to want to deal with us after we trashed their souvenir shop,” said Aru.
Kara wrapped her arms around herself. The wind tugged at her hair. “You don’t understand…. We have less than a week before Dad marches with his army, and I’ve seen the plans. He won’t stop until he’s found the nectar of immortality, and he’s getting closer every day. Going back is worth the risk—”
“But we’re so close!” said Aru, flinging her hand at the ocean and the faraway lights of Lanka. “This may be the only way to get there in time! We have to try again.”
Kara shot her a pitying look. “I know you’re clever, but do you really think you’re going to outsmart the ocean?”
“I didn’t say that,” said Aru, uncomfortable with the way everyone was staring at her. “I just don’t think that Brynne turning into a bird and getting punched out of the sky was the only solution.”
“Aru,” said Kara gently. Once more the sun seemed to treat her differently, like she was always in a spotlight. “How many times are you going to try the same thing and expect a different result? Because that’s the definition of insanity. At least that’s what they think Albert Einstein said. And maybe it would make sense to try your way, but not when we only have one day left….”
“Maybe we should vote on it,” said Aiden quietly.
“I vote that we leave,” said Kara, raising her hand.
“Well, I vote that we stay and give it one more try,” said Aru, crossing her arms. “Mini?”
“I…I think we should…leave,” said Mini apologetically. Kara looked triumphant, and Mini turned the slightest shade of red. “To be clear, the person I’m agreeing with is the queen. If she’s saying there’s no way to get from here to Lanka, I believe her.”
It was a tiny distinction, but it made Aru feel a little better. She believed that Queen Tara was telling the truth. Yet something seemed off. The queen looked deliberately untouched by time, and her kingdom—though safe—had turned strangely inward. Kara had recognized it on the spot and compared them to living ghosts. For all they knew, Tara wanted to stay a ghost. Maybe wanting to stay a ghost kept her from seeing a way out of here.
“I think Brynne would want to give it another shot, though,” said Mini. “So I’ll vote yes for her. That leaves you to break the tie, Wifey.”
Aiden looked at the ocean as if he’d rather throw himself into the waves than have this conversation. “Count me out of this vote.”
“Oh c’mon!” said Aru.
“I don’t think you’ll hurt anyone’s feelings by choosing a side,” Kara said to him, glancing pointedly at Aru.
Aiden looked from Aru to Kara, his eyes narrowing. “I don’t pick sides. Let me know what you guys end up doing.” He turned on his heel and started heading up the beach.
Aru, grumbling, ran after him. “Hey!” she called.
Aiden kept going.
“Why are you always walking away these days?” she yelled.
Aiden stopped in his tracks. He faced her slowly, the sea breeze tousling his hair. In the weeks she’d been gone, he’d gotten taller and broader, and he towered over her now. “What exactly do you think I’m walking away from, Shah?”
A thousand retorts flew through Aru’s head: From the monkeys joking about a wedding! From looking at me directly! From standing up for me! But instead she just glared at him. What could she say? He wasn’t walking away from anything except…her. If she pointed that out and he ended up telling her the truth—that she annoyed him or that he agreed with Kara—then what? She’d end up feeling even more miserable.
Aru decided to stay quiet.
“I’m not taking sides,” he said firmly. “Especially not with you.”
Stung, Aru stood there and watched him walk away. Again.
They ended up going back to the palace to sleep, and that night, Aru dreamed she was crossing a bridge made of snow, laced on either side with frost and icicles. She recognized it as the Bridge of Forgetting, although the guardian who had cursed her was nowhere in sight. Above Aru, the sky looked like the inside of an eggshell.
Dream perspective was strange. Even though she knew the bridge was dangerously high above the earth, she could see with perfect clarity the Tree of Wishes beneath her. She recognized its bright branches and the glow of its fruit, which looked like someone had decorated it with stars. Aru remembered what it was like to stand under that