His mouth went dry. By Mansa Devi’s wings, she was so pretty. The rich sunset salmon pink gleamed against her brown skin, and the cerulean sequins on the cloth and the gold of her jewelry brought out the sparkle in her eyes. When Nitya executed a flashy move with her dandiya, Tanvi raised her eyebrows but copied it without hesitation. Her cherry-red lips were so soft and appealing as she laughed that he had to restrain himself from finding a pair of dandiya and joining in. Whether she knew it or not, she looked right at home in the dance.

As the circles moved again, Tanvi came face-to-face with a boy in an elaborate gray kurta. She held up her dandiya to meet his. Then she smacked his knuckles instead and opened her eyes wide in feigned apology. The boy scowled at her. When the moment arrived to strike their dandiya together a second time, he jumped out of range.

Venkat chuckled. Dancing with sticks had its dangers, it seemed.

The band eventually wound the music down, and the dancers scattered to find water and air. Radiant like she’d won the lottery, Tanvi plunked her dandiya down on the table behind Venkat. “Apparently I’d been waiting seven years to do that. Who knew? And it was even better than I’d hoped—even if Hitesh didn’t know it was me.”

Venkat had a million questions but decided they could wait. “Where’s Nitya?”

“She went to the bathroom.” Tanvi pushed damp hair off her forehead. “Whew! It’s hot in here. Let’s go outside.”

It had definitely gotten humid in the hall. Sweat trickled down Venkat’s own back. “Sure.” He put his hand on the small of Tanvi’s back to guide her through the crowd.

She startled and looked up at him, but the expression on her face wasn’t upset or disgusted. It was thoughtful.

They hurried through the doors and into the much cooler night, where Lord Chandra in his crescent form bore witness to the parking lot full of chattering people. Phones lit up the landscape like blue-flamed torches.

Venkat spotted Nitya before Tanvi did. She stood under a streetlight with a group of kids her age, including the boy in the gray kurta. He had his arm around her, and Nitya laughed at something he said. “You’re so bad, Hitesh!”

“Yuck,” Tanvi said. “I guess they like each other now?” She sighed. “You know, when I ran away that day, I don’t think I really understood that life would go on without me.”

Venkat nodded. “I think you and I are the only two people right now who get that.” The whole world had gone on without him, and he didn’t even have a family waiting for him to return to them.

“What . . . ?” She considered Nitya, then tried again. “What was I like when I got to Nagalok?”