Kubera stopped in mid-yawn. A shrewd look crept into his gaze. With a sigh, he removed the white-gold necklace from around his throat and held it out in front of them.
“As you so desire,” he grumbled. “But I don’t envy you the price of having to wear such a powerful thing. In fact, conveniently forgetting about that part of the bargain was my gift to you.”
According to Kara, this item was capable of destroying the weapons of the gods. Aru hadn’t forgotten what had happened when they’d said the weapon’s full name aloud. It had been like watching the wind, sky, and earth tremble with fear. But it didn’tlookparticularly scary. It was nothing more than a thumbnail-size piece of gold hanging from a thin gold chain.
“Take it,” said Kubera, offering it to Aru.
She extended her hand. The moment the necklace dropped into her palm, Aru felt an instanthollowingsensation. It was strong, and yet it was the exact opposite of power. Whereas power amplified, the astra erased. It was the kind of negative power that could strip a stately leafy oak into a twig in a manner of seconds. Vajra spooked, transforming from a bracelet to a pure electrical charge that raced up her arms and neck. Aru almost dropped the astra necklace onto the ground.
“Careful, careful!” chided Kubera. “It’s terrible, isn’t it? I tried to make it, I don’t know, less horrible. Sorta like ‘deadly, but make it fashion,’ though it still feels rather…deadly and, if I’m being quite honest, it’snotvery fashionable. Very early 2000s. I hate it.”
“We have towearit?” asked Aru, holding the weapon at arm’s length.
“Like jewelry!” said Kubera brightly.
Aru shuddered. This thing wasn’t a necklace—it was a noose.
“It’s safest when worn on one’s person, yes. After the initial shock, it’s not so bad,” said Kubera. “But you may take turns with it.”
“Like a Horcrux…” Rudy whispered under his breath. “Why do we always end up with Horcruxes?”
“No one’s askingyouto wear it,” said Aiden.
“Oh, thank gods,” said Rudy, letting out a breath. “That chain would clash with all my outfits.”
“Who wants to go first?” asked Aru.
At the same time, Mini hollered, “NOSE GOES!”
Brynne and Mini clapped their hands over their noses. Aru scowled, then put the chain around her neck. When the golden shard of the astra hit her skin, she felt like she’d been thrown into a snowbank. A minute later, though, the feeling passed.
“Uncomfortable, yes,” said Kubera. “But a necessary precaution. Now all you must do is declare those who are allowed to take it from you. No one else will be able to.”
“But…But if that’s true, then how could the Sleeper have taken it from you?” asked Aru.
Kubera sighed. “Through a loophole. Ages ago, only a few of the gods could remember the weapon’s true name, and we did not know who might need it again and why. So we decided that only those gods who knew the weapon’s full name could ask for it. But we also allowed for some discretion on the gods’ part so it wouldn’t be denied from worthy mortal heroes.”
“Or heroines,” said Aru.
“Orheroines,” conceded Kubera. “Youwere the first people to ask for the weapon by the correct name in, oh, I don’t know, three thousand years? Give or take? You reached me before the Sleeper did, and I have deemed you worthy of wielding it. So now it’s your turn. Speak now, Pandava.”
“Uh,” said Aru, panicking for a second.
She definitely didn’t want the Sleeper to take it. Or the gods. Or demons. Or, honestly, anyone who wasn’t—
“No one except another Pandava sister can take the astra from me,” said Aru, glancing at Brynne and Mini.
They bowed their heads. Beside Aru, Kara nodded encouragingly. But when Aru looked at Kubera, he closed his eye and frowned for a moment. Annoyance prickled at Aru. Why did he seem regretful suddenly? Had she said something wrong?
“Very well,” he said. “On to our next, and last, order of business. Biju?”
The mongoose, who had been greedily—and somewhat smugly—eating all the broken samosas in front of Brynne, looked up. It chirped, and a bright peridot gem clattered to the ground. Biju scampered up to Kubera’s throne, disappeared behind it, and then emerged a couple of moments later carrying something in its mouth. The object’s color was beautiful, like flames glimpsed through a ruby. But it was too round and smooth to be a precious stone. It looked a lot like…
“Is that an egg?” asked Mini.
“Yes,” said Kubera. “Biju was most excited upon finding it. Mongooses love eggs, you know. I myself can’tstandthe texture. But Biju brought it to me when he figured out what it was. Or rather,whoit is.”
The animal laid the deep red egg on the ground before Mini.
