Game of Stars (Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond #2) by Sayantani Dasgupta

Author:Sayantani Dasgupta [DasGupta, Sayantani]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy, Young Adult
ISBN: 9781338185737
Google: wrdbDwAAQBAJ
Amazon: B07CNMXSDJ
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Published: 2019-02-26T00:00:00+00:00

Okay, by that I guess they meant I shouldn’t mention Mati. But how had Mati gone from being beloved and competent stable maid to outlaw?

“Let’s go on, shaaal we, babe? I know you’ve killed many, many, many rakkhoosh. Too many to count.” She snapped her gum with a wet thwack.

“I’ve fought, but I’ve actually never killed—” I started, but the TV interviewer cut me off yet again.

“What’s the story of your bloodiest kill, sweeting?” Ms. Twinkle asked this question with so much enthusiasm it was like she was asking me to describe my favorite homecoming cheer. “Was it when you gootted that rakkhosh’s intestoones with an ice cream scooper or the one where you bit the khokkosh’s joogular vein clean in two with your very own tooths?”

“That’s gross! I never did any of those things!” I protested, but Ms. Twinkle leaned over and pinched my cheek extra super hard. “No need to be so hoomble, darling!”

Then she pushed a button, and a giant screen behind us turned on with an image—my house in Parsippany! There was no sound and the video quality was a little grainy, but I could clearly see two pakkhiraj horses on my front lawn, snuffling our nonexistent grass.

“That was last fall,” I exclaimed, wondering how in the multiverse they had gotten this footage. “On my birthday.”

“Indeed, it woos. And a sad, sad day it was at that, sweet baby girl.” The woman sniffed, biting her suddenly trembling lip. I saw her take something out of a little bottle in her hand and touch it to her eye. It made her giant brown eyes water like she was crying.

“You can weep if you moost, it’s all root. Let it oot, doll. Let it all oot.” She handed me a handkerchief that seemed to be laced with the same liquid. As I held it close, it made my eyes water. I saw several members of the studio audience lean forward, eager to watch me cry.

“Thanks, I’m okay.” I returned the heavily scented handkerchief back, rubbing my eyes. After a collective sigh of disappointment from the audience, I felt compelled to add, “I’ll let you know when I need it.”

The video kept going and the horrible, drooly rakkhosh who had in fact gobbled my parents up, beginning my whole adventure, broke through the front of my house. He held a porch pillar like a club in his hand. The audio finally came on, and we heard the monster roar, “Dirty socks and stinky feet! I smell royal human meat!”

The studio audience gasped, and even I felt goose bumps break out on my skin as I remembered how scared I had been, and how confused at seeing my first rakkhosh—a monster I had only heard about in Baba’s folktales.

On the video, the demon’s tongue lolled out of its warty head as it approached Prince Lal. “How he’ll holler, how he’ll groan, when I eat the mortal prince’s bones!”

It was strange to see this all on-screen, but cool too, like flipping through an old yearbook.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.