I jumped, knocking over the cookies. I barely had time to mourn their loss before I whirled toward the stranger.Somewhere in the back of my mind, I realized that I’d now broken both of my mother’s rules.
My mouth went dry as I saw him. “You’re not human,” I blurted out. For a second, I was taken aback by the sound of my own voice. It always takes me a minute to get used to the deeper and raspier tone when I transform.
“No, I’m not.” He sounded amused—and far too calm—as he let me stare at him.
I didn’t know why this was so surprising to me. I knew that there were other asuras in the Bay Area, but they tended to stay hidden and solitary so as to not attract the unwanted attention of demon hunters or other asuras with nefarious intentions. Or at least that’s what Amma had insisted whenever Sahana and I had asked why we didn’t have asura friends. Paati, on the other hand, was convinced that it had been the ancient gods’ doing—keeping us isolated so that we wouldn’t unite and revolt against them.
The asura curse was passed down through each family lineage like a genetic mutation. I’d never met one I wasn’t related to, and so everything about the asura in front of me surprised and intrigued me—the brambles twining around his horns, the moss-colored eyes, the tree bark–like texture of his skin. It was all so different from my own family’s demonic features. Except the teeth. Those, I recognized—sharp and almost fang-like, but more sinister than the average vampire on TV.
Because I had no idea what to do or how to act, I simply said the next thought that entered my mind. “You made me drop my cookies.”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “Sorry about that. I can get you more.”
“What are you even doing here, skulking about in the dark?” I demanded as feeling slowly returned to me.
“I just wanted some fresh air,” he said. “I didn’t think I’d run into any other brooding demons on the roof of an auditorium.”
“I’m not brooding,” I said, realizing too late I’d proved his point by scowling.
“No, definitely not.” His grin widened, and there was a teasing edge to his voice that unsettled me. “And the Asuras Be Gone special over there is unrelated, I’m sure.”
I didn’t know what was worse—that he’d recognized the ritual or that he decided to call me out on it. “It’s none of your business,” I snapped as I blew out the candles and hurriedly began shoving all my useless supplies back into the bag.
“For the record, it doesn’t work.”
That made me pause. I looked back up at him. “Really?” I asked, unable to stop myself. I mean, I’d known it probably wouldn’t, but I felt more deflated than I expected hearing that.
His smile turned a little dry and self-deprecating. “Aren’t you going to ask me how I know?”
I could guess. There were still two cookies that hadn’t fallen on the floor, so I held the container out as a peace offering. “Wanna talk about it?”
“There’s not much to say.” But he still selected one and sat cross-legged on the floor in front of me, gesturing for meto do the same. “I didn’t want to be an asura. It didn’t work. So I got over it.”
“Just like that?” I asked skeptically.
Socializing between demon families wasn’t technically forbidden, but I still felt like I was breaking about a dozen rules sitting here and talking to him. It felt illicit somehow, but I was too curious to help myself.
He shrugged. “When I thought about why I attempted the ritual, I realized the answer actually had little to do withbeingan asura. It was everything else. Feeling isolated and alone. Feeling like no one understood me. Feeling torn between so many aspects of my identity. You know.”
I felt something shift inside me at his words because Ididknow. I’d never related to something so deeply that it practically hurt. “It’s hard enough being Indian and American and feeling like I’m not enough of either. It’s even worse when you add demon magic into the mix,” I said. “I just thought if I could get rid of one of those identities...”
“It would fix all your problems,” he finished.
I nodded. He held my gaze for a long while, and a shared understanding passed between us. “My mom keeps telling me it’s not a curse to break,” I admitted. “That this is a great power passed down by the gods, and I should embrace it. My grandma th—” I cut myself off, wondering if there were some things I shouldn’t say to a stranger. “My sister thinks it’sfunto turn into a demon,” I said instead.
“I don’t mind the demon part,” he said. “I think it’s kind of neat, actually.”
“Neat?” I echoed incredulously.
He gave me a confused look. “The power,” he clarified.
“My family power is strength and an immunity to fire,” I said flatly. “It’s not that impressive.” I dumped all the contents of my bag out again and picked up a pebble, crushing it in my fist. When I opened my hand, where there had been a rock was now dust. I turned my hand over and let it fall to the ground. “See?”
“That’s not impressive to you?” he asked. “Because I can tell you right now, I can’t dothat.”
“What can you do?” I asked curiously.
He reached for the random mix of herbs that I’d brought with me and plucked a leaf of rosemary. He pressed it between both of his hands, and a few seconds later, the single leaf had turned into an entire sprig. He held it back out to me and I took it, astonished.
