“Focus, Aru!” called Mini.
Why was her voice coming from above Aru?
Aru looked up and saw that Mini had slowed her own fall. Her legs were crisscrossed and her eyes were closed. A faint purple glow enveloped her body.
A bright light stole Aru’s attention, and the city of Amaravati came and went in a flash. Now the sunset cloud bank hovered at eye level. The clouds looked like mountains of whipped cream, pulled into shapes that were almost recognizable. One mound kind of reminded Aru of an elephant.
“If we don’t get the gods’ attention now, we’renevergoing to make it to Lanka!” yelled Brynne.
“I don’t want to fall to my death!” moaned Rudy.
“Probably impossible, since this is the fall that won’t end,” said Mini serenely. “You’re much more likely to die of dehydration or starvation. Or you might get hypothermia and freeze to death.”
“WHAT?!” screamed Rudy.
Aru clapped her hands over her ears and squeezed her eyes shut. Mini was right—she needed to focus. Aru tuned out her arguing friends. She tuned out Chhaya’s laughter, the mirage of her mother’s haunted face, and the prophetic voice that had whispered to Aiden. None of it would matter anyway, if they couldn’t get back to Lanka.
Please, please, please, thought Aru. And then, quietly—so quietly she could hardly acknowledge it to herself—Aru asked,Do you even think I’m doing a good job?
It was a thought she had come to dread.
Aru hadn’t forgotten that the Otherworld had turned on her. Some people blamed her for bringing about this war. Many had lost faith in the Pandavas. Every now and then Aru wondered if that was a sign that their soul dads were just as disappointed in them.
I believe in us, thought Aru fiercely.And if you do, too, then give us a sign.
Aru opened her eyes. Now Amaravati was far above them. Disappointment stole her breath.
This was it. They’d really failed.
Chhaya had been right to laugh. They’d never had the gods’ favor.
What was happening right now in Lanka? Was the Sleeper’s army already there? Was Kubera squealing with delight in his throne? Or—
“What isthat?” asked Aiden loudly.
Aru looked up. It seemed a piece of the Amaravati cloud bank had broken off and was now drifting toward them. An enormous puffy thing as pale as bone, with a tufted cloud on each side and a curved tail that made it look a lot like…
“That’s an elephant!” said Brynne.
The cloud elephant drew closer, and Aru could see that it was huge, at least three times the size of an animal she’d see at a zoo. Its skin was pure white, and its deep brown eyes regarded them warmly. Silken cords were stretched between its two curved tusks like an unfinished weaving on a loom.
“Airavata!” shouted Rudy.
Aru’s eyes widened. Airavata wasn’t just the elephant that spun clouds. He was also a mount of Lord Indra himself. At the realization, Aru felt Vajra squeeze warmly around her wrist. This was the best fatherly pat on the back she could have hoped for.
Airavata trumpeted loudly, then dove under Aru and soared back up to catch her in mid-fall. Aru felt her stomach swoop as she landed squarely on Airavata’s back. Mini, Brynne, Kara, Rudy, and Aiden tumbled on after her.
Airavata trumpeted in triumph, then wove between the stars, his giant white ears spreading out like wings. The moment the elephant sounded off, Aru felt her skin prickle all over. It was the same sensation she got whenever she crossed through portals in the Otherworld. Aru blinked, and it was as if they had entered another dimension. Instead of the darkness of Otherworld space, they were now soaring across a dusky evening sky, and instead of endless stars, there was a vast, dark ocean beneath them. Airavata’s shadow stretched over the waves. Salt and wind tangled in Aru’s hair, and she breathed deeply, feeling her lungs expanding.
“There’s Lanka!” said Mini, pointing.
Aru’s heart rate kicked up as the city drew into focus. Atop Airavata’s back, Kubera’s eye bounced happily. Had they done it? thought Aru cautiously. Had they really made it back in time and won Kubera’s armyandthe powerful astra?
Within moments, Airavata had crossed the ocean and made it to Lanka’s center. Aru tried to see if people were running around and screaming, but for all its flashing lights, the area seemed completelyempty.
Airavata alighted in Kubera’s private courtyard with a loudwhumpf!that rattled Aru’s teeth. Brynne hopped off first. Aru glanced at the palace. It looked just as it had when they left: a line of golden stairs leading to a platform with a single unbroken wall of gold. Doubts and worries flared inside Aru like fireworks. Had they come too late? Would Kubera let them in?
But as soon as Aru’s feet met the ground, the wall of gold instantly melted to reveal an archway waiting for them. In the distance, Aru thought she heard the echoes of clashing weapons. Her lungs constricted.
