Aru Shah and the City of Gold - Roshani Chokshi Page 0,72

she couldn’t get the words out. He dropped her hand.

Normally, Vajra would be pulsing and sparking by now, without any encouragement from Aru. But her weapon seemed just as confused about the lotus dude as she was. Electricity spangled the air in short bursts, like an animal warily sniffing the air.

“Who are you?” demanded Aru.

“A guardian of sorts,” said the man.

Behind him, Kubera’s eye hovered just out of reach.

“A guardian?” asked Aiden, scowling. He pointed at the unconscious Kara floating in the air. “Who exactly were you guarding if this is what ends up happening?”

“I am the guardian of revenge and regret, two sides of a single coin.”

Rage flashed through Aru. “Did you do this to her?”

“I did nothing,” said the man. “It was you—or, at least, an aspect of you—that let her get hurt. There are always innocent casualties when it comes to vengeance.”

“Can you…Can you fix her?” asked Mini.

“I’m afraid not, though I can assure you that she is in no pain,” he said. “Revenge is a dark blade, and as with any dark wound, only light can fix it.”

Huh? thought Aru.

“What kind of light?” asked Mini thoughtfully. “They’ve done studies about wavelengths and using visible red light as an anti-inflammatory measure by working on mitochondria—”

Brynne elbowed Mini, who stopped talking.

But the man looked confused. “Mitochondria?” he asked.

“It’s the powerhouse of the cell,” said Aru.

That was about the only thing she remembered from science.

“I do not know whether this…Lord Mitochondria can help you,” said the man uncertainly. “All I know is that light can heal. My only role in this exercise was to test you, as I have done.”

“Lord Kubera wanted to see what we would do if we got attacked by doppelgängers?” asked Brynne. “I thought the whole thing was about the ‘sea testing our might’?”

“And it did,” said the man, touching the blue lotus pinned to the front of his jacket. “Each petal of this flower was carved from the depths of the sea. The sea tested you as you fought against the greatest enemy you would ever face…and the sea watched you win.”

Their greatest enemy, thought Aru. Not the Sleeper. Not the horde of demons…Just themselves. Aru waited for him to hand over Kubera’s eye, but he didn’t.

“So…if we won, why won’t you give us the eye?”

“Because I do not think you truly understand what the Lord of Wealth wished you to know, children of the gods. If you are willing, there is a tale I would tell you.”

Aru looked to her sisters.

We’re running out of time! said Brynne.

But what if this is part of the test? sent back Aru.

When Brynne could do nothing but grumble, Aru turned to the man. “Tell us.”

“Very well,” said the princely-looking man, bowing his head. “My name is Shikhandi, and I was born to bring about the death of another.”

When Aru closed her eyes, images bloomed.

She saw an ancient kingdom overlooking a vast river, and three princesses walking hand in hand through a garden. Shikhandi’s voice echoed through the image, freezing it in place so it looked like a painting.

“In one of my lives, I was born Amba, Princess of the Kingdom of Kashi,” said Shikhandi. “I was betrothed to the son of a neighboring king, and I thought…I thought I would be happy.”

The images now blurred through Aru’s head.

She watched as the three princesses struggled to break free of a man’s grip, but he was too strong, and before long he had secured them all on a golden chariot. The horse-drawn vehicle sped through the dusty terrain of a desert kingdom before arriving at a new palace surrounded by mango and guava trees. Once the three princesses were taken inside, a handsome young king with light brown skin and coffee-dark eyes bowed to them in greeting.

“I am in need of wives,” he said.

“Hold up!” said Brynne loudly.

Aru’s eyes shot open, and the vision of the palace vanished, replaced with the concrete walls of the chamber beneath the sea.

“So this dude’s version of a proposal was straight up kidnapping?” demanded Brynne.

“Is that no longer a courtship practice in your lands?” asked Shikhandi mildly.

“Depends on how much you like prison,” said Aiden.

“But…who kidnapped you and your sisters?” asked Aru.

“Bhishma,” said Shikhandi softly. It looked like even saying the person’s name felt like a knife being wrenched into him.

Aru knew that name. “Wasn’t Bhishma a powerful prince who swore he’d never get married?”

Shikhandi nodded. “A fateful decision, in my case…. My sisters, however, found happiness. They accepted the king’s hand in