loud banging woke Aru. She sat upright, her mind spinning from that last glimpse of Sheela, lonely and terrified. Aru dropped her head in her hands, wishing more than anything that they had found out her location.

And Aru’s ears still rang with Sheela’s pronouncement: He knows.

“We’re here,” said Aiden.

Aru looked around, realizing the elevator had come to a stop. She and the others got up and collected their things. Brynne grabbed one last sandwich for the road.

The doors slid open and Aru stepped out, head on a swivel, trying to make sure her jaw didn’t totally hit the floor. Which was actually the night sky, stretched out before them like a road. A rotating sign above them in starlit calligraphy declared: WELCOME TO NAVAGRAHA AVENUE, THE PATH TO THE STARS! All the famous planetary mansions stood here on a huge elliptical street that looked like it had been stitched together from a hundred night skies. One looked carved from a massive emerald, another was dappled all over with amethyst, but all were equally extravagant. After the last planet house, there was a glowing door wrapped in a shimmering fog that dissolved into the endless night.

“It’s called the Door…of New Day?” said Brynne, consulting a small map affixed to a nearby podium.

Navagraha Avenue was stunningly beautiful…and weirdly empty.

“Where is everyone?” asked Aru.

“The celestials are super into their time away from ordinary people,” said Rudy, grumbling. “It’s like they think they’re so much better than us just because they have a planet. Like, so what? I could make a planet out of all the jewels we have, but you don’t see me running off into space.”

Aiden patted his back. “There, there, rich prince. I’m sorry there’s other rich people in the world.”

Rudy sniffed. “It’s really hard.”

Up ahead, a different road led to the House of the Moon. The mansion shone bright as a coin, spotlighted by thousands of moonbeams.

“Let’s go,” said Brynne, leading the charge.

They followed her. The moment they set foot on the lawn in front of the House of the Moon, it seemed to shift and expand, revealing what appeared to be hundreds of acres lined with silver fruit trees and pools reflecting crescent moons. Frost-colored peacocks stalked across lunar-white grass, and a wandering path of pale white pebbles marked the way to the towering front doors.

When the Potatoes reached them, the doors flung themselves wide open and Brynne strolled right inside, despite Mini’s squawk of panic.

“What? No! Stop! Shouldn’t we knock or something?”

“If they wanted us to knock, they would’ve kept the door shut,” said Brynne.

In the foyer, Aru turned in a circle, holding Vajra aloft. So far, the interior design of the House of the Moon looked a lot like the inside of the crystal elevator. Lots of portraits of Chandra, and maybe two of Rohini, his favorite wife. A huge glittering staircase spiraled up from the floor and faded into the night sky, which could be seen through the translucent domed ceiling. Several ivory couches with silver feet scuttled off when the Potatoes entered the hall. A couple of armchairs bearing silver-gilded antelope horns made a strange huffing sound and stalked down one of the many intricate mirror-lined hallways. Aru glanced at the floor. Even that was mirrored.

“He sure likes to admire himself,” said Rudy.

“I don’t blame him,” said Mini.

The others turned to look at her, and she flushed red.

“What?” she said quietly. “He’s not exactly an eyesore.”

From the hallway on the left came a sudden clip-clop of hooves. The Potatoes tensed, drawing closer to each other, their weapons raised.

A moonlit antelope with a silver hide, large dark eyes, and slender horns stepped into the room. Aru recognized it from a painting in the elevator. It had to be Chandra’s vahana. The mount was every inch as beautiful as its master.

Aru had never seen a real antelope. Not even at the Atlanta Zoo. For the longest time, she’d thought an antelope was a horned melon, the ugly cousin of a cantaloupe. Which had made the song “Home on the Range” particularly confusing, because every time she heard where the deer and the antelope play, she thought a giant melon had gained sentience and escaped from the fruit aisle of the grocery store.

“He’s been expecting you,” said the antelope haughtily. It sniffed at the air and their weapons, then turned up its nose. “Those are useless in this place. Please follow me, and do not touch anything. Everything here is an invaluable artifact, and my lord takes especially good care of his treasures.”

Aru, having been raised in a museum all her life, scowled and crossed her arms. She hated being treated as if she didn’t know what to do around priceless objects. She was well versed in the protocol! Keep hands in pockets, wait till no one’s watching, then furtively poke at something with both hands before fleeing.

“Dumb melon,” she mumbled as she followed the rest of her friends down the hallway.

The antelope led them into a huge light-filled chamber. The floor was mirrored here, too, and the walls shone with gigantic chunks of incandescent moonstone and milky jade, filigreed with silver. In the center of the room, on a throne made of quartz, sat Chandra himself with his chin on one hand and his other hand lazily twirling an ivory-colored rope. It appeared he had been awaiting their arrival for quite some time.

Flanking the throne were the twenty-seven goddesses of the constellations. Each of them wore a long shimmering silver gown. Their ink-black hair, studded with stars, sheeted down to their waists. Behind each goddess loomed a tall, thin door.

Aru shook her head, squinting. For a moment it seemed as if…

In her head, Aru heard Brynne say, Is it just me, or do all Chandra’s wives look exactly the same?

