“Birds are nothingto joke about,” said Mini, shuddering.
Brynne looked embarrassed and instead turned around to gaze at their new surroundings.
The building they were in reminded Aru of pictures she’d seen of the New York Stock Exchange. The floor was polished marble, and it seemed like they were inside a lobby. Large windows revealed different views: sleepy neighborhoods, bright cities, coastal towns, and sunlitmeadows. A shimmering veil of soundproofing magic—the same kind Urvashi used in her dance studio—separated them from the clusters of giant circular hubs that dotted the entire floor and hundreds of Otherworld people in sharp suits who were screaming intotheirheadsets. Aru was used to sky ceilings, and the god of love had chosen the night heavens for his. It was beautiful. The cosmos seemed closerthan usual, as if Aru could reach out, pluck a planet, and put it in her pocket. On one wall, enchanted screens that looked like panes of moonlight buzzed with numbers. They were similar to the stock screens her teacher had showed them in their Civics and Economics class. Aru didn’t remember much from that class, but she had learned green arrow = good; red arrow = bad. And right now, she waslooking at a ton of red arrows.
UNIVERSAL HEART SKIPS
?
–1000.23
INTENTIONAL EYELASH FLUTTERING
?
–800.21
FAKING INTEREST IN YOUTUBE CAT VIDEOS
?
–900.41
PEOPLE MAKING ED SHEERAN PLAYLISTS
?
–3000.18
At that moment, an extremely handsome young man walked toward them. His hair was a shock of black curls. He wore a dark Nehru jacket, and a bright blue parrot rode on his shoulder. Hewould have looked like the executive of a global corporation and also like a Bollywood movie star if it weren’t for one strange detail: his skin. It was bright green. This man could only be one person. Or god, to be exact.
He was Kamadeva, the god of love and desire … and the owner of the bow and arrow that had been stolen.
The four kids respectfully bowed and touched the ground before the god,but Kamadeva seemed unmoved.
“Lord Kamadeva—” started Aru, trying to take a step forward before she found that she couldn’t. Her feet were frozen in place.
“Teens are usually my favorite consumers,” said Kamadeva. “But thieves? Not so much.”
Four gleaming swords appeared in the air. They hovered for a second before the blades turned and pointed at the kids’ throats.
