Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes (Pandava Quartet #3) - Roshani Chokshi Page 0,92

passed before she realized she’d never answered Rudy.

“I don’t hate it,” she said.

He wrinkled his nose and said loftily, “Well, if you find this place remotely interesting, wait till you see my father’s palaces. You’re welcome to visit, you know.”

A couple of paces in front of them, Mini slowed. It looked as though she had been about to gaze over her shoulder but changed her mind. Aru felt her face grow hot with guilt. She hadn’t asked for Rudy’s attention, and she didn’t want it if it meant hurting Mini in the slightest.

“I’ll ask Brynne and Mini if they wanna go,” said Aru, and then she picked up her pace to join her sisters.

As Aru left the boys behind, she heard Rudy say, “I really thought she’d hate this place.”

Aru couldn’t see Aiden’s expression when he answered, but she imagined him shrugging and instinctively fiddling with his camera when he said, “Then you don’t really know her.”

Nikita stopped in front of the doorway to the nursery, which was strung with thick strips of cloudy plastic. She held open the curtain, and Aru could see familiar rows of black shelving holding budding plants. Ceramic pots were stacked in one corner, and overhead, the lights buzzed on automatically. It smelled like wet dirt, and Aru suspected the humidity was making her hair frizz. But this place didn’t have the usual sheen of portals to the Otherworld.

“Do you think any of these plants are magical?” Aru asked Nikita.

Brynne squinted. “They look pretty ordinary to me.”

“Yeah,” said Mini, with a guilty glance at Nikita. “I don’t think this is where we’re supposed to be….”

Nikita threw up her hands. “Fine,” she said. “Enjoy your lack of faith.”

She flicked her braids over her shoulder once again and slipped into the nursery. It took a moment for the curtain to settle behind her, and when it did, Nikita was…gone.

“Where’d she go?” asked Mini.

Aru frowned, then went through the plastic. Again, no sense of magic. Just a mundane plant nursery in a typical Home Depot.

But when Aru took another step forward, she was drenched in a sudden downpour of magic. Like she was on one of those tube rides at a waterpark and had gone through an unexpected waterfall.

She spluttered loudly, shaking her head as if she could rid herself of the sensation.

Aru looked up, and her jaw dropped as she took in the new room. She was in the middle of a huge fancy greenhouse with a wide sign fluttering just above her head.

ARANYANI’S GARDEN SUPPLIES

FOR ALL YOUR MAGICAL LABYRINTH,

CRYPT, AND LAWN NEEDS

Nikita popped up beside her and said, “Told ya so.”

Shh! The Baby Is Sleeping!

The magical plant nursery shared some traits with the ordinary one. There were still rows of budding plants under fluorescent lights. There was still a concrete floor and the humid smell of piled leaves and muddy rainwater.

But that was where the similarities ended.

Along the shelves, Aru caught sight of a familiar green container of Miracle-Gro. Only this one sparkled, and when she looked closer, she saw that it read GROW MIRACLES! ADD A TOUCH OF WONDER TO YOUR GARDEN. Another one had been overturned and spread a gold puddle on the floor, which was sprouting unnatural objects, such as a small tree with coins for leaves, a weed with butterfly wings, and miniature topiary creatures. A beetle made of flower petals scuttled beneath an overturned ceramic pot.

Flowers of every size and shape grew from the lattice ceiling, crowding out the early-morning light. Aru had never heard growing things make sounds, but in the magical plant nursery there was a kind of music, high and bright, that conjured images of roots pushing through damp ground and newly opened blooms turning their faces to capture the sunshine.

Six towering moss-covered statues lined the back wall. They reminded Aru of mongooses, those weaselly creatures with clever paws and sleek bodies. Except the statues were the Hulked-out versions: their stone muscles bulged, and their jaws opened wide, revealing teeth so sharp Aru wondered if the wind got hurt just blowing past them. Though their stone eyes were unseeing, the statues gave off a sense of waiting, like a creature holding itself still while stalking prey.

“Those are forest yalis,” said Rudy nervously, glancing up at the statues. “Guardians of whatever belongs to the forest goddess, Aranyani.”

“Yalis?” echoed Aru. “Yeah, no thank you.”

“They’re not whispering to us, at least…” said Brynne, but even she looked wary.

Aiden yelped and stomped the floor, which made the rest of them crowd together