Aru’s heart pounded. Out ofthe corner of her eye, she saw the edge of a purple backpack.Mini. She was walking toward the caves, still in a daze.
“BRYNNE, GET MINI!” Aru called out.
“Welcome, daughter of the Dharma Raja,” the voices said in unison. “Pay the price of knowledge.”
Three powerful tails whipped toward Mini, one from each cavern. Aru rushed at them, trying to protect her sister as an inky pool of darknessemerged from the caves and enveloped her.
Right then, Mini turned toward Aru. It looked as though she had snapped out of the trance. “I know the thief’s name!” she said triumphantly. “It’s—”
But Mini never got the chance to finish. A serpent tail as thick as a redwood trunk curled around her body and yanked her toward the cave.
“No!” shouted Aru. She threw Vajra at the tail, but fear frayedher thoughts and ruined her concentration. The lightning bolt missed. “MINI!”
Just as she ran after Mini, another tail slashed toward Aru. Someone hauled her back—Brynne. Beside her, Aiden sliced at the tail with his scimitars. The tail recoiled and a low hiss filled the courtyard as it retracted into its cave. The third tail followed suit.
When Aru looked up, Mini was nowhere to be seen. Shehad disappeared deep into the first serpent’s cave.
Aru fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face and a scream caught in her throat. The Lord of the Waters’ voice drifted through her head:The sea gives. But it also takes.
In that second, Aru hated herself. What waswrongwith her? The Sleeper was right. She wasn’t meant to be a hero.
Her words echoed back to her:I’m not Arjuna. Thatmuch was obvious. Arjuna would never have lost his family. He was abravewarrior, and he’d also had Krishna by his side, whispering advice in his ear, helping him every step of the way.
But no god spoke to Aru. No help came. And in the end, Aru was left with the terrible consequence of how different she was from Arjuna….
She had lost her sister.
