“Apsara blood,” said Aiden, looking at Urvashi. “There’ssomethingyou need to see, Masi. Please. And you, too, Queen Uloopi.”
“Get this boy out of here!” snarled Takshaka.
Urvashi drew herself up, her face imperious and full of deadlybeauty.
“You donottalk to my nephew like that,” she said coldly. “Share what you must, Aiden. But don’t think you’re getting out of trouble.”
Aiden looked over at Aru, Mini, and Brynne. A weak smile flickered on his face before he handed his camera to Uloopi. The moment she touched it, images and sounds burst forth, and a hologram appeared in the middle of the Council of Guardians. It showedTakshaka in the Ocean of Milk, scowling at the Pandavas. The perspective was low, as if someone was looking up at him.
“Shadowfax!” whispered Brynne excitedly.
“Whatcause? You swore to protect Queen Uloopi, and instead you went behind her back and betrayed her,”said hologram-Aiden.“Didn’t you?”
“I am not ashamed to admit it,”said Takshaka.“I had my reasons. I thought Uloopi was wise, buther judgment became compromised once she fell in love with Arjuna. It was pathetic.”
“You hid her heart jewel,”said Aiden.“You took her eternal youth. You made her weak on purpose.”
“She couldn’t be trusted,”said Takshaka.
“That wasn’t your choice to make,”said Aiden darkly.
Aru wanted to high-five the whole sky. She had to hand it to Aiden—he was as sneaky as she was, waiting for themoment when Takshaka was surrounded by the Guardians in a place where he couldn’t destroy the evidence.
“Is this true?” asked Uloopi quietly. She seemed even more menacing at this volume.
Takshaka paled. He started to stammer, but then Aru reached into her backpack and drew out the heart jewel. She walked up to Uloopi.
Only then did Aru realize she didn’t know very much about the naga queen.She knew that she’d loved Arjuna and … that was it. Just like how Aru had only known that Surpanakha—Meenakshi—was scorned and had her nose cut off. It wasn’t a complete picture. It would be like if someone only recorded the moments when Aru was fast asleep and then called it a documentary of her whole life.
“This belongs to you,” said Aru, laying the jewel at her feet. “And … I really hope thatyou let us stay in the Otherworld. If you do, maybe sometime you can tell us what happened to you after the great war. Because we’d like to know.”
Uloopi stared at the heart jewel. She picked it up in her withered hands. A bright light washed over her, and Uloopi was transformed…. Her wrinkled skin glowed, and the gray in her hair shone like silver. Her eyes sparkled. Uloopi took a deep breath,and the air shimmered around her. When Uloopi closed her eyes, Aru could still see them moving back and forth beneath her eyelids, as if she were catching up on all the things she hadn’t properly seen. When she opened her eyes again, her mouth curled down in shame.
“Thank you, Pandavas,” Uloopi said. She pressed the jewel to her heart, then touched her forehead. When she removed her hand, theemerald was securely centered there. “I owe you my deepest apologies.”
Thenshe turned to Takshaka. “As for you,snake, you have dishonored your house and your name.” Her voice trembled with fury and pain. “You broke the vows of friendship and loyalty sworn to me. And this I will never forgive.” She shook her head. “Howcouldyou?”
At the snap of her fingers, a retinue of naga guards appearedand dragged the serpent king away even as he hissed and thrashed against their hold.
For the first time in days, Aru felt like she could breathe easy. Aiden took back his camera and walked over to them. Brynne was beaming. Mini had tears in her eyes. Aru wanted to shout with joy, but then her gaze fell on an empty golden throne, the one markedSUBALA. Mini caught her looking, and she was aboutto say something when her eyes flew to the sky beyond the Guardians. A wide grin spread across her face. Aru turned just in time to see a blur of gray feathers diving toward them.
“Boo!” she screamed.
He landed on her hair and immediately pecked her. “You look pale! You have to take vitamin D! Pandavasalwaystake vitamin D. And what is this scratch on your arm?Who scratched you?And what tookyou so long?”
Aru just laughed. Boo huffed and fluttered over to Mini. He huddled under her ear, as if it were an umbrella and he was trying to stay out of the rain. “Do you know how worried I was? Do you haveanyidea what that does to my plumage?”
He raised a wing, which, to Aru, looked exactly the same. Not that she said anything to him.
“Stress shortens one’s life span,” he said.
Brynnefrowned. “But aren’t you immortal?”
Boojerked up his head, just now bothering to notice Aiden and Brynne.
“Ugh,” he groaned, flopping into Mini’s hands. “Moreof you? I can’t. I just can’t.”
“I’m not?” said Aiden, raising his hand.
Boo gave him a beady look, then placed his wing over his eyes.
“We missed you, too,” said Mini, smiling.
