“I accept.”
The words thundered through the Halls of Nidra, and Aru knew in her bones that his offer had been accepted. The violet light slipped sideways, abandoning Aru and drifting toward Aiden. She wasn’t sure how she knew, but that same instinct told her that the moment he touched the light, he would vanish.
Forever, whispered a dark voice in her thoughts.
“Aru.”
She looked up, startled by the sound of her name.
“I can’t let you do this!” she said.
“It wasn’t your choice to make, though,” said Aiden, smiling sadly. “It was mine. You’ll find a way out of this, I know it. Watch BB for me, okay?”
Aiden set down his backpack and the firebird. BB nestled into the bag, cooing and chirping at Aiden.
Hot tears slid down Aru’s cheeks. “What if I can’t?”
“You will,” said Aiden. “You always do.”
The violet light turned brighter. It was suspended right next to Aiden now. He and Aru were less than a foot apart, but it might as well have been miles. The growing illumination threw the rest of the world into shadows, transforming Mini, Brynne, Rudy, and Nidra’s great, wide eyes into nothing more than blips of darkness.
“I lied, Aru,” said Aiden, reaching for her face. His fingers slipped into her hair, and he drew her closer. “I don’t regret anything.”
“Wait—” she tried to say, but the rest of her words were stopped by a kiss.
A first kiss…and now a last kiss? In some secret part of her heart, Aru held the hope that they would have a thousand more. She closed her eyes. It was only for a blink or two, but when she opened them a moment later, Aiden was gone.
Nidra’s silken, starry voice echoed in the sky.“No time for dreaming, Pandavas. Kumbhakarna is already rising.”
Yamini Kapoor-Mercado-Lopez was used to being scared.
While other people were trailed by their shadows, Mini was convinced that it was fear that followed her, constantly dogging her steps and whisperingAre you sure? Is this right? Is this safe?
Dimly, she heard Brynne’s heartbroken cry and she watched in shock as Aru sank to her knees, her face pale. She saw Rudy’s face crumple in grief. In the aftermath of Aiden’s disappearance, he had picked up his cousin’s backpack and now held the small firebird in the crook of his arm, supported by a fireproof blanket.
“But…But that wasn’t supposed to happen,” he said dully. He turned to Mini as if she knew all the answers. “Aiden’s coming back, right?Right?”
I don’t know, thought Mini, feeling hollow.
They should have been staring at Aru and Aiden in the aftermath of a kiss. They should have been breaking into awkward laughter. Brynne should have been rolling her eyes and saying something about how it wasabout timeand how any more pining would’ve ruined her appetite for good. Mini should have been trying not to tell them about the number of bacteria that lived in the human mouth.
Everything felt wrong.
Loose Teeth snorted and pushed Mini’s shoulder with her cold nose, her damp breath ruffling Mini’s hair. She was looking to Mini for direction. Rudy was, too.
“My stomach hurts, and my heart is doing this rhythm thing that might be cool as a bass beat, but it doesn’t feel so good,” said Rudy. His breaths were coming fast and shallow. “What’s happening to me?”
“You’re having a panic attack,” said Mini.
“How do I make it go away?” asked Rudy.
Before, Mini thought she knew the answer to that question. With her Death Danda in her hands and power flowing through her veins, fear couldn’t touch her. But all that had changed in an instant. Aru’s birthday party at the museum had turned into a battle, and the shadows Mini summoned began to pop and bubble. But much worse was the moment she realized Dee Dee was melting into the floor tiles and she was left scrabbling uselessly at the marble.
Without her weapon, her fear had returned with a vengeance. Maybe that was why it couldn’t take her by surprise anymore. After all, it was the condition in which she always existed.
So, when Kumbhakarna sat upright in the distance, Mini didn’t bat an eye. Neither did she shriek when the dream world around them shook and the stars trembled overhead. Mini was always braced for the worst. Thus, when the worst happened, time didn’t speed up for her…it slowed down.
“I SMELL STRANGERS,” said Kumbhakarna.
