The others looked at her in a combination of shockand disbelief.
“Honest,” said Aru. “How do you think I got here? Somehow I can walk, breathe, and even talk to fish underwater.” She tried to say it like it was no big deal, but Brynne still scowled at her.
“What?” said Aru. “I guess webothhave friends in high places.” She remembered how Vajra had been stronger than the other celestial weapons in the crab’s arena.Why is that?she wondered.
Brynne shrugged, still frowning. She inflated her air bubble and put it on over her head. The helmet automatically tightenedaroundher neck in a perfect fit. Mini followed suit, and they started toward the door.
Before putting on his own helmet, Aiden fell into step beside Aru. “I can tell that Brynne does like you guys. Honest.”
Aru almost snorted. “How do you know?”
He shrugged. “I justknow.”
“How’d you two even become friends?” asked Aru.
Aiden got quiet. “Brynne has always been bullied because she’s part asura. One time, when some of the Otherworldly kids were trying to make her change shape by accident, I kinda, um, cursed them.”
“What?You can do that?”
“My momisan apsara,” he said haughtily. “I’ve gotsomeabilities.”
“I thought your mom is a biologist?”
“She isnow,” said Aiden, his face turning red. “She was an elite apsara once, but to marry my dad, she had to give up her place in the heavens.”
Give up her place?Considering how famous she once was, Aru thought, she must have given up a lot….
“So what other kinds of abilities do you have?”
“Not important,” said Aiden quickly. “Long story short: I had Brynne’s back, and she’s had mine ever since.”
Oh, thought Aru, feeling somewhat … lopsided. It made sense that he and Brynne would be so close. What didn’t make sense was the stab of jealousy she felt. It wasn’t like she’d known Aiden very long.
“Good for you,” she said stiffly.
Aiden gave her a weird look but she ignored it, joggingaheadto Brynne and Mini and shouting, “What’s Aiden’s secret apsara power?”
Brynne started laughing. “It’sactually kinda great, Aiden can—”
“Nope!” hollered Aiden. “I am invoking the best-friend rule, Brynne! Don’t!”
Brynne sighed. “Fine.”
Okay, now Aruhadto find out.
“Why don’twehave best-friend rules?” Mini asked Aru.
“Because we defy rules, dude.”
Mini hung her head. “But I don’tlikedefying rules.”
Even with their helmets (or Pandava power, in Aru’s case) on, they each took a deepbreath before Brynne pulled the door open. But it wasn’t necessary. The corridor on the other side was dry.
Varuna and Varuni stood there arguing.
“I told you so!” said Varuni primly. She sipped on something that looked like tomato juice and had a piece of celery sticking out of it.
“Well, you have divine knowledge!” huffed Varuna. “You already knew they’d be fine!”
