“Take me instead,” he said.
“What?” said Aru. “No way. I can’t let you do that.”
“I always knew this was going to happen,” said Aiden. “I’m not scared, Shah.”
His eyes skipped over Aru’s and met Brynne’s. Aru saw that Brynne looked horrified…but not surprised. Her mouth was a grim line, as if she’d been steeling herself for this moment.
Did you also know this would happen?Aru asked her through their mind link.
Aru could feel Brynne’s hesitation like a wall of debris slowly growing up between them. She lashed out, screaming through the barrier.DID YOU KNOW?!
Brynne and Mini winced at the same time. Aru didn’t apologize.
It’s the prophecy he heard,said Brynne.Remember? I wanted to say something, but it wasn’t my secret to tell. He made me promise not to.
The prophecy. Aru cast back in her mind for words that were uttered what felt like eons ago.
The girl you love will be the death of you.
But that would mean…
Aru’s mind stopped short of comprehension. She swung around to face Aiden. He looked achingly handsome. His emerald-green jacket stretched across his broadening shoulders. The violet light of the dreaming world tinted the tops of his cheekbones, the glimmer in his eyes, and the glossy curls of his hair. His apsara bloodline shone through as if he were partially made of starlight, and if he had looked at her face just then, Aiden would have seen all the things Aru refused to say.
But he wasn’t looking at her. His gaze was fixed on Nidra’s eyes in the sky.
“Do you understand what you are doing?”asked the goddess.
Aiden didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”
“You understand that my realm is its own form of death.”
Death. The word shuddered through Aru. Aiden didn’t flinch, but Aru watched—frozen in horror—as his jaw clenched. He nodded. “I know.”
Nidra blinked and then closed her eyes in assent.“You have always known, haven’t you?”
Aiden said nothing, but he looked straight at the goddess and didn’t move away.
Aru felt as if something inside her was pulling taut to the point of breaking. She kept trying to speak, but the words stuck in her throat.
He was sacrificing himself for her.
“You understand that you will not be returned to the waking world if there is no world to wake up to.”
“I understand.”
“What does that mean?” asked Brynne, frantic. “He’s going to die?”
Beside her, Mini and Rudy looked stricken. Even Loose Teeth pawed at the ground, dismayed. Baby Boo made a soft, inquisitive chirp, and looked up at Aiden. The blue flame crest on his head wilted.
“What is the point of returning him if there is no chance of a world worth returning to?”asked Nidra.“Whether he dies or not depends on you, daughters of the gods, for it is your world to save, is it not? And if he does die, that in itself will be a blessing. To die in one’s sleep is the hope of all mortals. You should be thanking me.”
Thirty yards away, Kumbhakarna’s fingers curled. His hand flipped over and his palm pressed into the dreaming world as if it were a mattress he was pushing himself out of.
“You are running out of time. Make your choice now or be thrown from my world.”
The choice was an impossible one. Aru knew that she was the one who had to confront Kara and the Sleeper, but Aiden was…
Before Aru could protest, or Brynne could lunge forward, or Rudy could raise his hand, or Mini could plead for a different request, Aiden spoke.
