efore anyone could ask Opal a question or even say a quick good-bye to the Maruts, the crisis manager whispered something into the air and the Pandava crew was whisked into a cloud conference room. It was bright and airy, but completely without windows. A wide white oval table appeared in the middle of the space, encircled by seven cloud armchairs and a cushioned perch for Boo.

He fluttered over to it and, once settled there, grumbled, “I can’t believe Hanuman and Urvashi left without me.”

Opal didn’t bother to look at him as she took a seat and motioned for the others to follow suit. “What would they need you for?” she asked dismissively.

Aru almost stood up in anger, but Brynne and Mini caught her eye.

We can’t risk it, Mini said telepathically.

Aru hated that her sisters were right. They had messed up, and they had no choice but to wait and hear what Opal would say.

The crisis manager scanned their faces for the first time and stopped on the twins. “I’m not sure this conversation will be appropriate for infants to hear—”

“We’re ten,” protested Nikita, narrowing her eyes. “And we can help.”

Opal didn’t look convinced. “I’ll be the judge of that.”

Bright calligraphy stretched across the air, spelling out the phrases Sheela had uttered less than an hour ago:

The scorned powers are on the rise,

To claim their stolen immortal prize.

One sister shall turn out not to be true.

With a single choice, the world shall receive its due.

One treasure is false, and one treasure is lost,

But the tree at the heart is the only true cost.

No war can be won without finding that root;

No victory had without the yield of its fruit.

In five days, the treasure will bloom and fade,

And all that was won could soon be unmade.

“We know the first two lines refer to the Sleeper and his army,” said Opal. “The third is a little alarming…. An untrue sister?” She whistled. “Not the best image.”

Aru’s stomach twisted. The words felt like a taunt, and for a moment, all she saw was the Sleeper’s vision in which she turned her back on her family. She pushed the memory aside.

“As for the treasure part, Hanuman and Urvashi are investigating that with Kubera, the Lord of Wealth,” said Opal. “We think it’s a hint that something among his collection is false or missing. A powerful weapon, probably, that could alter the course of the war.” Opal leaned forward. “But do you know anything about this ‘tree at the heart’?”

All eyes went to Sheela, who blinked and shrugged.

“Maybe it’s a friendly tree?” she said, smiling. “That would be nice.”

No one else made a peep.

“Aaand that settles it,” Opal said to Sheela. “Thanks for your contribution, but I can’t imagine what more you have to offer. Time to go.”

Opal snapped her fingers, and the twins’ cloud chairs peeled of the ground and floated in the air.

“Ooh!” said Sheela. “Flying!”

“You can’t get rid of us!” said Nikita. “I’m not taking orders from someone in a glittering jumpsuit! It’s the most atrocious mix of sartorial nineties and an overpriced bath bomb.”

“Surely that’s too hasty, Opal!” wheedled Boo. “They’ve only just arrived! And they’re my charges—”

Brynne, Aru, Mini, and Aiden jumped to their feet, ready to grab the twins, but Opal’s magic was too quick. Two little seat belts unfolded from the sides of the twins’ cloud armchairs and buckled across their laps. Then a hole opened in the ground underneath them and their seats plummeted through.

“Don’t worry—you’ll be in good hands!” said Opal. Her gaze drifted to Aiden. “In fact…why don’t I send a babysitter, too? You can tell your mother all the things you saw, Aiden. It’s not like she can see it for herself.”

Aiden’s eyes widened. “Whoa, wait a second—”

Brynne snapped up her wind mace as Aiden’s chair rose. She whipped up a cyclone, blocking the chair from dropping through the hole. For a moment, Opal’s magic struggled against Brynne’s. But then Opal unzipped a portal in the wall, sucking in Aiden’s chair like a giant vacuum so that he zoomed backward and disappeared.

Brynne whirled on the apsara. Mini swung out her Death Danda, and the moment Aru opened her palm, Vajra lengthened to a glittering spear.

“Shall we add turning on the representative of the heavens to your growing list of mistakes?” said Opal with a smile.

Brynne, Mini, and Aru faltered at the same time.

