Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes (Pandava Quartet #3) - Roshani Chokshi Page 0,43

One moment it was there, the next—gone.

The river goddess tilted her head. “I shall ask the questions.”

Mini gulped audibly. She looked to Aru, who pointed helplessly at her throat.

She took my voice, Aru tried to express through their Pandava mind link, but even that seemed blocked in the presence of the goddess.

“You did not wish to drink my waters, little one?” asked Yamuna.

As the goddess’s cool voice washed over her, Aru’s desperate thirst finally vanished. Aru breathed a sigh of relief and shakily rose to stand. Just because she couldn’t speak didn’t mean she couldn’t support Mini.

“Um, no thank you?” squeaked Mini. “There’s a lot of bacteria that…Wait! I mean, I’m sure it’s not your fault and all, and I’m sorry I called you dirty—”

“The pollution that accumulates upon my surface has no bearing on my soul.”

Aru nodded to herself. Nice one. Maybe she’d use that excuse next time she didn’t feel like showering.

“I…” Mini clenched her hands into fists by her sides. “I think your soul would be a little polluted if you let our friends drown.”

BOLD, MINI! MAYBE TOO BOLD!

Aru tried to direct this thought at her sister as hard as she could, but it only resulted in a headache.

“You are the only one who was not tempted to break the rule,” said Yamuna. “Why is that?”

Mini blinked, shuffling a little in place. “The sign says not to? And I don’t want to die of an uncontrollable infectious disease?”

The river goddess paused to consider this, and then she bent closer, the rushing current of her sari slowing a little.

“I will ask you three questions, Daughter of Death,” said Yamuna. “Answer them to my satisfaction, and perhaps we might arrange the resurrection of your friends.”

“How ’bout asking Aru?” suggested Mini. “She’s a lot better at answering stuff than I am.”

The goddess shook her head. “I am asking you, child. Should you succeed, she may live, but she cannot speak for you.”

Aru was liking this less and less by the moment. Granted, Aru had almost broken the rule about drinking the river water, but how was that her fault if an enchantment had made her extra thirsty? Yeah, there’d been a sign, but who was going to follow—?

MINI, answered her brain.

Okay, fair, allowed Aru.

“I’ll answer your questions,” said Mini, lifting her chin.

“Very well, child. Here is my first query…. What is the heaviest weight to carry?”

What kind of question is that? thought Aru. First, it was super subjective. For example, Aru would say An elephant. But Brynne, who could turn into an elephant, might say A skyscraper. Second, how exactly would answering this question convince a goddess to bring their friends back? Maybe she was looking for summer interns to pluck all the plastic bags and water bottles out of her water….

Mini seemed to turn the question over in her head. She looked between Aru and the goddess, then said, “Guilt.”

Her answer coiled heavily inside Aru. How many times had her own shoulders felt bowed by the weight of knowing she’d let the Sleeper escape? It explained her fear, too, of carrying the living key. Aru didn’t like what it made her think, or rather, what it let her think. The key didn’t put those thoughts and doubts in her head. It had only brought out what was already there.

“What do you think is the greatest wonder, child?” Yamuna asked next.

Mini creased her brows in thought, skimming her fingers along her father’s Death Danda, which she clutched tightly in one hand.

“I know a thousand ways a person can die, but that doesn’t make me want to live any less,” she said quietly. “I think other people feel the same way…otherwise, how do we get through the day? That, I think, is a huge wonder.”

Again, Aru was shocked by her answer. If she had pom-poms, she’d cheer! Mini was wrong if she thought Aru was the only one good at answering stuff. Aru might find an answer quickly, but Mini spoke from the heart.

“Your answers please me, Daughter of Death. I have only one thing left to ask….”

Yamuna stepped back, and a wave pressed forward the limp bodies of Brynne, Aiden, and Rudy. They rotated slowly in the hem of her gown, dark water lapping at their noses, hair matted to their heads.

“Not all may leave my domain. You may only choose one. Who do you pick?”

Aru’s heart slammed into her throat.

Choose one?

But that meant…that meant they were—

“Only one can come back to life?” asked Mini, staring at her three friends.

The