Chandra rose from his throne, opening his arms like he was greeting long-lost friends.

“Pandavas!” he said brightly. “I’ve been expecting your visit. On behalf of myself and my lovely wives, welcome to the House of the Moon.”

He looked to the twenty-seven goddesses, who clapped haphazardly. Their facial features were identical, but a couple of them seemed angry, most of them were bored, and a handful looked a little nervous.

“I’m assuming you didn’t come all this way for an autograph,” he said, strolling toward them. Then he paused, lifting an eyebrow. “Or did you?”

His vahana trotted beside him. “They would surely be remiss not to ask for such a gift, my lord.”

“Sorry,” said Aru loudly. “I’m all out of pen and paper.”

“Mmph,” said Chandra. “Pity.”

“How did you know we were coming?” asked Mini.

Chandra chuckled. “Please, child. I see everything. Not that everyone likes that, of course. I remember a particular incident when I saw Ganesh after a party in Lanka—a city which, if you’re curious, throws the best events. Anyway, on his way home, his silly rat vahana got spooked by a snake, and Ganesh fell off!”

Chandra guffawed himself silly, clutching his sides.

“Ah.” He sighed when he had gathered himself. “Anyway, I couldn’t help laughing. Apparently, he heard me—which makes sense. I mean, he’s literally got the head of an elephant. What else are you going to do with ears that big?”

“I know that story,” said Aiden quietly. “Didn’t he throw his tusk at you?”

Chandra scowled, then rubbed his cheek. “That’s not really relevant,” he said irritably. “The point is, I knew you’d come. Like I said, I see everything. Granted, I’ve got a great view.”

He gestured at the walls, which shifted to reveal images of the world at nighttime. In one of them, Aru recognized her group standing in the chakora forest. A cold feeling twisted up her spine. If he wanted to, Chandra could tattle on them to the rest of the Council, and they’d never have a chance to find the wishing tree.

He clapped. “I know what the devas are hiding and what they aren’t,” he said with a sly twist of his mouth. “They thought the littlest Pandavas would be safer here, far in the heavens, and so I agreed to take them. Too bad one was lost along the way.”

He didn’t seem sorry at all, Aru thought.

“I know you want the other one back,” said Chandra. “And I have no need to keep her….”

“Great,” said Aru, looking around. “Now, where is—?”

“Still,” said Chandra, “there’s no reason we can’t make the exchange interesting. My wives and I are in need of a bit of entertainment from time to time.”

Brynne took a step forward, no doubt getting ready to protest, and Aiden held her back.

“If you win my challenge,” said Chanda, “I will grant all of you—including your little sister—passage out of the House of the Moon. Plus, I shall not reveal your whereabouts to the devas. I’ll even disable the tracking device in the girl’s neck.”

“But if we fail?” asked Aru.

“You must cede your weapons to me.”

Instinctively, Aru clutched Vajra to her. “You can’t take them!” she said. “They’re not yours. They belong to—”

“Indra?” drawled Chandra, rolling his eyes. “As if he’d notice anything among his vast collection gone missing. Trust me, child, he gave you a throwaway.”

Vajra bristled with indignation, and sparks of electricity shot up and down Aru’s arm.

“And that mace is definitely scuffed,” said Chandra, pointing at Brynne’s weapon.

He moved on to Mini and laughed. “A stick? Cute.”

Chandra’s gaze roved to Rudy and zeroed in on the orange messenger bag. The moon god snapped his fingers, and the satchel zoomed into his grip. Chandra pawed through it, but the eagerness melted from his face.

“Broken jewels?” he asked. He picked one up, shook it, and a low, mournful tune filled the air. “And you’ve charmed them with useless sounds? Ugh.” He threw the bag back at Rudy, who clutched it tightly.

When he got to Aiden, though, Chandra’s interest reignited.

“Well, well, well,” he said softly. “If it’s not the human spawn of Malini herself. How is your mother these days? Single, I hear. Is she seeing anyone?”

Aiden glowered, and his scimitars shot out from beneath his sleeves.

Chandra merely laughed. “You can’t protect her, my boy. I mean, look at you. What could you possibly do to me?”

Brynne interrupted him. “You said we could win back Nikita. How?”

Chandra smiled, then gestured at his twenty-seven wives. “These are my queens, though you may know them best as the nakshatras, the glorious constellations who hold the fate of humans in their every movement,” he said proudly. “Now—”

“What are their names?” asked Aiden loudly, his expression fierce.

Chandra blinked. “Names? Well, there’s uh…um…Rohini, of course. Then…Hasta, Sravana, Revati, Pushya…Ashwini…um, anyway! They’re goddesses, and they’re my wives. Done. And they’ve”—he paused, frowning a little—“agreed”—he nodded—“to wear my beloved Rohini’s face for this little game. Behind one of their doors hides the treasure you seek. But which door is it?”

The moon god laughed to himself, then held up a finger.

“You have one chance,” he said. “Succeed, and you shall have what you want and be on your way. Fail, and your weapons will join the rest of my dearest treasures.”