Meela gaped. “You want us to go to the other side of the world?”
“We need her help. She’s managed to keep peace in the Atlantic for her entire reign.”
My tone became bolder. According to my parents, Medusa was fair, wise, and generous. She could save the Pacific.
“Lysi, you’re being ridiculous. Why would Medusa, an actual queen, agree to talk to two average mermaids from the Pacific?”
“Because you’re not average. You’re Metlaa Gaela from Eriana Kwai, a former human and one who knows more about the leviathan than anybody. She’ll want to hear it.”
Meela frowned. “If she cares about peace so much, why hasn’t she done anything yet to stop Adaro?”
I hesitated. I’d wondered the same thing. But we couldn’t judge the queen’s decision until we knew more.
“Maybe she doesn’t know the extent of what’s happening,” I said.
“You don’t think someone would have told her?”
“Adaro’s army is guarding the border between here and the Atlantic. It’s not easy to get past.”
“And you want us to try,” said Meela flatly.
“Mee, she’s the most powerful queen in the oceans. Maybe ever. My parents said she speaks nine human languages and is said to have the wisdom of all her ancestors behind her throne. Plus, since her rule she’s started mining the seafloor for diamonds and silver and has established a trading system with humans—”
Meela blew a bubble of exasperation. “It’s already taking us forever to track the Reinas halfway across the Pacific! Now you’re saying we need to take a trip to the other side of the world. We’re wasting time.”
“This’ll all help us in the end!”
“After how long? It’ll take ages to get to the Atlantic.”
“Half a tidecycle, I think.”
“Tidecycle? I don’t even know what—”
“It’s the time it takes the tides and the moon—”
“Whatever. That’s beside the point.”
I scowled. “Just trying to help you out.”
“I didn’t mean it like that,” she said, softening. “But Lysi, we have one merman to find, and he’s somewhere on this side of the earth. We finally have a lead with this Kori Maruthing, and we need to go after it.”
“You don’t think we’ll have a better chance of stopping Adaro’s armies with Medusa’s help?”
“Our focus isn’t on who has the bigger army,” said Meela. “We need to get to Adaro, not start a massive war between the Atlantic and the Pacific.”
“But Mee, even after we kill Adaro, we’ve still got all his armies and government and—”
“No. My answer’s no.”
She swam ahead, leaving me to catch up.
We didn’t speak for a long time. Meela’s aura had closed on itself, like she was too absorbed in her own mind to pay attention to anything outside it. Fixating on getting Adaro again, no doubt. I wanted to grab her and tell her to calm down, because we were doing the best we could.
I let the subject drop, but I wasn’t going to give up. Killing Adaro was one thing, but we needed the most powerful force in the seas if we wanted to end the war. And we had to stop it as soon as possible—for all those prisoners, for humans, for Deiopea, and just as much, for Meela’s sanity.
CHAPTER FIVE - Meela
Wrecks of the Bering Sea
