It was gorgeous.
It was ridiculously useful.
Andit was comfortable.
All the Pandava outfits (including the one belonging to Aiden, who preferred to call himself “Pandava adjacent”) were flame-retardant and decorated with small enchanted mirrors that refracted light and turned the wearer invisible. Nikita had even charmed the threads to disguise the Pandavas’ voices as well.
“You’re beautiful, Aru,” said her mom, smiling at her in the floor-length mirror’s reflection.
Aru didn’t really believe her, but she smiled anyway. All last evening, they hadn’t spoken about the journey that lay ahead of Aru, or how this might be the last time the two of them would be together. Instead, Aru’s mom had ordered takeout, put onNational Treasure, and laughed when Aru recited every single line. It would’ve been a great day, if only Aru could’ve been sure there’d be more days to come.
“I wish I could go with you,” said Krithika now.
Aru hugged her tight, once again feeling how thin her mom had become over the past few months while searching for the location of the labyrinth. “You just got back, Mom. I need you to stay here. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
Krithika sighed and rubbed Aru’s back. “I’ll keep watch. I’ll be waiting for you, Aru, and if by some chance you see Kara…Well, maybe one day there will be time to explain.”
When Aru thought of Kara’s crumpled expression and the pain on Krithika’s face, all she felt was a deep sorrow. The Sleeper had twisted the truth. He’d made it seem like Krithika hadn’t wanted Kara, and now what should’ve been a whole family was broken.
“What will you do?” Krithika asked.
Aru stayed silent. In a way, the plan was simple: Get their weapons back. Stop the Sleeper from stealing the nectar of immortality. And then the Pandavas were to do what they had been trained for from the very start:
End the war.
Which meant the Sleeper had to be stopped. The facts that he was her dad, that he had loved her, that her own half sister was on his side, and that others who fought on his behalf were deserving of pity…they changed nothing.
“Try my best not to disappoint the universe?” offered Aru.
“Oh,beti,” said Krithika. “It’s like they say in the Gita, ‘It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else’s life with perfection.’ You understand?”
Aru blinked.No?Sometimes she thought her brain involuntarily glazed over whenever her mom went down one of her philosophical roads. Krithika Shah loved quoting from the holy scripture of the Gita, but Aru only understood maybe aquarterof what she meant.
“Good advice?” she tried.
Her mom laughed. “What I mean is…be true to yourself.”
Aru set her jaw. Since when had that worked out for her? Aru’s instincts always seemed to be wrong. Her mom was just saying things to make her feel better. They both knew that her options were either to give up or fight back once and for all, and there was only one choice to make.
At that moment, the doorbell went off. Krithika released her. She swiped at her eyes, and Aru could’ve sworn she’d seen tears there.
When Aru went downstairs to open the door, her stomach flipped. Aiden was standing on her doorstep. His camera, Shadowfax, and his dark backpack were slung over his shoulders. He was wearing a black kurta with the sleeves rolled up around his forearms. His dark hair fell over his eyes, and the sun was doing that annoying thing where it seemed to illuminate only him. Aru hesitated, unsure of what to say.
But it was Aiden who spoke first. “Did you tell anyone?”
Aru felt like she’d been thrown into cold water. “About what?”
“About the…” He trailed off, glancing at the floor.
“The kiss?” She crossed her arms. “No.”
Was it her imagination or did his shoulders fall just a little bit?
“Oh,” he said. “Good.”
Good?!thought Aru. She felt like someone had taken a cheese grater to her soul.Good. That meant he didn’t want anyone to know…because it had been a mistake.
Why had she ever thought otherwise?
