Venkat held up a finger, then selected an unlit diya painted with a pink-and-green paisley motif. He dipped one end of the cotton wick into the pot of oil and touched it to the flame. Once it had ignited, he said a silent prayer for Jai’s successful return to Prithvi and set the diya back onto the floating plate. It glowed like a carnelian dreamstone against the dark water.

A pair of giggling children ran by, chasing the fiery damselflies fluttering out of the diyas’ flames. “Come back here!” one cried, grasping at a damselfly that zigzagged around her, its wings trailing smoke. If she caught it before its spark went out, her dearest desire would come to pass. Or so the nagas believed.

Venkat rose and gazed through the skylights, wondering if his family was up there in Svargalok, or if they’d already begun new lives with new identities. What was it his grandfather had said? That nothing ever ended, only changed shape?

The thought was sad, but hopeful, too, and as the age-old stars twinkled and flashed above him in their secret language, Venkat felt comforted. He folded the memories into their box at the bottom of his heart and nodded at Madhu.

And just in time; flanked by their families, the guests of honor paraded toward him. The vivid plum and peridot of Asha’s diamond-bedecked choli and gauzy dupatta, shot through with gold and silver zari, subtly complemented the goldenrod of Chintu’s brocade sherwani. Venkat couldn’t begin to count the various ornate pieces of jewelry glittering from the crowns of their heads to the tips of their tails. Together, at least superficially, they were the ultimate royal match.

“Well, well.” Mischief brewed in Asha’s large, heavily lined eyes. “Look at you, here all on your own.”

Venkat treated her to the shallowest possible bow. “I wouldn’t have missed it for anything, Princess.”

Shooting him a lazy grin, Chintu slung an arm around Asha’s shoulders. “I am glad you could join us.”

Was Venkat the only one to catch her tiny flinch? But then she laughed and leaned into Chintu’s embrace, so maybe Venkat had imagined it, after all.

Someone nudged him in the side. He glanced over to see Madhu, who tipped her head toward the pair. Oh, right. Nayan had given him a complete dream for Chintu. No one ever received more than a fragment; intact visions were far too precious a resource to expend on any one naga or nagini. A gift like this marked the union of the two clans as the momentous occasion it was.