“Send word to our allies,” said Aru. “Tell them where the battle is….They won’t be able to get in unless we can use the Sun Jewel to blast apart the barriers, but at least tell them…Tell them we’d be honored if they fought….”
She almost saidwith us, but only Brynne had her celestial weapon back. Which meant that only Brynne could get through to the labyrinth right now. And anyway, without Vajra and Dee Dee, Aru and Mini would be useless in a battle against the Sleeper and his army. There were only two days left, and the gods hadn’t seemed to test her at all. What if they thought they had a better chance of winning without her?
The thought left her nearly breathless.
“Aru?” asked Mini. “Is something wrong?”
When she looked at Mini, Aru felt a stab of shame. She knew how much Mini was hurting without her weapon, too, but at the same time, Aru was glad. She was glad she wasn’t the only one who was powerless.
It didn’t change the fact, though, that Aru didn’t know what she would do if she regained her powers. And she didn’t know how to tell her sisters that she was still torn about the war. But now wasn’t the right moment to share these worries.
Will there ever be a right time?whispered a tired voice in her skull.
“Aru?” said Mini, snapping her fingers in front of her face.
“Sorry,” said Aru, shaking herself. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
She glanced at the twins. Nikita looked indifferent, but Sheela’s head was tilted to the side, and Aru wondered if she could see straight through her.
“I wish you could come with us,” Aru said to the twins.
“Me too,” said Sheela. “But we have work to do. Dreams to visit.”
“Be careful, okay?” Nikita told Aru and Mini. “Once you’re inside, you’ll have to move fast. Dreams don’t last forever, and neither do the Halls. And in the Halls of Nidra not all the dreams are nice.”
Aru tumbled through the door and found herself in a realm she knew she’d never visited. And yet…
“Doesn’t it feel like we’ve been here before?” asked Mini.
“Yeah,” said Aru.
Nikita had said they’d all passed through the realm of sleep and the Halls of Nidra, and Aru wished she’d remembered it simply because it was a landscape of wonder, like a meadow from a fairy tale—full of dozing poppy flowers and pale, graceful trees. Daydreams roosted in the trees’ branches, and when they took flight in the forms of finches and sparrows, peacocks and ravens, Arufeltthe tiny moments of escape they carried in their beaks: floating in a pool, sudden superpowers, unexpected cake in the fridge.
“I like it here,” said Mini.
Rudy grunted. Of the three of them, he was the only one still bleary-eyed and disgruntled from waking up. “Where’s Aiden and Brynne?” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes and yawning.
“They should be here soon,” said Mini, looking over her shoulder.
The door still glowed faintly behind them. It hovered above the ground, which was gray and pebbled like a rocky beach. A few feet ahead, the surface changed, blurring into night-darkened clouds that rose and fell like gentle waves. A few children—dreamers—swam through the clouds with their eyes closed. Others bobbed in the waves, their brows furrowed in sleep. A couple of them opened their eyes in Nidra’s realm and giggled with delight before vanishing.
“Don’t you think they’ve been gone a long time?” asked Rudy nervously.
At that moment, the door shuddered, contracting for a moment before swinging open. Brynne and Aiden tumbled onto the ground.
“My tabla!” moaned Brynne, staring into the void.
The door, indifferent, slammed shut behind her.
“I know,” said Mini, glancing at her empty hands. “I lost the keyboard, too.”
Aiden winced, looking like he’d been violently shaken out of a dream. He blinked a few times before his eyes went wide. “Where’s my backpack?Did I lose it—”
“Calm down, Ammamma,” said Brynne. “It’s on your back. Like it’s supposed to be.”
Brynne tugged one of the straps and Aiden relaxed. He gingerly adjusted the pack, unzipping it and reaching inside to fuss with something.
“What’s in there, anyway?” asked Brynne, trying to peer into it.
