Aru Shah and the City of Gold - Roshani Chokshi Page 0,13
Aiden bent down, picking up the book that had fallen off her lap. He turned it over, a soft smile growing on his face.
“A book of Emily Dickinson poems?” he asked, handing it back to her.
Kara flushed. “Her work has always made me feel…less alone.”
Aiden’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, and his gaze lingered on Kara. As Aru watched, something painful nudged at her heart.
“Okay, okay, this isn’t book-club time,” growled Brynne. “What do you really want?”
“I want to help—” Kara started.
“Why?” demanded Brynne.
Mini frowned. “Easy, Bee…”
“Why do you want to help us when Aru says that the Sleeper rescued you? You owe him, and he’s your dad, so you probably—”
“Love him?” finished Kara quietly. “Yes, of course I love my dad.” Kara looked at them, lifting her chin. “I believe he can be both a good dad and a bad person. I can want to stop the evil things he might do and still want to protect him. Maybe, by helping you guys, I can stop him before he makes a big mistake…. I could give him a chance to change.”
Kara’s words knocked all the breath out of Aru’s lungs. There was an ease and confidence in the way she spoke, and instead of pity, Aru felt…envy. Kara was at peace with an ugly situation. But Aru? Aru was angry.
Sometimes she felt so angry that she wondered if holding it in was the only thing that kept her pinned to the ground. Otherwise, the force of all the unknowns in her life might pull her apart.
Aru tried not to think about what she couldn’t know, but the worries snapped at her anyway. Was her mom safe? Where was she? Why couldn’t Aru stop missing Boo? Why couldn’t she erase the memory of who the Sleeper had once been? Why couldn’t she un-see the smudged ink of his inscription in Where the Wild Things Are and un-know that it was proof he’d been racing to get back to her?
Mini sighed, and the sound of it shook Aru out of her thoughts.
“I think the only way to deal with this whole thing fairly is to put it to a vote,” said Mini decisively. “So…do we accept Kara’s help or no?”
“Leave me out of it,” said Aiden, holding up his hands. “This is between you guys.”
“I vote no,” said Brynne, crossing her arms.
Mini looked thoughtfully at Kara. “I vote…yes. We can’t choose our family, and we didn’t hold it against Rudy when his grandfather Takshaka had it out for us and blamed us for stealing the god of love’s arrow.”
Brynne scowled, then turned to Aru. “Well, Shah?”
Aru noticed that Aiden was watching her curiously.
“I vote yes,” said Aru. “I…I believe Kara.”
The moment Aru said it, she realized she truly meant it. Kara smiled shyly at her, but the moment was broken once more by Brynne, who threw up her hands.
“Okay, fine, we’ll accept your intel and help, but you can’t come with us,” said Brynne.
“I’m the one person outside my father’s army who knows why he’s marching on Lanka,” said Kara. “He’s after a specific weapon, and…and if you don’t let me come with you, I won’t tell you what it is. Then, even if you win Kubera’s trials and get the Nairrata army, you might miss the one thing he came there for.”
Aru realized Kara must have been awake for part of their earlier conversation. Maybe sneaky does run in the family, she thought.
“This weapon…” said Aiden. “It’s not the Nairrata itself?”
Kara shook her head, remaining tight-lipped.
“Are you seriously trying to manipulate us?” demanded Brynne.
“No, but I…I will stand up for myself,” said Kara. “I won’t be bullied.”
“No one is bullying you,” grumbled Brynne. “At least Rudy was somewhat useful. As a prince, he could get us into different places. But what can you do? If you don’t give us that information about the weapon, then bringing you with us is just going to get us killed. We need someone who can fight—”
“I can fight,” said Kara, standing up straight.
“Oh yeah?” said Brynne. “Prove it.”
A few minutes later, Kara and Brynne squared off in the wide museum lobby. Aiden had his camera ready. Mini kept tapping her fingers along the edge of a first-aid kit. Aru leaned against Greg, the giant stone elephant statue that served as a portal to the Otherworld (that is, when the Otherworld wasn’t in complete and total lockdown).
“Aru, you made popcorn?” scolded Mini. “That’s terrible!”
“But delicious,” said Aiden, helping himself to a buttery fistful.