Boo paced on his perch, flapping angrily. “You may be sure that, crisis managing or not, I shall be reporting your impulsive behavior to the others, Opal! They would not stand for such misguided treatment!”

“The little darlings are now on a tour of the Nandana Gardens, which are lovely and bright and safe,” said Opal breezily. “Don’t fret so much.”

Boo alighted on Mini’s shoulder, his feathers furiously tufted.

Opal snapped her fingers, and once more everyone was sitting. The words vanished from the air. “Prophecies are inexact things. People don’t need inexactitude in their lives—it just causes panic. What the Otherworld needs is to believe that the devas and Pandavas will win the war.”

“But we don’t know if we can,” said Mini, frowning. “Are you…Are you asking us to lie?”

“I’m asking you to—at the very least—give people hope,” said Opal. “This is a prime branding opportunity. If you can’t do the actual heroic thing, let’s at least make it look like you could while the devas and the Council scramble to fix your mistakes. I trust you can manage a few questions from me.”

Aru felt like someone had let loose a thunderstorm inside her skull. Everything roiled together—the prophecy, the twins’ and Aiden’s disappearance, the barely disguised venom in Opal’s voice. But there was no time for it to settle. The cloud floors beneath the Pandavas disappeared, replaced with shiny mirror panels that showed different sketches of them in color-coordinated outfits and new hairstyles. In yet another mirror panel, there were sketched Instagram photos and quotes, sample tweets, and pre-written interview answers.

“Think of your brand as a promise,” said Opal. “Let’s start with aesthetics.”

She got up, walked to Mini, and passed a hand over her face. Mini’s chin-length hair instantly looked glossier and straighter, and there was a purple stripe down the middle. Her glasses were gone, and her eyes…Were they violet?

“A little goth chic,” said Opal. “That could work. We have to play to your image—”

Mini shook her head, and the illusion vanished. “I like how I look.”

“Aww, that’s the spirit!” said Opal, patting the top of her head.

Rude! thought Aru.

“And we need some personal stories.” Opal continued moving around the table. “A little vulnerability is great for publicity. Makes you accessible, aspirational, and authentic!” She leaned over Brynne’s shoulder. “Maybe a background piece about how your mother abandoned you?”

Brynne appeared ready to send Opal into the stratosphere.

But the crisis manager just kept going. “The fifth day of the prophecy will coincide with the Otherworld’s Holi party. Perfect timing. When you show up in all your glory, people will be focused on you, not the Council. After I’m done tweaking your image, they won’t be thinking about your botched missions or wondering which one of you is the ‘untrue’ Pandava.” Opal stopped and looked directly at Aru.

Aru felt punched.

Boo swooped in front of Opal, wings flapping.

“How dare you insult my girls?!” he spat. “Their reputations are spotless! None of this is necessary—I can vouch for them myself!”

“What do I care about what you can vouch for?” asked Opal. “The Otherworld hasn’t forgotten that you were once called the Great Deceiver. And now you’re training this generation’s Pandavas? Some might find that a trifle curious, to say the least.”

“His name has been cleared,” said Mini angrily. “If he vouches for us, people will listen.”

Opal flashed a thin smile. “Is that so? Well. Let’s review my notes, Subala.”

She sat back down and a sheaf of papers magically unfurled in front of her. Boo returned to his stand, where he perched stiffly.

“By my count you’re at, what, two hundred visits to Kalpavriksha?”

“Th-that’s PRIVATE!” he spluttered.

Aru frowned. What was she talking about?

“Your little teacher is under quite the nasty curse,” Opal explained to the Pandavas. “What were the exact conditions again? Oh yes. ‘Pay your dues and show your worth; a wish will free you from this earth.’ And you’ve flown countless times to the Nandana Gardens to visit the wish-granting tree, but it never works, so you’re reduced to this rather pathetic hobby.”

Opal waved her hand, and across the table sprawled a vision of Boo soaring above the sidewalk when the sun was at its highest.

Aru had seen him do that plenty of times on his days off. Brynne had assumed it was to clear his head. Mini had insisted he wanted vitamin D from the sunshine. But Aru had noticed that Boo never looked up—only down, where his shadow sprawled huge and epic.

