Neela couldn’t have cared less. Ikraan was with them. Alive.
After a tense, breathless half hour, they were out of the breeding grounds. Basra stopped at a reef, and ushered them all under an overhang of coral, where they would be out of sight. Naasir immediately set to work cleaning and dressing Neela’s wounds. The Askari all carried small amounts of medicine and bandages on them, and they pooled their resources to tend to her back. Naasir tried to be gentle, but the slashes were deep and his ministrations hurt. Neela winced, but didn’t whimper. When he was done cleaning the wounds, he hunted for some kelp fronds to tie across her back to keep the dressing secure.
“I got the scratches pretty clean, but you’re going to have to see the healer as soon as we’re back at Nzuri Bonde. Dragon claws are filthy. We need to make sure the cuts don’t get infected,” he said.
“Merl, you’re going to have some serious scars,” Ikraan said.
Neela turned to look at her, struck by the admiring note in her voice. “You almost sound envious. I don’t know why,” she said. “I’ll never be able to wear a backless dress again.”
“I’m totally envious! Nothing’s hotter than dragon scars. Not to a Kandinian. Most mer who get that close to a dragon end up getting eaten. And you better wear backless dresses! I’m telling you, once those heal, every merboy in Nzuri Bonde will be after you. Right Naas?”
Naasir smiled bashfully. He finished with the kelp fronds. “That’s going to have to do for now. We have to get to the prison,” he said.
While Naasir was tending to Neela, Basra sat off by herself, at the edge of the overhang. She didn’t even come over to see if Neela was okay. Looking at her now, silent and stony-faced, Neela felt a flash of irritation. She’d risked her life, taken a hit from a dragon, and saved Ikraan. What else did she have to do to prove herself to this merl?
Fed up, she swam over to her. “I saved your friend, you know. She was about to become baby food,” she said. “The least you could do is say thanks.”
Basra, still looking straight ahead, shook her head. “No, Neela,” she said, “you saved my sister.”
She rose then, took her armlet off—the one made from coral, with all her dragon kills on it—and placed it on Neela’s arm. “It doesn’t match your outfit, but I hope you’ll take it anyway,” she said.
Neela looked at the armlet, then swallowed the lump in her throat. “Matching is soooo yesterday,” she said. “This season it’s all about contrast.”
Basra touched her forehead to Neela’s.
“Thank you,” Neela said. “I’ll always treasure this armband. It’s totally invincible.”
Basra smiled. “It is, yes,” she said. “Just like you.”
KORA, ARMS CROSSED over her chest, smiled broadly at the carnage before her.
If she was tired after her three-league race with Hagarla, she didn’t show it. She and her group had led the dragons to the prison. As soon as Hagarla had spotted the sea whips, she’d stopped chasing the mermaids, who were hard to catch, and attacked the jellyfish instead.
She and the other Razormouths were in a feeding frenzy now. The sea whips were fighting back, lashing out with their powerful tentacles, but the dragons barely felt the stings through their thick scales. The prison guards tried to make the sea whips hold their formation, but it was no use; the sea whips broke rank and the guards abandoned their posts. As they fled, Nadifa and four other Askari shot through what was remained of the fence and shepherded the terrified prisoners into the barracks.
“Now comes the hard part,” Kora said.
“Right,” Neela said. “The hard part. Because it’s all been a piece of spongecake so far.”
“Khaali, Leylo, and Ceto are in position and waiting for us just north of here,” said Kora. “Basra, wait until I’ve drawn off the dragons, then you, Neela, and Ikraan join Nadifa and help her get the prisoners out. The rest of you, divide up the treasure and get ready to swim.”
Naasir dumped out the bag of loot he’d taken from Hagarla’s cave. As Kora and several Askari picked up the shiny objects, the dragons finished what had become an out-and-out slaughter of the sea whips. The water was clouded with blood, gore, and wriggling tentacles.
“Let’s move,” said Kora, pointing at the barracks.
A handful of dragons was moving toward the buildings. One had already landed on a rooftop and was pounding it with her long spiked tail.
Neela watched as Kora and her team readied themselves.
“On your mark…” Kora said.
The Askari waited, heads down, looking as if they were about to swim the race of their lives. “…get set…”
Heads snapped up, bodies tensed, tails coiled.
“…go!”