Aru Shah and the City of Gold - Roshani Chokshi Page 0,82
a favorite? Mini asked through the mind link. He’s kinda…um…indecisive.
Nope, thought Brynne. We’re screwed.
Indecisive was a nice way to put it. Aiden Acharya was the worst when it came to making up his mind about anything. He was the bane of every Atlanta ice-cream store, because he’d ask for a million samples, conclude he didn’t want ice cream anyway, and then feel guilty and hold up the line figuring how much to leave in the tip jar as an apology. And now, he was the one forced to choose between returning to Lanka or restoring Kara.
“My mom always says not to compare two women,” said Aiden.
We are going to die here, thought Aru.
“But,” said Aiden, drawing himself up, “I have to say that the goddess who shows mercy by letting us go and waking up Kara would be the more beautiful one to me.”
Aru thought he’d be looking at Kara at that moment, but instead his eyes went to hers. He held Aru’s gaze for a moment, the briefest smile on his face, before he turned back to the goddesses.
“There is a rare optimism in the way you see the world,” Saranyu said to Aiden.
Aru stared at him, shocked, before she replayed in her head the point of the third trial. The sky shall judge your sight. Aiden was definitely the most observant of all the Potatoes, and it turned out he saw more than she had imagined. His hand moved subtly to the camera at his side, and she remembered how he’d been watching her when they entered Lanka. I see you, Shah. She felt strangely warm. And not just because they were inside the House of the Sun.
“For that, you have my blessings for the girl,” said Saranyu. “Though remember, the cousin of bliss is regret. And there is much left for you to see.”
Aru frowned. What did that mean? But just then Saranyu opened her hand, and a burst of sunlight washed over Kara.
Kara stirred and Aru’s hope returned. The other Potatoes grinned and clapped.
“She will fully awaken once you leave this realm,” said Saranyu.
“And you will leave,” said Chhaya, smiling sharply. “It is too late in the day for you to reach Lanka on our husband’s rays, I’m afraid—he has already passed over the city. But you may exit this way.” She gestured to an unassuming door behind her. “Beware: It leads to a place littered with the past and all the things the sun hides away. Touch nothing and try not to look, for the secrets stored there belong to the sun alone. No mortals are meant to witness them, for they can drive one insane with curiosity. Some secrets are meant to stay hidden…others, as well you know, only fester. Particularly in families.”
Aru frowned. “What does that mean?”
Chhaya’s smile only sharpened. “What, you don’t know the secret that tore apart the Pandavas all those years ago? How strange that it should start with my husband, the very banisher of secrets.”
Aru shook her head. She knew the Pandavas hadn’t always gotten along, but that was true of any sibling relationship.
Saranyu waved her hand, and the semitransparent image of a heavily pregnant girl sprang up between them. The girl looked like she belonged to ancient times. She was richly dressed, decked out in gold, and seemed only a couple of years older than Aru.
“This is Kunti, mother of the three eldest Pandavas,” said Chhaya. “You see, when she was not much older than you, she was given a boon to invoke any god of her choice to bless her with a divine child…but she did not believe such a rare boon would work. And so she tested it on Surya.”
In the image, the girl’s hand went to her belly. Regret flashed across her face, and the image changed to show Kunti lowering a newborn into a basket placed along the bank of a muddy river.
“But of course, she was young and unwed and would have destroyed her family’s honor had she kept the child,” said Saranyu. “And so she floated him down the river…. That baby grew up to be Karna, the greatest foe of Arjuna and the beloved friend of the Pandavas’ greatest enemy. The Pandavas never knew he was their brother until the war started, and by then, their tragic fates were sealed.”
The image of Kunti and baby Karna disappeared, leaving Aru confused. Why bother showing them that story? Aru knew her