Star Daughter(68)

Charumati leaned close and kissed Sheetal’s temple. Her quiet urgency flowed between them. “Yes. And above all, you, my daughter, would be safe. Free to move at will and in full sight between the realms. Since you were born, I have dreamed of nothing else.”

To have Dad and Mom both, Earth and Svargalok. To never need to hide again. It sounded too good to be true.

But what if it wasn’t?

Sheetal dipped her own feet into the cool water and listened to the shifting tones of the sidereal song, its sparkle in her veins in that moment like the ceaseless serenity of the cosmic dance. “How would this plan of yours work, if you need the whole court for it? It’s not like Nani and Nana would just sit back and say, ‘Okay, go ahead and railroad us. We’re cool with it.’”

“In practical terms?” Charumati closed her eyes, and the starsong opened to Sheetal like a movie. As part of the ruling nakshatra, her mother would seek out the younger generations, the ones who remained curious, like Kaushal and Beena, even Padmini. She would select scouts from each of the nakshatras, speak to them of her own time on Earth, and remind them that stars were meant to walk unobstructed among mortals, inspiring them to greatness.

Those scouts would move from mortal nation to mortal nation, using their stardust, their silver flame, to awaken humans in positions of power and those around them. Those leaders would then begin to make changes that actually served the greater good.

After that, Charumati would lead her delegation back to Svargalok, where she would demonstrate the results of her plan and recruit the rest of the court to help enlighten the masses. Left without a good rationale for keeping the worlds separate, Nani and Nana would have no choice but to succumb.

And the mortal realm would unfold like a moonlight lotus, baring the jewel at its center.

Sheetal fell back, dazed. It sounded like a dream come true, but more than that, she could feel her mother’s conviction, her love, her need to gift Sheetal a world where she would be safe.

She wanted that, too.

“That, dikri,” her mother said drolly, “is the power of a star’s inspiration. To bring even my daughter to her knees.”

She picked up Sheetal’s bow and handed it to her. “For now, from the top. An instrument is nothing without its player, and we still have a competition to win.”

“Okay, boss,” Sheetal said, laughing.

Charumati responded with a single note as pure as wind kissing a crystal chime.





22


Wiped out but glowing, Sheetal slipped in the back entrance to the common room and made a beeline for the snack table. She crammed her mouth with nuts and sweets. Some training—no matter how much she ate, she burned right through it.

Charumati had run her through the song five more times, stopping every few seconds to critique her posture, her timing, even her emotion. “More melancholy, perhaps, and less desire to claw the cosmos to ribbons.”

Sheetal had sung until her throat ached. She’d strummed the dilruba until the bow grew slick with sweat.

Despite all that, she couldn’t shake the image of Ojasvini—her great-aunt—locked in the star hunter’s cage. Or the image of his wicked knife slicing into her skin. She couldn’t stop thinking of Nani showing up to bring her missing baby sister home and finding that.

Would it really be so bad to fill mortal hearts with light and make the world a better place? Didn’t humanity deserve that?

Didn’t Sheetal?

Doubt bloomed somewhere in the depths of her own heart, but she ignored it. It wasn’t like people were making good choices the way things were, or they wouldn’t be dealing with poverty and climate change and the threat of nuclear war.

Anyway, this was about her life. Her chance to have what she always should have had. Her family—all of it.

A valet stood at the crystal fountain this time. Sheetal made sure to smile as he handed her a cup of the skyberry cordial. He glanced away.

Um, okay, she thought, gulping down the drink.

Hands gripped her shoulders, making her spin around. Her drink splattered onto her sari. “What—?”

“Where have you been?” Minal almost shouted. “They think you stole Priyanka’s marionettes!”

Padmini started dabbing at the cerulean stain. Sheetal just frowned. “I didn’t steal anything.”

“Well, I know that. Let’s get out of here.” Minal nodded to the exit, but a commotion in the middle of the room stopped her.

“Too late,” Padmini whispered.

The other champions and their attendants had barged in, led by Priyanka, her spiky hair wild and her slitted eyes promising murder. “There she is!” When her escorts tried to shush her, she shrugged them off and stuck her face in Sheetal’s. “Give. Them. Back.”

Minal and Padmini moved to flank Sheetal on either side. “Leave her alone,” Minal warned.

Sheetal touched her arm. “It’s okay. I’ve got this.” The cordial coated her stomach, quieting her nerves. She turned back to Priyanka. “If you have something to say to me, come over here and say it. I don’t bite.”

Priyanka bore down on Sheetal until they were almost nose to nose. The ruby in her nostril glinted, a slowly fusing dwarf star. “You really thought we wouldn’t figure out it was you?”

“Are you sure someone took your puppets?” Sheetal asked, sipping her drink. “I mean, you were whacking things all night; maybe you broke them?”