Aru Shah and the City of Gold - Roshani Chokshi Page 0,46

her face fell. “I don’t know where to go now.”

Aru was about to tell her that she didn’t have to leave, but Brynne and Mini beat her to it.

“Stay put,” said Brynne.

“You’re not going anywhere,” said Mini.

Kara looked up at them. “Really? You want me to stay?”

“Definitely,” said Aiden.

Aru tried to ignore how warm his tone sounded. Honestly, she didn’t blame him for liking Kara. She was kind and thoughtful. How could you not like someone like that?

“We’ll find you after, Kara,” said Brynne, heading to the steps.

Mini and Aiden looked back at Aru, but she motioned them forward. “You guys go ahead,” she said. “I’ll be right there. I just want to talk to Kara for a second.”

While the others climbed the stairs, Kara eyed Aru nervously. “If you want me to leave, I will,” she said. “I get why you might not trust me. I know that to you guys I’m still just the Sleeper’s daughter.”

Aru shoved her hands in her pockets. “Kara—”

“Before you say anything, just let me say this, okay?”

Aru nodded, unsure.

Kara took a deep breath. “I still get confused over who I really am,” she said. “When I was with Dad, I always tried to be the perfect daughter, because I didn’t want him to leave me behind. He spent a lot of time away, you know, and it was…hard. And now…Now I’m trying to act like he wasn’t really my dad just so that you guys don’t leave me behind. And honestly, all I want is…” Kara braced herself, and stood up straighter. “I don’t want to be left behind anymore. That’s all.”

Aru knew exactly what Kara meant. She’d felt that way growing up, whenever her mom went on a business trip, or during those times when they were together and her mom seemed a thousand miles away. Aru sometimes even felt that way now with Brynne, Mini, and Aiden. In the Tree of Wishes, she’d seen things they’d never understand, and it had changed her.

For Aru, being related to the Sleeper made her believe that no matter what she did, she was always going to be blamed first. She used to try pretending that she wasn’t his daughter or get defensive about it, but ever since Aru had met Kara, she’d had a new thought.

What if, instead, she said So what?

So what if he was her dad?

Kara had accepted the Sleeper as her father, but it didn’t change the fact that she kept trying to help the Pandavas.

“You’re not his only daughter, you know,” said Aru. “And we’re not going to leave you behind. We’ll figure it out as we go, okay? After all, we’re like—”

Aru caught herself right before she said the word family. It was too soon for that. Aru wondered if she’d hurt Kara’s feelings, but Kara didn’t seem sad or disappointed. She looked…hopeful.

“I gotta go,” said Aru, taking a step toward the stairs. “Listen, it’s going to be fine, okay?”

Kara shook her head but kept smiling. “I don’t want it to be fine. Fine comes from the Latin finis, which means end. This feels a lot more like a beginning.”

As soon as Aru walked through the doorway, a wave of magic hit her. One moment she was stepping into darkness, and the next she found herself in a grand theater with dim lanterns on the walls. Her friends were already seated in one of the several rows of red velvet seats that started about fifty feet in front of the huge golden stage. Theatrical spotlights swiveled over the closed saffron-colored curtains. Aru recognized the sound of classical Indian music—the humming of a sitar and the thudding cadence of a tabla—coming from the orchestra pit. Above her and to the sides were several golden balconies set beneath a ceiling painted to look like the night sky. Mongooses dressed in monocles and suits, ball gowns and feathered hats, chittered and chirped as they clambered up to their gallery seats.

“What is—” started Aru, when a golden mongoose wearing an usher’s cap popped up in front of her.

It hissed, holding a tiny paw to its mouth to indicate Silence! Next, it hiccuped out a ginormous ruby. It considered the gem for a moment, then led Aru to a seat in the front row before scuttling to the stage and slipping under the heavy fabric.

Aru! When did you get here? said Mini through the mind link.

Like, a second ago, I think. She tried to look at Mini only to find that her neck was