Page 75 of Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes

Uttanka shook his head, shuddering.

“Very well,”the man said with a sigh.

The next moment, the man transformed. He had glowing dark skin and wore a crown that sparked with electricity. His eyes were the silver of storm clouds and he was bedecked in jewels that shone like miniature suns. On one palm he balanced a small golden pot. In the other hand he clutched a weapon that Aru recognized instantly:

A lightning bolt.

And not just any lightning bolt.

Vajra.

As Aru watched the screen, Vajra perked up. Tendrils of electricity snaked toward the image, like a dog curiously sniffing someone new at the park.Huh.Vajra dimmed and coiled back around Aru’s wrist as if saying,Meh. Looks fake.

Aru knew exactly who she was looking at: Indra, king of the gods, deity of thunder…and her soul father. She felt a terrible longing in that second and wished she could reach into the story to get his attention.Am I doing this right? Helloooo?

But the vision was nothing more than a piece of the past, and Indra did not turn his gaze toward her. Instead, he spoke to Uttanka, his voice at once rumbling, like thunder, and gentle, like the soft rain that coaxes flowers to open.

“You received a boon from Lord Krishna to find water whenever you needed it,”said Indra.“But he wanted to offer you something greater.”Indra raised the golden pot.“He wished to give you amrita, the nectar of the gods.”

Uttanka fell to his knees.“Immortality? I would’ve been…immortal?”

“I suggested that we first test you to determine whether you were worthy of such a gift. To find out whether you would choose to see beyond the forms that others show you, or whether superiority would blind you to another’s godhood.”

Uttanka looked shamefaced.

“You have failed, Uttanka.”

Aru winced.Failedwas a bit of an understatement. For example, she’d totally and completely bombed a Spanish final—it was hard juggling demigod duties with ordinary schoolwork—by writingDonde esta la biblioteca?instead of completing a chart of verb conjugations.Thatwas a fail. Being scolded by a god and finding out you lost out on the nectar of immortality? NOT THE SAME.

“But you may still draw upon Krishna’s boon,”continued Indra.“Wherever you go and whenever you wish, rain clouds shall follow you. They shall henceforth be known as Uttanka’s Clouds.”

The images disappeared and the cloud screen fell onto the rocky ground and dissolved into mist.

Before them, Uttanka shook his head. “I was sent here by Lord Kubera to test whether you were worthy enough to skip his second trial completely. He was torn between amusement and displeasure during your first trial.”

Aru’s breath caught.

“He wanted to know how you saw the world. Had you behaved as he’d hoped, he would have spared you the ocean trial,” said Uttanka. “But you were ashamed of my presence. You were embarrassed. You pitied me and showed me compassion, which was a good and true reaction, but you could not look me in the eye.”

Kara turned red. Aiden’s mouth was pressed into a tight line. Brynne averted her eyes even now. Aru forced herself to look at Uttanka, but shame coiled hot in her stomach.

“I say this not to humiliate you, for, as you saw, I made a similar mistake,” said Uttanka. “I wanted to teach you what I, too, had to learn the hard way.”

Where’s he going with this?Brynne asked via the mind link.Are we excused from the trial or not?

Aru was about to answer her when Uttanka continued.

“But there is one whom I must except from my observation.” At this, his eyes slid to Mini, and he smiled.

“How fitting that it was the Daughter of Death, the great leveler of mortals rich and poor, fair and hideous, old and young, who met my gaze,” said Uttanka. “You should be proud, daughter of the gods. It is only because of you that the Lord of Wealth did not call off your quest altogether. You possess true sight.”

Aru felt a burst of pride for her sister even as she herself wanted to shrink into the ground.

“Oh…” Mini pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. She shifted from foot to foot. “Well, my ophthalmologist said minus three eyesight isn’t very good, but—”

You’re doing that thing again, warned Brynne.It’s acompliment!Not aMini,-please-list-all-your-faults-ASAPrequest.

What she said, added Aru.