“Fine, fine,” said Aru. “I’ll stay out here. Holler when I can come back in tomyparty.”
“Will do!” said Mini, and she jogged off after Hira and Brynne.
Not knowing what else to do, Aru looked out the window again.
And saw Aiden …
He was pacing his front lawn, Shadowfax around his neck. Kamadeva’s arrow poked out of his hoodie pocket. Hehad the hood pulled up over his head, but still, it obviously wasn’t enough to keep him warm outside in this weather. He hadn’t asked any of his friends to be there with him when his dad came over. But just because someone doesn’t ask for help doesn’t mean they don’t need it.
Aru stroked her fake beard thoughtfully … and slipped out the front door.
Across the street, Aiden’s head snapped upthe second the museum entrance closed behind her.
“Why are you dressed like an old man?”
“Oldwizard,” she corrected. “It’s for my party.”
“Oh.” Aiden shoved his hands in his hoodie pocket, then glanced over his shoulder to the windows of his house. Aru wasn’t sure, but she thought she could make out the shadow of Mrs. Acharya inside.
“You should go back and have fun,” he said. “You don’thave to be out here.”
“Well, Legolas is melting, so I can’t go in yet.”
Aiden accepted this without comment, which was proof of their friendship.
“He’s coming soon,” said Aiden, his words rushing out. “And I don’t know what to do. I just want her to be happy.”
Mrs. Acharya was now at the window. She didn’t even seem to register that Aru was outside with Aiden. Her face looked gaunt and sad,but also … determined. The way someone looks when they’re going into battle and they don’t have any regrets.
“Do you think she’d be happy if she was back with your dad?”
Aiden tugged on his black hair, twisting his curls into bizarre-looking horns.
“I dunno. Ithoughtso, but now I just don’t know. I just … You don’t know what she was like before all this.”
That much was true, but Aru couldtake a guess. Since their quest, she’d seen old photos of Mrs. Acharya, the former apsara celebrity. It wasn’t so much that that she was supremely attractive, but that she washappy. Confident. As though she liked herself more than anyone else and that was all that mattered. In that way, she reminded Aru of Brynne.
These days Mrs. Acharya looked different … more caved-in.
“And then I keep thinkingabout what Kamadeva said,” Aiden went on. “That it’s not really an arrow of love, butawareness, and I don’t even know what that means!”
He tugged harder at his hair. Aru swatted at his hand. “Stop that or you’re gonna go bald!”
Aiden glared at her. The headlights of an approaching car flashed down the street.
“He’s almost here,” said Aiden. He grabbed her hand. “C’mon!”
Aiden dragged heralong as they crossed the lawn and slipped through the front door.
“What are wedoing?” hissed Aru.
“Just hold on, Shah. Two seconds. Please.”
It was thepleasethat got her, whether she liked it or not.
“Aiden?” his mom called. “Is that you?”
He held his finger to his lips. Together they crawled past the front door, then took a left into the den, where they hid behind the sofa. In the fronthall, Aru saw a long mirror on the wall. Framed photographs (all taken by Aiden) lined both sides of it. The foyer of the Acharya home split off into two rooms. The one on the right was the dining area, where Mrs. Acharya was staring out the window, her arms wrapped around her slender body.
