Aru crossed her arms. “I’m waiting.”
“No…”
“Three, two—”
Brynne hissed something under her breath and then, in a flash of blue light, transformed into a blue guinea pig.
“Oh my god, you’re so cute!” said Aru, reaching out to pet her.
Guinea Pig–Brynne nipped at her, then scuttled away.
For the next ten minutes, everything was a blur of activity. It took forever for the Pandavas, Aiden, and Kara to gather their things, because the vanaras kept grabbing the items and throwing them into the air, hooting gleefully all the while.
Aru picked up Tara’s looking glass and walked over to the queen. “Thank you,” she said, handing it back. “It had the answers after all.”
Hesitantly, the queen accepted the mirror. She held it at a distance and kept her eyes averted from it at first, but then Tara finally met her own gaze in its reflection. Her expression looked a little stilted, as if she was out of practice. Slowly, her face cracked into a smile.
“One of the things I miss most about my Vali was his wit,” she said, turning the mirror slightly. “I see now that he intended this to hold the answer both to my grief and to our isolation.” She laughed a little.
“I’ve looked to the past to remember happiness for so many years that I’d forgotten how to look to the future to find happiness anew.” Queen Tara bowed her head slightly. “You have given us a great blessing. Please accept our gifts in return, for your journey ahead.”
She put down the mirror and waved both arms. Two vanaras burst through the crowd, leaping forward with baskets full of fruit.
“Ooh!” said Brynne. “Snacks for the road!”
Tara smiled. “I have one last gift to bestow upon you, Aru Shah, daughter of Indra. For your cleverness, I make you an honorary vanara.”
“Really?”asked Aru. “What does that mean? Can I shape-shift into a monkey?” Take that, every monkey bar in the playground she’d ever fallen off. Ha!
“No.”
“Oh.”
“But whenever you have need of me or my people, we will honor your call,” said Queen Tara, drawing herself up. “Kubera’s Nairrata army may be mighty to behold, but do not forget thatweonce made Lanka cower.”
Aru wasn’t sure what to do…so she bowed. And that seemed to be the right thing, because the queen smiled warmly.
“Sneaky saves the day again,” said Brynne, clapping Aru on the back.
Aru went sprawling on the sand. Brynne grabbed her by her hoodie and yanked her upright. “Ow!” said Aru. “Easy…”
Together, they started piling up the baskets. Mini stayed by the waterline, using her danda to mold something that looked like a canoe made of mirrors.
“Aru?”
She turned to find Kara standing beside her. The other girl looked a little guilty.
“I should’ve given you a chance yesterday,” she said.
Aru shrugged. “Kinda like how I gave you a chance with the mongoose statues?”
Kara looked relieved. “Clean slate?”
“Sorta dented, a bit scuffed…but yeah, clean slate.”
Kara smiled in relief and then headed toward Brynne and Mini.
“Hurry up, Ammamma!” hollered Brynne.
