Just when Saniya thought her eyes couldn’t get any wider, they somehow did again. Right after she’d sworn an oath not to be shocked at the changes to the realm. It had happened so many times, she was starting to grow weary of it.

  The sprawling streets, the towering new buildings—taller than any she’d ever seen—the revelry, and the energy that filled the air, all of it left her breathless. She could scarcely believe this was the same Samar Patag she had visited not two years ago. Back then, she’d been blown away, but now she felt like telling her younger self she had been a fool to be so easily tricked.

  That city was but a pale shadow of the one in which she now stood.

  The changes had begun back in their own village, which had transformed almost beyond recognition. So many people had moved in that it could hardly be called a village anymore. Permanent buildings had gone up for the first time, and with lush fields now dotting the landscape in every direction, there was more food than they had ever known. Such luxury! They didn’t even need to migrate to obtain it!

  And it was all because of her—the fair-skinned woman, the human they spoke of so often. She seemed so strange, so fake—as though she’d simply popped into existence last year—yet she had done all of this in the Akh Nara’s absence.

  Saniya shook her head. She could never have dreamed Garga would change so much in so short a time.

  “Stay close to me,” Sani, the village mother, said sharply. “It is a big city. You’ll get lost if you stray too far.”

  Saniya rolled her eyes. What was she, eleven? She’d been here before. Mother really ought to treat her like an adult by now. Then again, with all these changes, Saniya felt like she might as well have been visiting for the first time.

  “Look over there!” Darsh pointed at a line of stalls. That was her brother, alright, always thinking with his stomach. Yet the rows of vendors selling food made her own stomach grumble, despite herself.

  “All right, enjoy yourselves,” Sani relented, “but be quick about it. The ceremony is due to begin any minute now. And don’t spend more than half of what I gave you!”

  “Yes, mother,” they chorused before dashing off.

  The food stalls dazzled Saniya—sizzling kebabs, sweet confections, and exotic finger food whose scents were more intoxicating than anything she thought possible. She hurried to a vendor selling golden-colored honey-dipped dough that both looked and smelled mesmerizing.

  “Would you like one?” a tall red-skinned demon woman asked.

  “Yes, please! I’ll take two!” Saniya said eagerly, reaching out. But then she saw the crown etched onto her wooden badge, and froze. A Ruler.

  “W-w-why are you selling food? Shouldn’t Laborers be doing that?” The words slipped out before she realized what she was doing. What was she thinking, talking to a Ruler like that? Her hands shot up to cover her mouth.

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  “We apologize,” Sani said quickly, rushing over and forcing Saniya’s head down. “Truly, we meant no offense. Please, find leniency in your heart! She is but a child.”

  Would she be punished? Would they all have to pay for her mistake?

  To her surprise, the ruler woman shook her head. “Please, there is no need for such fear. This is not the land it once was. Rulers are no higher or lower than laborers. Without your hard work, what use would Rulers be?”

  “But… you’re an elite,” Saniya whispered. Rulers came from a long line of wealthy people. Everyone knew that.

  “I was a Laborer not long ago myself,” the woman said, upending everything Saniya knew as she handed her the warm sweet with a smile.

  Saniya’s eyes bulged again. “That’s not possible!”

  “Quite possible,” the woman said. “Oh, and these are free—feel free to take them. My name is Janani, by the way. I oversee Samar Patag’s education system now, but I used to teach at an orphanage. No need for that job anymore, thank Janak. Or, Maiya, I suppose.”

  Saniya gazed up, open-mouthed. “Can anyone do that? Change your Calling, I mean?”

  “It didn’t used to be the case, as you well know,” Janani said, “but yes. In this beautiful new world the Akh Nara and his Rajni have created, anyone can become whatever they wish. Isn’t that just wonderful?”

  “Then, can I… become a Ruler Calling?” Saniya asked before clapping her mouth shut again. Honestly, what had gotten into her!

  “That’s enough,” the village mother said, apologizing. “She doesn’t understand the weight of her words.”

  “Not at all,” Janani replied warmly. She crouched to meet Saniya’s eyes. “Would you like to be a Ruler one day?”

  The honey treat nearly melted in Saniya’s mouth, so sweet she almost forgot to answer. “I… I don’t really know what that means,” she admitted. “I’ve only known village work.”

  “It means being in charge of things that matter,” Janani explained. “Schools, trade, the lifeblood of a city. We need Rulers as much as Laborers, you know? Everyone is important.”

  “O-oh,” Saniya murmured, averting her eyes. “That… sounds nice.”

  “Saniya, isn’t it?” Janani asked, smiling. “Why don’t you drop by the school office before you leave the city? We’d be happy to tell you more. Young, inquisitive minds like yours are exactly what will forge the next generation of demonkind.”

  The village mother looked conflicted, but to Saniya’s surprise, she nodded. “We will be by later. Now let’s run along, or we’ll miss the Akh Nara’s speech.”

  That was why they had come to Samar Patag, after all. As if seeing the Akh Nara wasn’t enough on its own… To be able to watch his marriage ceremony? It was a dream come true! Saniya had been daydreaming about this moment for weeks now, ever since news of it reached their village

  As for where to go, that part wasn’t difficult. After bidding the nice sweets lady goodbye, they followed the swelling throng toward the city square.

  The square had to have tripled in size since Saniya last saw it. She wondered where they even found the space?

  An elaborate wooden stage had been erected at the center of the square. Not as tall as Saniya thought it ought to be for such an occasion, but tall enough that everyone—even people at the very back like them—could see it without trouble.

  Saniya couldn’t believe how packed with demons the square was. And not just Gargans, either! Nagas, kothis, even Iksana ghaels, who rarely ever left their homeland were in attendance. Saniya had only ever seen them in illustrations in books. They looked much scarier in real life.

  Growing tired of being pressed against a throng of bodies and struggling to stand on her tiptoes to peer over the taller demons, she pulled Darsh onto a nearby set of stairs that led to some business or another.

  With her elevated vantage, she could now clearly see the stage. As well as the lone figure in pure white that stood atop it.

  Saniya held her breath along with everyone else, scarcely believing what her eyes were telling her.

  It was really her!

  Clan Garga’s divine guardian, here in the flesh.

  What divine words was she about to speak?