“Bound?” Kavya whispered.

Kavya dropped the phone. It landed screen-up on her textbook. The monkey—Bajrangi, if she remembered correctly—crossed his arms. Behind him, a lion with a magnificent, slightly disheveled mane peered over.

She remembered Delhi Safari . That animated film from years ago—the talking animals, the parliament building, the fluffy monkey. A warm, fuzzy memory of watching it with her little cousin during Diwali break.

The penguin handed her a clapperboard. On it, scratched in marker, were the words:

“The human girl,” the lion grumbled. “She clicked the illegal link. Now she’s bound to the download.”

She grabbed her phone, typed into a sketchy search bar:

“You’re the new character,” the penguin said flatly. “The writers didn’t budget for you, but here we are.”