Meela darted upwards—a mistake she had not yet learned from. Toothless chased her to the surface and cornered her easily against it. In one fluid motion she grabbed Meela’s tail and slammed the mace into her stomach.
I streaked towards them, ready to break the mermaid’s arm, but Meela let loose a roar and spun, punching her face and neck with trained skill.
Something slammed into me from the side, knocking precious air from my lungs. My energy was draining, the exertion depleting the oxygen I had left. Before I could orient myself, a thick hand wrapped itself around my throat.
I thrashed wildly, but the merman squeezed tighter, pulling me into a headlock. I pried on his massive arm, his hand slowly crushing my windpipe.
I searched for Meela and found her still near the surface, a whirl of fists and teeth. Toothless was backing off, arms thrown up in defense.
Amid the chaos, a blonde mermaid who looked no older than fourteen snuck up behind them. She was tiny, scarred and beaten, but there was something fierce about her. Clenched in her webbed fist was a black blade.
I tried to shout to Meela, but the words came out as a croak.
The young mermaid dove into the fray and emerged soon after, dragging a roaring Meela by the hair.
“Sounded like you needed help over here,” she said in a high, youthful voice.
“We had them,” said Toothless, clutching her throat where Meela’s punch had landed.
The large group we’d felt approaching drew nearer. I sensed the presence of at least a hundred mermaids and mermen.
The young mermaid jerked Meela’s hair. “Who are you?”
My heart pounded. Did they not know? Why had they been after us, then?
Meela opened her mouth, but I choked out a couple of syllables before she could speak. The merman loosened his grip.
“What?”
“We’re in His Majesty’s army,” I coughed.
“Ha!” said Toothless. “Then what are you doing so close to Utopia?”
“We’re on our way back from the Battle for Eriana Kwai.”
The young mermaid pointed her blade at me. “I’ll skin your face for lying. That battle ended long ago.”
“Fleeing, no doubt,” said the merman, his voice loud in my ear. “Bet they’re former humans.”
The young mermaid studied us. Her eyes lingered on Meela. I wondered if they could tell by her aura.
Either way, we would be better off if they assumed we were fleeing because of that—and not because we were traitors to the crown.
“You had fair warning about breaking curfew,” said Toothless. “You’re coming with us.”
Curfew?Had I heard that right? Since when did Utopia have a curfew?
The approaching group finally closed in, engulfing us like the mouth of a blue whale. The merman released my throat and I rubbed at the tender skin, glancing around.
No, this was definitely not an army. The crowd was weaponless and had a fearful aura. They were mostly older merpeople. The weedy scent of ungroomed bodies wafted through the water.
Surrounding them were armed guards and at least a dozen black marlins. Wherever they were going, these merpeople were being moved against their will.
Meela eyed the marlins.
“Keep your distance,” I whispered. Twice the size of a mermaid, their solid, streamlined bodies and pointed beaks were made for hunting.
The merman who’d been strangling me sneered at Meela. “Not from around here?”
