“Hanuman didwhat?” asked Brynne, jaw gaping.
There was no mistaking the horrified look on her face. Hanuman, after all, was her half brother.
“Many people were harmed,” said Queen Tara. “Some of Lanka’s citizens ran across the bridge to us and found sanctuary among my people.”
Brynne paused for a moment, shamefaced, but soon started eating again.
“The bridge remains in the human realm, but I destroyed it in the Otherworld,” said Tara. “I have said it before, and I shall say it again: I want nothing to do with the games of gods and men.”
Hey, that rhymed!thought Aru.
“What do you seek in Lanka anyway?” asked Queen Tara, waving her hand dismissively. “It is ruled by a king as hard and cold as his riches. He has nothing you could want.”
“Except an army,” said Aru.
Queen Tara eyed her shrewdly, then sighed. “So, it would seem there is another war brewing with the devas.”
Brynne frowned. “It could destroy—”
“War always destroys. That is the nature of it.”
Aru felt her cheeks turning hot again. She was tired of people refusing to listen. How many times did she have to hear someone tell her that what she cared about didn’t matter? Vajra, now a bracelet on her wrist, picked up on her annoyance and sparked angrily. Aru was about to speak out, but Kara beat her to it.
“My father’s army grows stronger by the day, and he’s planning to march on Lanka in less than a week,” she said quietly. “We have to do something.”
“Idon’t have to do anything,” Tara retorted. “I owe the world nothing after what it has stolen from me. I do enough already as queen. I have kept my people safe and well-fed. We do notneedthe Otherworld.”
Kara straightened her shoulders. In the shadowy room, it looked as if she’d gathered all the light to her. “Someone once told me that just because you can’t have the life you wanted, you shouldn’t give up and fade out of existence. That’s how we become living ghosts—by never moving on.”
Tara frowned and looked longingly at the empty cushion beside her, as if she wanted to reach for someone who wasn’t there anymore. The room fell silent as the vanara musicians finished their tune and prepared to strike up a new one. The queen glanced up, snapped her fingers, and the musicians leaped away, leaving her alone with Kara, Aiden, Brynne, Aru, and Mini.
“Who gave you that wisdom, child?” asked the queen.
Kara’s gaze darted to Aru before she said, “My father.”
A familiar knot of envy welled up inside Aru, but she shoved it aside.
“Even if I wished to help you, I cannot,” said Queen Tara. “I will take you to the seaside to show you what I mean. But first, let me caution you.” She scanned each of their faces in turn. “If you must fight someday, allow me to advise you about one thing: do not fight in anger.”
As she said this, her eyes settled on Aru, who looked away. Queen Tara didn’t know her. She didn’t know how it felt not knowing where her mom was, or that someone who’d felt like family to her had let her down in the worst way possible.
“The gods ruined my life,” said the queen. “So trust me when I say I know of anger. You see, the god king Rama killed my husband.”
Mini looked shocked.“What?”
Tara raised her hand and then swept it down through the air. As her hand moved, a mirror materialized before them. But instead of seeing her own reflection in it, Aru saw Queen Tara in the past, standing beside a handsome vanara wearing a crown and a luxurious suit of royal blue.
“My love, Vali,” the queen said sadly.
The image shifted, and Aru could see another vanara—one almost identical to King Vali—step into the picture.
“And my brother-in-law, Sugriva. They were twins, you see, and very close…. But they had a falling-out. Years ago, there was a terrible attack on the kingdom, and we all believed Vali had died. To keep me safe from harm, Sugriva assumed the throne and married me,” said Tara.
Aru made a face.You married his brother? Awkward.
Tara looked at her sharply. “Times were different then,” she said. “When my husband returned, he was furious. He did not believe that Sugriva had done it to protect me. In a blind rage, he exiled Sugriva and kept both his wife and me as further punishment. I knew it was wrong, but Vali would not listen toanyone. Very few dared to cross my husband. He was fierce in combat, for he had won a boon from Lord Brahma himself that whoever fought him would lose half their strength.”
In the mirror, the scene widened to show Sugriva walking through the forest with a small band of companions before coming upon three individuals. Aru recognized them immediately. There was Rama, the god king; his brother, Laxmana; and Hanuman.
