Page 18 of Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes

“Of what?” asked Aru.

Or who…?she wondered.

“Shiny things!” said Sheela in a singsong voice. “Scurrying stuff, and a man with a deep laugh.”

Did she mean the Sleeper?

Sheela’s eyes flashed silver as she recited:

You must remember to be polite

Even to things far out of your sight.

Not everything that glitters is gold….

The truth will lead to the Lanka road.

Choose poorly and you’ll find that there’s no way out,

And you’ll end up where no one can hear you shout.

A tendril of cold fear curled through Aru’s heart.

Aru jolted awake when the bus slammed on its brakes.

“Almost there,” said Mini from the seat in front of her.

Aru’s shoulder felt damp.

Gross, she thought,is the bus leaking?She looked at her shirt. Nope. It was drool.

“Ugh,” said Aru, pushing herself upright.

“Droolingagain?” Mini sighed and started rummaging through her backpack. “Don’t worry! I have wipes.”

Aru looked beyond Mini to Kara and Aiden’s row. Kara’s book was open on her lap, and Aiden was reading it over her shoulder. The afternoon sunshine illuminated them so perfectly it was like they weresupposedto be sitting together like that. Why didn’t the light ever do that toher? wondered Aru. She gazed out the window. At that exact moment, a fly splatted into it.

Great.

“You know, you really can’t trust any public surfaces,” continued Mini. “It could be hiding a thin layer of E. Coli or staphylococcus. But I also pack these because Aru drools a lot in her sleep and—”

“Thanks for the PSA,” said Aru, grabbing the wet cloth from her. “By the way, I saw the twins.”

“Twins?” asked Kara, looking up from her book.

“Our other Pandava sisters,” said Brynne.

Aru wondered if Kara could detect Brynne’s unspoken next words:Unlike you.

“I’ve seen them before,” said Kara. “How are they?”

Mini, Brynne, and Aru fell silent. Aru had told the group that the Sleeper had been spying on them, but to hear Kara confirm it so casually raised goose bumps on her arms.

Too late, Kara must have realized what she’d said, because she turned a violent red. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“They’re fine, no thanks to yourdad,” said Brynne coldly before turning to Aru. “Did Sheela see anything?”

Aru shot a sympathetic glance at Kara, but she was staring down at her lap and didn’t notice.