But then, of all places, someone checked under a mound of clothes in the laundry. Madhu had bound and gagged Nitya, then covered her with baskets’ worth of royal garments waiting to be washed. Nitya claimed it was like being stuffed inside a pillow, but she wasn’t any worse for wear. Just infuriated. And bored. I missed all the excitement while I was buried in dirty laundry? Seriously?

Good thing nagas don’t sweat, Tanvi had replied, the relief at finding Nitya intact and breathing almost making her boneless.

The runners had actually been easier to track down—initially, anyway. Garuda’s quip turned out to be a misdirection. Venkat had sighed when Tanvi and he had taken the lift up to the workshop and discovered their charges there in the sealed-off balcony. I think that was Garuda’s idea of me proving my mettle, he’d said. He knew I’d try here eventually, but the question was, how long would it take?

Mythical beings really didn’t think like humans, that was for sure. Tanvi couldn’t believe it, but she was starting to feel nostalgic for what she remembered of life on Prithvi. It might take time, but at least she could figure out how to be a person.

The runners had been scared and exhausted, not to mention dehydrated and famished, but they were safe. It was only when Tanvi and Venkat began counting that they realized not everyone was present and accounted for.

Two of the runners—Bharat and Srinivas—had gone missing. And no matter how long or where anyone hunted for them, they stayed that way. Tanvi hugged Indu close and promised they’d never stop searching.

But the days passed in a tornado of tasks to check off and arrangements to sort out, and Venkat had to concentrate on helping the runners who hadn’t disappeared. Some, like Indu, were demanding their parents, while most would need somewhere else to stay.

Despite all odds, Nitya and Asha had hit it off, bonding first over ways to needle Sameer and then over their love of artisanal pastries, the more elaborate the better. Tanvi had soon found herself being dragged to Asha’s favorite bistro in the city so Nitya could try all kinds of desserts based in jewel-fruits, including a dish involving sweet, creamy kulfi and puran poli stuffed with jewel-mango and jewel-kiwi paste, all topped with spirals of gold and silver leaf.

Tanvi had hung back as they strolled along, soaking in the details of Nagalok, which she’d never had the chance to see before. No longer a dream runner, she supposed she was a tourist now.