Aru flipped the coin between her fingers, weighing a new idea in her head. “Mom? Can you talk to Sheela and Nikita’s parents? The twins may be able to help us.”
“Of course,” said Krithika. “But the girls are still too young to have inherited a godly weapon, so they won’t be able to open the boundary either.”
“But they still have their Pandava powers,” said Mini.
Brynne looked like she was chewing on the inside of her cheek. Like Mini and Aru, she had lost her control of wind, her element. But she was part asura, which meant she could still shape-shift. The only problem was that she couldn’t turn into anything big anymore.
Brynne shook her head. “So what? It’s not like we can make the twins fight an entire battle on their own.”
“I know,” said Aru. “But we need a prophecy. Something that will let us get around in the Otherworld and look for Agni without anyone bothering us for the next few days.”
Brynne kicked at a bottle cap on the sidewalk. “Right. We’ll just pop over to a convenience store and pick a prophecy off the shelf.”
Aru ignored her soul sister’s tone. She knew Brynne was hurting—theyallwere—but Brynne was taking it even harder than Aru expected. A small part of Aru felt responsible for this whole mess.
On the drive over to Lullwater Park, she kept replaying all the things she could have done differently. She should have worded her answer better when the god of treasures, Kubera, had asked her to decide who could wield the Nairrata army. She should have stopped the Sleeper the first time she’d had the chance. She should have confronted her mom about the truth ages ago.
But it was too late for all that.
Aru squared her shoulders and frowned at the darkening sky overhead before she faced her mom and her sisters. “I never said it had to be arealprophecy.”
One hour later, Aru found herself seated on a barstool at a kitchen counter that seemed to offer everythingbutfood. There was a rotating shelf containing various multivitamins, a deadly-looking blender, jars of green powder, a whiteboard listing the multiple health benefits of fruits and vegetables, and a massive stack of books with titles likeParenting a ProdigyandUnlock the Secrets to Ivy League School Admission.
Across from her, Brynne slammed the fridge closed with such force that the magnets on the door fell off and papers on the counter were blown on the floor.
“Careful!” said Mini, bending to pick up a bright red card with golden script on it. “Nothing can look out of place or my parents will be suspicious when they get back home.”
Mini’s parents and Brynne’s uncles, Gunky and Funky, had gone on a Valentine’s Day cruise and wouldn’t be back for another four days. Even Mini’s brother had been dragged along, though Mini had refused to go because it was so close to Aru’s birthday. When Mini’s family heard about the Sleeper’s attack, they’d almost turned around, but Mini had convinced them otherwise. Besides, it was safer for the Pandavas’ families to be as far away as possible.
Brynne slouched on the stool beside Aru. “Mini, how come your parents havenoice cream but, like, ten different kinds ofplant-based muffins?”
“They’re health conscious,” said Mini defensively.
“They’re deranged,” muttered Brynne under her breath.
Aru bit back a laugh. She liked Dr. and Mrs. Kapoor-Mercado-Lopez, but they were a little…intense. Much like their daughter. Once, the Potatoes had been tricked into joining a horror-movie night at Mini’s place. It was definitely horrific. But that was mostly because the movie was a documentary on diseases and viruses that could be contracted by kissing and other “activities of an age-appropriate nature.”
Mini had henceforth been banned from hosting movie night.
“I don’t know why Ammamma bolted so fast when we arrived,” said Brynne. “I thought he’d want to see the twins once they get here. Maybe he got tired of babysitting? BBisa handful, and Rudy isn’t around to help.” The naga prince had been summoned home by his family but was waiting to help the Potatoes at a moment’s notice.
Aru looked down at her lap, where BB was snuggled in a slowly charring sweater inside an oval baking pan. This was the closest they could get to a nest without setting something on fire. BB snoozed happily, puffs of smoke curling from his burning blue crest.
So smol! So deadly!thought Aru, resisting the urge to pat him.
“Maybe…” said Mini. “Aiden just seemsofflately. What do you think, Aru?”
There was a knowing sharpness to Mini’s voice. Aru faltered. In the midst of everything that had happened, she hadn’t had a second to tell her sisters aboutthe kiss. But she didn’t know what to say now. Aiden was acting really weird. He’d barely said a word to her. What if it had been a total accident? What if he’d tripped and she hadn’t noticed and it just kind of…happened?
Aru was spared from answering by the suddensquawkof the cuckoo clock on the wall. As it chimed loudly, the wall cracked down the middle, revealing an enchanted entryway. Only the Pandavas had direct access to one another in emergencies. (Although Brynne had a very different definition ofemergency. Once, Aru woke up to Brynne rifling through the museum apartment’s kitchen for some sugar.) Through the portal, Aru could see the interior of a warm living room. Family photos lined the back wall. Although she couldn’t see who was speaking, she knew it was her mom talking to Mr. and Mrs. Jagan.
“—promise they’ll be safe and go to sleep on time.”
Krithika poked her head through the portal. “Hear that, girls? One hour is all you get. The Jagans were just about to go to sleep.”
“One hour,” Aru repeated.
Her mom nodded. “I’ll stay with the Jagans until you’re done.”
