“Come on, Shah!” said Brynne from behind her now.
Aru looked over her shoulder. Aiden was holding out the flame-shaped ruby, Brynne and Mini on either side of him. Aru realized that she was standing alone and the god of fire was nowhere to be seen. Even the goat was gone.
Take it one step at a time, Shah, she told herself.
There was no point in panicking about what she would do in a fight until she was sure she couldgetto the fight. And right now, their only chance of catching up lay in the Sun Jewel.
Aru joined her sisters. For a moment, Mini’s eyes met hers over the glow of the flame, and concern flashed over her features. She looked as if she wanted to say something, but it was too late.
“Take us to Prince Rudra’s house in Naga-Loka,” said Aiden. “But not inside! Definitelyoutside…please.”
Heat burst around them. Aru squeezed her eyes shut as flames danced overhead and a powerful gust of wind shoved her through space. It hardly lasted a few seconds, but to Aru, it was like those agonizing minutes when you get into a hot car and have to wait for the air-conditioning to save you. When she could finally open her eyes, Aru saw the palatial underwater gardens of Rudy’s estate. Above, a shimmering bubble arced through the water, letting them both breathe and swim at the same time.
“This way,” said Aiden, gesturing to the huge front door covered in twisting coral and bright anemone.
Aru glanced at Mini. She looked crestfallen. Brynne didn’t seem to notice—she was running over potential military strategies with Aiden, who was barely listening.
“What’s up?” asked Aru, slowing down so that she and Mini were walking a little behind the others.
“Hmm?” said Mini, looking up at her. “Oh. It’s…Well, it’s not nothing.” She gave a little laugh. “Have you ever thought about who we’d be if we didn’t have our powers?”
“Slightly less awesome?” tried Aru, but it came out hollow.
“Some people don’t need powers to be great,” said Mini, as if to herself. “But I don’t think I’m one of them. Without Dee Dee, I’m just…me.”
“But youaregreat, Mini,” insisted Aru.
Mini stopped walking and faced Aru, staring her dead in the eye. “Would you put up with me and my anxious spewing about fatal statistics and deadly bacteria if I wasn’talsothe daughter of the god of death? Would we even be friends if the Pandava-thing inside us hadn’t woken up?”
Aru was stunned. She couldn’t picture existence without Mini, but then her thoughts turned to how different her life would’ve been if she’d never discovered who she really was. She might still be walking past the Hall of the Gods every afternoon, never knowing what—orwho—was waiting inside the lamp.
“See?” said Mini, taking a step back. “I knew it.”
“No, I was thinking about something else,” said Aru hurriedly. “Listen, if we weren’t immediately friends, then that would’ve been a big mistake.Huge.”
Mini almost smiled.
“I would’ve been struck by your awesomeness eventually,” Aru went on.
Mini didn’t seem convinced. Her brow furrowed. “Sorry. It wasn’t fair of me to ask you that. I know we’re all struggling with this….Maybe I need some space for a bit.” Without looking at Aru, Mini picked up her pace.
Now they were outside the doors of Rudy’s palace.
“Do we…knock?” asked Brynne. “Does this thing even have a doorknob?”
Abruptly, the coral-covered doors swung open. The light from inside the palace silhouetted a person who practically jumped at them.
“WHAT’S UP, POTATOES?” said Rudy. His gaze went straight to Mini, and Aru suspected that he purposely made his voice lower as he said, “’Sup, Mini.”
“Hi,” said Mini shyly.
“Rudy…what are you wearing?” asked Aiden.
Instead of his usual explosively colorful outfit, Rudy was wearing head-to-toe black and had slicked his hair to fall in a curtain in front of one of his eyes.
“Like it?” he asked.
“No,” said Aiden, followed by, “Is that a fake earring?”
