Biju chirped loudly. A topaz fell to the ground, followed by an amethyst.
“Oh, right, right. Here.” Kubera snapped his fingers.
A golden eye, roughly the size of a tennis ball, appeared in front of Aru. It blinked, and its pupil roved up and narrowed, as if it didn’t care for what it saw.
“This will work like a portal and transport you to your next trial. Or maybe not, depending on how I feel,” said Kubera. “Just know that, whatever happens, I’ll be watching and judging. In each trial I give you, you must find and take my eye.” He grinned and tapped his eye patch. “And if you don’t, then”—the god shrugged—“I’ll just continue my negotiations with the Sleeper. But I have to say, theOoh, I’m a giant now!thing wasmostexciting. Subala was right—you are a clever little bunch.”
Subala…That wasBoo.
Aru froze.
“How did you talk to Boo?” demanded Brynne. “Did you trap him along with Hanuman and Urvashi?”
“Trap him?” asked Kubera, leaning out of his throne with a wide grin. “Why would I want to trap the Sleeper’s ambassador?”
Aru’s mouth went dry.Ambassador?
The god waved his hand through the air, and an image of Boo sitting on the armrest of Kubera’s throne flickered before them. Aru didn’t want to notice how thin his plumage looked or remember that he hated perching on metal because it was always too cold or too hot for his claws and that’s why he preferred Aru’s head.
“We have no quarrel with you, Lord of Wealth,”said Boo.“You cannot wield your army anyway, and we are not asking for it. We’re merely asking you to step aside.”
“Perhaps I cannot wield it, but what of the little demigods?”Kubera mused.“I must give them a chance, I suppose. It would be entertaining, at least. I do love a good show.”
Boo’s feathers ruffled slightly.“Don’t bother with them!”the pigeon said quickly.“In fact, if you see them, lock them up! Don’t be fooled by their cleverness. They’re nothing more than weak children, not worthy of anyone’s time or attention. Trust me, I tried educating them to no avail.”
Kubera waved his hand again, and the image faded. Aru tried to inhale and winced. It hurt to breathe.
Was this what it felt like to be heartbroken?
Aru had always thought “heartbreak” was something romantic and dramatic, like flinging herself against a balcony while wearing a gown.
No one had ever told her that heartbreak was a quiet unraveling inside, and so vast a feeling it was impossible to breathe through.
Ever since they’d found the true Tree of Wishes, Aru had known Boo had betrayed them. It was unforgivable, but at least…at least he had done it out of love. Or so she’d thought. Isn’t that what Sheela had said? That she would hate him for his love?
Those words didn’t mean anything now.
It was one thing for him to have betrayed them, but what she’d just seen in Kubera’s memory was something else entirely.
“Three days, Pandavas,” said the god, spinning a diamond over the tops of his fingers. “If I were you, I would go now.”
Biju glared at them, then hiccuped out a chunk of aquamarine stone.
“Well said, Biju,” said Kubera.
The next moment, Kubera, the mongoose, and the throne disappeared, leaving the Pandavas alone with the floating golden eye in the giant courtyard where they had first entered the palace. The sun was bright and warm, and it didn’t fit with how any of them felt. They were as shell-shocked as if the god had set off a bomb in front of them.
“He really did betray us,” said Brynne to Aru. “You were right.”
It should have felt like victory to Aru. Instead, she was cold and numb all over.
“I wish I wasn’t,” said Aru.
“But he—” started Mini. Her shoulders fell. “I don’t understand. How could he say those things about us? I can’t believe it.”
“Ido,” said Brynne, her voice rising. “He was a liar! He was on the Sleeper’s side the whole time!”
That couldn’t be true…could it?
