Kiraat had enchanted her windows so she couldn’t swim out through them, but he’d left one open a crack, just wide enough to allow fresh water in. Or a conch.
As Neela watched, the pelican nudged a white shell through the space.
“Thank you!” she said, taking it. She unwrapped a few zee-zees and pushed them through the crack. Pelicans, she knew, were partial to them. He caught them in his pouch, then headed back to the surface. Neela held the conch to her ear excitedly. She recognized the voice inside it.
“Hey, Neels,” Serafina said. “I made it home. I hope you did too. Are you okay? Ling and I tried to convoca you, but we couldn’t get through, so I sent this conch. It’s a risky move, I know but I instructed the pelican to crack it if any death riders came after him. I can’t explain everything now, but I think my theory about Merrow was correct: she hid the talismans during her Progress. What’s more, I think she hid all but one in waters near each mage’s original home. A vitrina told Ling and me that Navi’s talisman was an egg-shaped moonstone. I think it’s somewhere in Matali’s dragon breeding grounds. If you go searching for it, don’t go alone. You’ll need soldiers with weapons or you’ll be eaten alive. I’m setting off after Neria’s Stone. Wish me luck. It’s hard here in Cerulea. We’re really in trouble. And I don’t know how to do this, you know? I miss you. A lot. But I’ve got you with me, kind of. Because of the bloodbind. I throw a mean frag now, and I can speak to eels and silverfish. I think the vow gave each of us some of everyone else’s magic.” There was a pause and then, “Mahdi’s alive. He’s okay. That’s all I can say for now. We’re trying to find out anything we can about Yaz. Don’t give up hope. We’ll find him. I know we will. I love you, Neels. Smash this when you’re done listening to it, okay?”
Neela laughed out loud, so happy to know that Sera and Mahdi were both okay. She wished Sera could have told her that her brother was too, but she would keep hoping. Knowing Yazeed, he would turn up in a nightclub somewhere.
She thought about what else Sera had said—that Navi’s talisman was a moonstone and that it was in dragon breeding grounds…but which ones? Matali had dozens of them.
Dragons were the main source of Matali’s wealth. Its temperate waters provided ideal breeding conditions for many types, including the Bengalese Bluefin—gentle, calm, and good for pulling wagons and carriages; the Lakshadwa Blackclaw, huge, powerful, and used by the military; and the Royal Arabian—a creature so dazzling, and so costly, that only the wealthiest mer could afford them. There were many more, all bred and exported. All, that is, except the Razormouths, who were feral and murderous. In centuries past, attempts had been made to domesticate them, but they’d always ended badly. The Razormouths nonetheless served an important purpose. They bred in the Madagascar Basin, in western Matali, near Kandina. Attempts to invade Matali via the Basin always ended badly, too, because no invaders could slip by them. The Razormouths’ importance to the realm’s defense was the reason their image was on the Matalin flag.
Neela swam back and forth now, trying to figure out which breeding ground Merrow would have picked. The Razormouths’ was the obvious choice, but other breeds could be vicious, too. She stopped at her windows and stared out, biting her lip. The sun was almost down now. Its last, weak rays were fading in the water and a strong westerly current was rising. It was tearing at the Matali flags, making them flap. Neela looked at the national symbol—the Razormouth queen holding her “special” egg—the only one that wasn’t an ugly brown. As she continued to stare at the flags, Neela’s tail fin began to twitch and her skin started to glow bright blue. Something had just occurred to her.
“Ooda!” she said aloud. “Navi’s moonstone was egg-shaped too. That’s what Sera said. Maybe it’s not an egg that the Razormouth queen is holding…maybe it’s the moonstone! What if Merrow gave it to the reigning dragon queen—because there’s nothing more treacherous than a Razormouth, right? And the queen passed it down to the queens who came after her. Whoever made the first Matali flag must’ve seen the dragon queen with it. He didn’t know it was a moonstone…why would he? He probably just thought it was an egg. It’s there, Ooda! The moonstone’s with the Razormouths. I know it is.”
You’ll need soldiers…Serafina had said.
Yes, Neela thought, thousands of them. With spears and shields and lava launchers.
“How am I going to do this? It’s impossible,” she said out loud. “Even with soldiers, I may as well hang a sign around my neck that says Lunch.” She paused for a minute, thinking, then said, “Maybe Kora can help. Do you remember her, Ooda?”
Ooda quickly shook her head.