithika hadn’t wanted Kara, and now what should’ve been a whole family was broken.
“What will you do?” Krithika asked.
Aru stayed silent. In a way, the plan was simple: Get their weapons back. Stop the Sleeper from stealing the nectar of immortality. And then the Pandavas were to do what they had been trained for from the very start:
End the war.
Which meant the Sleeper had to be stopped. The facts that he was her dad, that he had loved her, that her own half sister was on his side, and that others who fought on his behalf were deserving of pity…they changed nothing.
“Try my best not to disappoint the universe?” offered Aru.
“Oh, beti,” said Krithika. “It’s like they say in the Gita, ‘It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else’s life with perfection.’ You understand?”
Aru blinked. No? Sometimes she thought her brain involuntarily glazed over whenever her mom went down one of her philosophical roads. Krithika Shah loved quoting from the holy scripture of the Gita, but Aru only understood maybe a quarter of what she meant.
“Good advice?” she tried.
Her mom laughed. “What I mean is…be true to yourself.”
Aru set her jaw. Since when had that worked out for her? Aru’s instincts always seemed to be wrong. Her mom was just saying things to make her feel better. They both knew that her options were either to give up or fight back once and for all, and there was only one choice to make.
At that moment, the doorbell went off. Krithika released her. She swiped at her eyes, and Aru could’ve sworn she’d seen tears there.
When Aru went downstairs to open the door, her stomach flipped. Aiden was standing on her doorstep. His camera, Shadowfax, and his dark backpack were slung over his shoulders. He was wearing a black kurta with the sleeves rolled up around his forearms. His dark hair fell over his eyes, and the sun was doing that annoying thing where it seemed to illuminate only him. Aru hesitated, unsure of what to say.