“Trying to trick yourself into remembering your glory days?” taunted Opal. “Because trust me when I say that all anyone sees when they look at you is a disgraced sorcerer and bedraggled pigeon. No one will care that you’ve vouched for your poorly trained students.”

Boo was so stunned he swung backward on his perch, forcing Aru to catch him before he fell.

“Boo?” asked Aru softly.

He trembled in her grip, utterly silent. Aru glared up at Opal, shaking with anger, but the crisis manager didn’t even notice.

Opal stood up and walked in another slow circle around the room.

“You need me now, Pandavas, not this old professor,” said Opal. “Only I will tell you the truth about how all this looks on the outside. The ‘untrue’ sister? Everyone will be wondering who it is.” She grinned, then pointed to Mini. “Maybe the little timid one…probably easy to manipulate into working for the enemies.” She gestured to Brynne. “Or the strong, shape-shifting, belligerent one with”—she dropped her voice to a whisper—“asura blood, which is never a good look.” Next, she swiveled to Aru. “Or you! The flesh-and-blood daughter of the Sleeper. Almost two years ago, you failed to destroy him…. Why was that, exactly? Did you suddenly feel sorry for dear old Dad? Surely by now you’re used to life without him. At any rate, it doesn’t sound like something a true sister would have allowed to happen….”

Aru shot an agonized look at Mini and Brynne, but they were both gazing down at their laps.

“As for the twins”—Opal shrugged—“not much to be done about them, frankly. But I will say that a clairvoyant who can’t control her powers is very dangerous. Henceforth, they shall be kept in Amaravati until they are deemed less volatile.”

Mini stood up. “You can’t do that! What about their family?”

Opal snorted. “What family? They have no family here.”

“They have us,” said Aru.

Opal ignored her. Instead, she clapped once. The mirror floor instantly brightened, and a diamond-encrusted door appeared in the wall. “Trust me on this, children. I’m on your side. I’m fighting for the heavens just as much as you and the devas are.”

She took her seat at the table again. “Come back here in five days’ time so I can get you ready for the Holi festivities. In the meantime, I’ll start spreading the word about your good deeds to polish the reputations you tarnished with that failed mission.” She straightened her papers and cast the Pandavas one last dismissive look. “The best thing you can do for now is just keep out of sight.”

She pointed to the door. “Go. I’ve got a lot of work to do.”

When they stepped into the portal, Boo pecked around until he hit the green button for the Nandana Gardens, where they could collect Aiden and the twins. He didn’t say anything. Maybe he felt sad having to return to the place of so many unfulfilled wishes, Aru thought.

They were all reeling from Opal’s words. Mini seemed close to tears. Brynne looked like she wanted to smash something.

Aru’s mind kept churning, and when they arrived at the gardens, she only dimly registered the beautiful greenery flanking the marble walkway.

They crossed several courtyards, climbed up and down terraces, and eventually came to a small bower. In the middle stood a huge golden tree.

The sight of it stopped Aru’s breath. When she’d heard stories about the legendary tree as a kid, she’d never thought she’d get to see it in person. She felt lucky enough that she’d seen a few branches from it on the floor of the Ocean of Milk last year.

It towered over their heads like a skyscraper, the top disappearing into veils of mist. Glowing jewel-like fruit of many different colors hung from its branches, perfuming the air with the smell of ambrosia. The ground around the tree was cold and damp, dotted with magical flowering bushes. Nestled between two massive roots was a sign that read:

KALPAVRIKSHA, THE TREE OF WISHES

PROPERTY OF ARANYANI, GODDESS OF THE FORESTS

They found their friends on the other side of the trunk. Aiden was busy taking pictures. Sheela appeared to be talking to a bush while Nikita crouched over the ground, her hands thrust into the dirt and her eyes closed. Her veins glowed a pale green, and when she opened her eyes, the crown of flowers on her head gleamed even brighter.

The moment she saw the other Pandavas, Nikita pointed at the tree.

“That,” she said dramatically. “Is a fake.”