“Wh-what do you want to know?”
“Where would someone go if they wanted to find him?”
“He’s c-coming this way. He’s hitting the Atlantic next.”
“Right now?” said Meela. “So he’s taken everywhere else?”
“Y-yes. He’s coming.”
If Nestor was telling the truth, this was our chance.
How long did we have until king tide? It must have been a few days away, at most—and then we had about a day to work with until he transitioned back to merman.
We had to time it right.
I didn’t like this. We still needed to recruit help. We couldn’t take down Adaro on our own, even if we did know where to find him.
“He just hit that big city in Canada,” said Nestor, the panic in his voice rising at our silence. “You know it?”
“Shut up,” said Meela, keeping the blade to the merman’s chin. “You say he’s passing through here?”
“He told the northern detachments to meet him at Steller Point.”
“Where’s that?”
“The Aleutians. Sort of. A little northeast. It’s on some current—I can’t remember its name—”
“All right, stop,” said Meela. “Let me think.”
A red gleam appeared in her eye. I knew what she was thinking. But it was too risky to tail him until he transitioned. He could easily set the serpent on us before we got anywhere near.
“Mee—”
“Where were you taking Lysi?” she said to Nestor.
He spluttered.
Meela pressed the blade upwards, drawing more blood. “There’s a price on her head, is there not? On both of us?”
“You’re wanted for treason!”
“So you’re supposed to take us to Adaro?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you just kill Lysi, if she’s a traitor to the crown?”
“The king wants to question her on the rebel group.”
I didn’t like the look in Meela’s eye, or the feel of her racing pulse. What was she thinking about so hard? Was she worried they were closing in on Nilus? Or was she planning something?
Before I could voice my concerns, she said, “Take me to him.”
“No!” I said.
“Uh,” said Spio.
“The timing is right. He wants information, so he won’t kill me. If I can get close enough to him at the right moment, I can finish this.”
