Aru Shah and the City of Gold - Roshani Chokshi Page 0,108

the same moment, he reached for Kara’s neck. “You are not no one,” he said. “You just never learned your true identity, because the name was never spoken in your presence. So I shall say it now….”

Aru took another step closer, only for the Sleeper to snap his fingers at her. Shadows leaped out of the tile floor and wrapped around her wrists and ankles, rooting her in place. She thrashed, and the astra necklace swung out from the neckline of her dress. Aru hoped the Sleeper wouldn’t know what it was.

She was on the verge of summoning the Nairrata army with her mind when the Sleeper said, “You too bear the soul of a Pandava, Kara.”

Overhead, a hole opened in the roof the museum, the plaster, wood beams, and slate tiles slowly dissolving to reveal the sunny sky above. A ray of light struck Kara in the face. She glowed, radiant and lovely, as the beam lifted her into the air….

“You were Claimed the moment you were born, when a drop of sunlight fell into your hand and you clutched it tight. You are the reincarnation of Karna. You are the daughter of Surya, god of the sun.”

Aru felt light-headed in that second.

Kara was a demigod. And not just any demigod, but the reincarnation of Karna, the son born to Arjuna’s mother long before she was wed. The brother who spent his whole life battling the Pandavas, not knowing until it was too late that he was fighting his own family.

All the signs had been there, but somehow Aru hadn’t seen them. The way Kara glowed. The fact that her weapon, Sunny, was a drop of sunlight forged into a trident. How she’d felt like a true sister all this time.

Aru…

Aru looked up. The Sleeper’s spell was fading. Brynne and Mini were the first to struggle against their bindings. Their weapons glowed blue and violet. On the floor nearby, Aiden stirred weakly.

At that moment, Kara dropped back down to earth. The shadow ropes around her wrists had vanished. Her hazel eyes sheened gold as she looked between Aru, Krithika, and the Sleeper.

“I know your deepest desire, Kara,” said the Sleeper in a gentle, loving tone that Aru found very disturbing. “All you have ever wished for is a family to call your own. I can give you that, my daughter. Everything I’ve told you is true. I took you away and raised you as my own so I could be the one to guide you to your true potential. And now I have found the path that will lead us to what we both want: a new chance.”

“Don’t listen to him,” said Aru, straining toward Kara.

But Kara’s attention was fixed on the Sleeper. “What do you mean?” she asked softly.

“You possess the power of light, Kara,” said the Sleeper. “Only you can guide us through the darkness of the ever-moving labyrinth and lead us to the nectar of immortality. Then we can be a family. Me, you, Aru…even your mother. We can change time, so we never have to experience such pain again…. Do you trust me, child?”

Tears streamed down Kara’s face. The shadow-covered sphere holding everyone else at bay began to thin and grow translucent.

“Kara!” yelled Mini. “Don’t listen to him!”

“Kara, no,” said Aru.

“It’s the only way, daughter,” said the Sleeper solemnly. “Who will you trust? The family that did not want you, or the father who has chosen you?”

Krithika twitched on the ground, fighting her enchanted paralysis. Aru strained to move, to reach out her hand to Kara.

“We’ll deal with this together,” said Aru. “We’ve been through so much….”

Kara took a step toward her, and the Sleeper tsked softly.

“Your sister needs to learn what the word together means, Kara,” he said. “The Pandavas never saw you for who you were. Or perhaps they didn’t want to? They nearly left you behind and didn’t allow you to explore the full extent of your powers. And when you confided to this boy, where was Aru? Hiding behind a statue, watching you get humiliated…waiting to take what you thought might be yours—”

“That’s not true!” said Aru loudly. She faltered. Some of it was. “I mean, it wasn’t like that….”

Kara appeared wounded, like every one of the Sleeper’s accusations had stabbed her in the heart. Her eyes flitted to Aiden, who was pushing himself up from the ground. His gaze went straight to Aru.

“When have I ever lied to you, Kara?” asked the Sleeper. He put his hands on her shoulders.