“You just said ‘And in the darkness bind them’?” said Agni, frowning.
“SO, ANYWAY…” said Brynne loudly. “All we have to do is reunite the three pieces and the jewel will work, right? And that way we’ll be able to get into the labyrinthandwin back the gods’ favor?”
“That’s assuming we canfindthe pieces,” said Aiden.
Agni flicked his wrist. A small flame hovered above his palm. “Take this. It’ll act as your ticket. Merely say where you wish to be.”
Aiden braced himself as Agni poured the flame into his hands, but it didn’t seem to hurt. Aiden’s shoulders loosened. The flame crystallized into a ruby and he slipped the fire-red stone into the pocket of his hoodie. After that he gingerly swung his backpack to the front, unzipped it slowly, and peered inside. Aru rolled her eyes. Aiden was acting like his backpack was a treasure chest.
You’re notthatgreat, thought Aru.
“Where does King Vasuki live?” asked Brynne.
“Where does henotlive?” returned Agni. “He is the lord of all the naga folk. He is as much in their blood as he is in their land.”
Well, that’s helpful, thought Aru.
Aiden looked like he’d bitten down on a lemon peel. “Pretty sure I know who can help us find him.”
Mini’s eyes dimmed. “Rudy?”
Aru thought she would’ve been excited, but Mini looked as if she’d forgotten her hand sanitizer.
“Well, heisa naga prince. I think King Vasuki might be one of his great-grandfathers…” said Aiden. “Plus, Rudy said he’d be standing by to help us whenever we need it.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” asked Brynne, clapping. “We’ve got a third of the jewel, eight days to go, and a clear directive. Let’s do this.”
Um, aren’t we forgetting something?said Mini through their mind link.
“Oops,” said Brynne.
The Pandavas knelt and pressed their foreheads to the ground before Agni, then put their hands together in prayer andpranama.
“Go with my blessings, Pandavas,” said the god of fire. “But before you do, let me offer one last piece of wisdom. There is more than one kind of darkness, and none is darker than doubt, for the light required to illuminate it belongs not to a jewel or a flame, but your very soul.”
Aru felt his words lasering in on the fears she had buried deep in her mind. Ever since Kara had destroyed their weapons, Aru’s biggest worry had been what would happen if they didn’t get them back. All the people they loved would be doomed…All the progress they had made would have been for nothing.
Lurking beneath that was a quieter dread of what would happen if theydidwin their weapons back. Then they would have no choice but to fight. Not against faceless, twisted enemies, but people they knew—people they’d cared for, in a way. Aru still felt haunted by Kara’s heartbroken expression when she’d destroyed the Pandavas’ weapons. And, no matter how much she wished she didn’t see it, Aru remembered how the Sleeper had looked at her and her mom—not with hate, but withlove.
I promised that, if I had to, I would break the world in half to make our family whole and happy,he’d said.I intend to keep that promise.
“And what will you do when you have your weapons?” asked Agni.
Aru opened her mouth, but Brynne answered first.
“What we’re supposed to do,” she said firmly. “We’ll make sure the Sleeper doesn’t get hold of the nectar of immortality.”
“And then?”
Brynne’s face contorted into a mask of fury. She punched her fist into her palm, her smile almost vicious. “And then we’ll crush him and his army once and for all.”
Aru flinched. She was glad she was standing behind Brynne and Mini so that her sisters couldn’t see her face. What would they think of all the chaos inside her? She knew Brynne was right, but whenever she tried to picture herself standing on the battlefield, she felt paralyzed.
Could I do it?wondered Aru. She had two paths before her—destroy or be destroyed—and she couldn’t stomach the thought of taking either one.
All the weapons in the world cannot help you if you do not know what you’ll do with them, said Agni.What will you do, Aru Shah?
Aru looked up sharply. The god of fire’s lips had not moved at all. He had spoken directly into her thoughts.
