Aru took a deep breath. The world stank of things left out to rot. Above, light shimmered and shifted. Rainbows arced from the armor of the Nairrata soldiers. Mini’s shield turned iridescent, like a beetle’s wing, deflecting arrows and spears, javelins and swords.
Aru staggered forward. She’d been running for so long that it wasn’t until the bright glow of the amrita wasrightin front of her that she finally stopped. The kalash was inches from her grasp. Weapons lay scattered all around it. Small flames sputtered on the ground and smoke choked the air.
Aru could hear her sisters battling in the background, making sure no one could touch her. But still, Aru felt so alone.
Now what?she thought.
Vajra sizzled, abruptly condensing to the size of a Ping-Pong ball. The sudden loss of light made Aru feel as if a spotlight had been turned off over her head. She breathed deeply.
The smell of the nectar was intoxicating. The liquid rippled in the great metal pot.
Grab it! Declare it a victory for the devas! For the Otherworld!shouted a corner of her mind.
Aru’s eyes fluttered shut. She reached for the pot when a loud clanging echoed nearby, followed by a rakshasa’s furious growl. Aru lurched back to see a scimitar barely a foot above her head…held by a hand she knew too well.
“Don’t worry,” said Aiden, beaming down at her. “I’ve got you, Shah.”
Aru’s jaw dropped. How had he…?
And did that mean…?
Aru cast back in her memory for Nidra’s warning.What is the point of returning him if there is no chance of a world worth returning to?
A world worth returning to. Thathadto mean they were on the verge of success….
“I’ll explain later,” said Aiden, smiling widely.
Near them, the rakshasa who had so silently stalked Aru wasn’t done. The demon had the head of an ibex, with cruelly pointed horns and flat black eyes. It roared, revealing ugly, flat teeth.
“Could you do the honors?” Aiden asked Aru, holding out his twin scimitars.
Aru touched Vajra to his weapons, and electricity happily spangled up the metal, casting light across Aiden’s face.
“I’ll take care of this guy, and any others,” Aiden said. “You take care of the nectar.”
Aiden leaped off into his battles, and despite her joy at seeing him returned, Aru felt a clawing sense of helplessness.
What am I going to do? What am I going to do? What am I going to do?
The time was now.
ARU, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?yelled Brynne through the mind link.
Aru didn’t so much as reach for the nectar of immortality ascollapseagainst it. The kalash was halfway sunk into the ground, the size of a witch’s cauldron, and when Aru tried to lift it, she fell, her shoulder thudding painfully against the god-smelted metal.
I just need a moment, she thought, sitting on the ground. She kept the thought all to herself, blocking it from the mental communication channels between her and her sisters.Just a second to myself. I need to catch my breath. I—
I was wondering when you’d ask, said a voice.
The war around her disappeared.
When Aru opened her eyes, she found herself sitting at the end of a formal dining table in a wing chair inside a kitchen. Well,manykitchens—at least fifteen—that had been stitched together so that it was like one large amphitheater…of kitchens. There were granite, marble, and maple countertops. Light fixtures ranging from Edison bulbs to bright spheres and modern-looking pendants. Wooden chairs, backless chairs, barstools, and velvet settees. All the differently shaped windows looked out into blankness, and there were lots—perhaps an excess—of subway tiles crawling up the walls that disappeared ten feet up to become a blurry, bright expanse of space.
“Do you like the renovations?! I have been watching lots of HGTV! I am going to grow a breakfast nook!”
Aru smiled and knew immediately where she was. The Palace of Illusions.
“Hello, palace,” she said.
