Page 114 of Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes

When the army was gone, the Sleeper wiped his hands together, causing giant waves to rise and break near their feet, cloaking them in sea foam. Then he looked straight at Aru. His hand went to the necklace of memories around his throat.

“I am deeply grateful for this gift, Aru,” he said. “For now I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I am on the right path. I willstilldo anything for my family. And thanks to this wonderfully diverting battle, I know exactly where to start.”

Start?thought Aru.Start what?And bydiverting, did he mean amusing, or distracting? Was he trying to divert the devas’ attention from something more important, like the location of the nectar of immortality? It was impossible that he had found it…. Right?

She didn’t have a chance to learn more, because, with a final crash of waves, the Sleeper disappeared. Aru coughed, spitting out seawater. She dragged her hand across her mouth. Her heart was pounding, and her ears were ringing with…

Applause?

As the sea mist cleared, and the Potatoes drew closer to one another, new shapes took form around them.

“Well,” said Aiden over the din of happy shouts and whistles, “now we know what happened to the entirety of Lanka….”

A massive amphitheater made of gold flickered into visibility around the Pandavas, the stands full of the cheering citizens of Lanka. In the air above it, several floating screens flared to life, showing what appeared to be live feeds from all around the Otherworld: people celebrating in the Night Bazaar, apsaras and yakshas dancing for joy in the jewel-studded corridors of the heavens, nagas and naginis reveling in halls of sapphire. Everyone chanted one word:

“PAN-DA-VAS! PAN-DA-VAS! PAN-DA-VAS!”

Aru had lost track of time. Everything seemed to blur together. The exploding floor, Boo’s body floating on top of the waves, the burst of light from Vajra, the Sleeper’s shadows, and now the thunderous applause from the whole population of Lanka. Her eyes burned from the screens flashing overhead, and her ears buzzed from people shouting their names.

“ARU! ARU, I’M YOUR NUMBER ONE FAN!” someone screamed from the stands.

“Ooh,” said Rudy, holding up his phone to show the Potatoes his screen. “Hashtag-IStandWithThePandavas is trending number one on Chatter!”

“What’s Chatter?” asked Aru.

She wasn’t actually curious. She just wanted to keep up the pretense of conversation so she wouldn’t be alone with her thoughts.

That day will come sooner than you think,the Sleeper had said.

“It’s like Twitter for the Otherworld,” said Aiden.

“What’s Twitter?” asked Rudy.

“A cesspit,” said Brynne darkly.

The amphitheater slid toward them slowly. Aru stumbled back nervously as the crowd began to rise from their seats, shouting the Pandavas’ names.

Aru looked around anxiously for an escape route. To her right, a hallway made of glass and gold sprouted from the ocean and grew like an enchanted vine, wending its way over the water and far away from the crowd that was now spilling out into the ocean, waving their phones and pens and paper.

Aru didn’t know who had commanded it—maybe Brynne?—but the Nairrata army instantly encircled the group, raising their golden weapons to ward off anyone who tried to chase them.

“This way!” Hanuman called, motioning them down the enchanted hall.

“Where does this lead?” asked Aiden.

“Back to Kubera’s palace,” said Urvashi, ushering them away from the crowds. “When we’re there, you can call off your army.”

My army, thought Aru, looking at the hulking metal soldiers. She noticed that the troops were now free of the shards that had clogged their joints. How ironic that gold was the one thing that could stop the Nairrata.

She didn’t want to meet up with Kubera again. The whole time, he’d known this was an arena. And he hadn’t lifted a finger to help them…or save Boo.

Aru put her hand in her jeans pocket and stroked the feather inside. It was the only thing she had left of the pigeon. Aru’s chest felt tight. It didn’t feel right to leave his body behind. Maybe after this meeting they could go back to the ocean and find it.

Brynne looked back over her shoulder at the crowd and her stunned expression melted into one of disgust. “So much has changed in, like,days,” she said. “Last week, they hated us.”

“Now we’re their saviors, and they’re our number one fans,” said Aiden.

The thought sat uncomfortably inside Aru. Everyone had been staring down at them, watching them struggle and fight…watching Boo die to save them.