Who Doesn’t Like Vegan Granola?
“Thanks, Vayu!” hollered Brynne. She blew a kiss to the air, then looked coolly at Mini and Aru. “Gifts from my dad. Clearly, he sends his regards.”
“He … he talks to you?” Mini asked.
Brynne just lifted her shoulder and smiled smugly.
Aru couldn’t help herself. She was jealous again. Far above, she could see the glimmering outline of the celestial city ofAmaravati, ruled over by none other than her father, Lord Indra. Amaravati was where the apsaras danced. Supposedly, the whole place was covered in sacred groves and magical wonders, including a tree that granted wishes.
Aru lifted her hand to wave at Indra, and then thought better of it. It wasn’t as though he would have seen her. And anyway, he hadn’t come to her defense when she was wronglyaccused of stealing Kamadeva’s weapon. Aru tried not to feel disappointed, but it was like he was sayingCool! Bye!at the prospect of Aru no longer being part of the Otherworld. Was she so bad at being a Pandava that her own soul dad couldn’t stick up for her?
“I think any god would acknowledge their offspring, as long as that offspring was worthy,” said Brynne.
Mini’s lips tugged down, andshe held Dee Dee a little closer to her chest. Vajra, on the other hand, looked as if it were ready to unfold and strike Brynne upside the head.
Before them, the four gazelles each shrank down to a more manageable size, about as big as a horse. They looked slightly familiar to Aru…. Then it came back to her—they’d been there during the battle in the museum, to help fight the Sleeper. But shedoubted they remembered her.
Brynne strode in front of the gazelles and waved her arm like a game show host. “These are the four winds that my father controls. He lent them to me,” she said loftily. “North.” A gazelle the color of blue ice swung its head. Icicles dangled from its slender black horns. “South.” A gazelle the color of a blazing fire sank to its forelegs. Flames danced atop its horns.“East.” A gazelle the color of a pale pink rose lifted its chin. Flowers wound around its horns. “And West.” A gazelle the color of bright green grass, with horns that looked like twists of moss, bowed its head.
“As daughter of the god of the wind,I’llchoose first,” said Brynne.
But when she moved to the gazelles, they took a step away from her and toward Aru and Mini instead.
“We rememberyou, daughter of Indra,” said the Gazelle of the West, bowing again. It turned to Mini. “And you, too, daughter of the Dharma Raja. It was an honor to fight by your side, and it would be an honor to carry you now.”
Aru smiled widely. Her grin had nothing to do with Brynne’s shocked and furious face. (Fine, maybe it did, a little.)Shereached for the Gazelle of the West and swung onto its back.Mini chose the Gazelle of the North. Aiden chose the Gazelle of the East, and Brynne leaped savagely onto the back of the Gazelle of the South. She gripped its horns, and flames danced around her fists.
“To the abode of Kamadeva!” she shouted.
The gazelles took off, galloping past the shelves in the Warehouse of Quest Materials before they leaped into the sky. Clouds broke over Aru’s head andcold air burned in her lungs as they headed back toward the mortal realm.
Flying in the open air at night was unlike anything Aru had ever imagined. It was beautiful. Hundreds of feet below them, the city lights shone like fallen stars. Silvery clouds scudded across a black velvet sky. She could hear Aiden snapping pictures beside her. When he saw her looking, he said, “What? This is so cool!”
“How are you taking pictures in the dark? They won’t come out.”
Aiden raised his camera. “I bought some enchantments for it, like night vision and emergency accessory transformation.”
On Aru’s other side, Mini was holding tight to her gazelle’s horns. “Did you know you can get hypothermia from air this cold? We could—”
“Die?” asked Aru wearily.
“Or your limbs could freeze and turn black andsomeone would have to cut them off,” said Aiden cheerily.
“Yes!” said Mini, her voice brightening. “How’d you know?”
“I have a big book of diseases,” he said. “My mom gave it to me. She’s a microbiologist.”
Aru waited for someone to sayDid we just become best friends?Butno one did. For the next twenty minutes, Aiden and Mini talked over Aru’s head about weird medical conditions while shetried to close her ears. Aiden’s comment made her curious, though. How could his mom be a biologist if Urvashi was his aunt? That would make her an apsara. Was it his other parent who had blood ties to Urvashi?
“What about your dad?” she asked. “What does he do?”
Aiden’s tone instantly flattened. “He’s a lawyer. He’s going to practice in New York after he and Annette get married.”
Annette?Suddenly, it was clear why Aru never saw his parents together, even though they lived in the same house. They were getting a divorce.
“Oh,” said Mini softly.
Aiden shrugged, mumbled something about checking on Brynne, and pushed his gazelle past them. Mini drifted toward Aru.
