Chapter 2

2

F ingers of pain latched onto Honour’s chest and side, digging in and gripping hard. It was so hard to think, to breathe, to even move. But something was jostling her around, and Kyree’s cold body was gone. Peeking her eyes open a crack, she was met with the sight of warriors. But they made hardly any sound.

Silent.

Deadly.

Talon.

Wincing, Honour turned around and looked to see if she could find Kyree somewhere. But even moving that far pushed the pain in her side and shoulder beyond what she could handle. Her vision blurred in front of her, breathing was next to impossible, and her head spun again.

Honour fought with herself, needing to stay awake just a little bit longer to figure out what was happening. Who were these mers? Reine wasn’t at war with the Talons, so why would they be taken? Where were they going? Where the hell was Kyree?

The Talons weren’t known for straight out kidnapping, especially officers as high up as Honour.

“Don’t agitate,” Kyree murmured. Her voice was so sweet, and it soothed over Honour’s aching body.

So she was there. They were still stuck together, and they were being moved somewhere against their will. Or had Kyree struck up some kind of deal with the Talons for healing? No. She wouldn’t do that. Kyree was meek. She wouldn’t even begin to talk to someone she didn’t have to. Wincing again, Honour pried her eyes open. Her vision was still blurry, the fingers of pain diminishing her ability to focus. She’d never been this injured before, and she certainly hadn’t been taken to a proper healer yet.

Turning to her right, she finally managed to catch sight of Kyree’s dark tail. It was wrapped in seaweed ropes, tightening all the way down to her fluke. Her hands were behind her back, tied in the nest of ropes on her tail. Honour’s heart thudded hard.

This wasn’t them going somewhere safe.

They were being taken prisoner.

By the Talons.

By their closest ally in this gods-damned war that she didn’t want to be in to begin with.

Squinting to try and focus her thoughts and figure out exactly what was happening wasn’t easy. There were at least five other mers surrounding them, but there could be more. Honour’s head pounded with pain that dulled her senses. She bit the inside of her cheek hard to try and wake herself up again.

This was impossible.

She wasn’t going to be able to do anything until she was more healed herself, until her hands and fluke were free, because now that feeling of stiffness came back with a heavy dose of reality. She was also tied up like prey.

And prey the Talon would view her as.

Sighing, Honour closed her eyes and focused on the sounds around them. How far into the soundings were they? Which direction was the tide going so she could at least figure out how to get home in the end? Kyree’s little grunts every time they tugged on her bindings weren’t helping Honour focus.

Kyree was her responsibility.

So was Soulara and by association, Autumn.

And yet here Honour was, just as much a prisoner as her princess, with no hope of getting out of here alive. With no hope of bringing Soulara home to lead their people the way they should be led. Another mer bumped hard into Honour’s shoulder and pain radiated throughout her body. Honour cried out in retaliation, but she couldn’t move to do anything about it.

“Stop harming her further,” Kyree’s voice was firm, stronger than Honour had ever heard it before. “I told you not to tie her.”

The laugh was low, evil-sounding. It sent a shiver through Honour’s spine. This was a voice she would avoid at all possibilities. It was a voice that she would always be wary about, waiting for the other fin to drop. Breathing deeply, Honour settled her heart and focused her mind and body again. She had to stay with it, didn’t she?

“She’ll live.”

They moved in silence for at least another hour before slowing to a stop. The sun was darkening the waters again. How long had Honour been passed out before? At least this time, she’d managed to stay awake long enough to get the lay of the water a bit better. She might actually be able to get them back to Reine, assuming she could secure an escape.

“We’ll camp here for night.”

The small battalion of Talon mers moved into a cave in the water, as if they’d known where it was the entire time. Perhaps they had. Honour made note of it and kept the information to herself. She didn’t want to alert them to who she was if they didn’t know.

Honour kept her mouth shut as she was pushed this way and that while they decided where she and Kyree were going to be chained up. She hated feeling like she was an animal, destined to only follow the commands of an ill-suited owner. She clenched her jaw as she was pushed back into a sharp rock that jarred her already bruised ribs.

Kyree finally settled next to her. Honour scooted as close as possible, chills setting into her body and wracking her this way and that. Still, she sat stoically and watched the Talon mer battalion make camp. They did everything wordlessly. They were well trained and well experienced with what was going on. Yet they didn’t wear the colors of Talon. Honour shuddered again, and Kyree bumped shoulders lightly.

“Are you cold?” Kyree asked.

Honour shook her head sharply, staving off yet another shudder. “It’s from the pain.” She kept her voice as low and as quiet as possible. While she didn’t care if the Talons heard this, she didn’t want them to know everything. There were still some things that she deserved to keep secrets about.

“You should have told me. The moss needs changing.”

Honour looked down at her side, at the moss that was no longer fluffy but soaked with sticky coagulated blood and flatted from the movement and day. “We don’t have any.”

“They could find some.”

Just barely resisting a snort of derision, Honour focused back on the battalion in front of her. “They don’t care enough for that.”

“They haven’t killed us yet.”

“Which is odd for a Talon battalion, I’ll give you that. Especially one that thinks they’re at war with us.” Honour stretched her tail out as much as she could, letting her fluke flap lightly. She didn’t want to be completely still, not yet. She wanted to keep herself awake long enough to figure out what was going on, and perhaps secure them an escape. “Can you move at all?”

“No.” Kyree shuffled a little, but she didn’t make any progress.

“Can’t free a hand?”

Kyree shook her head, biting her lip in pain. Honour paused and waited for an explanation, but Kyree didn’t give her any. “Are you thinking of escaping?”

“Of course.” Honour narrowed her gaze back out on the battalion. “Aren’t you?”

“I don’t want to harm them.”

Honour guffawed. If she had to kill them to get out of here, then she would. King Pregtox could soothe things over with the Talon government after that. If he didn’t go into a rage first when he found out Soulara had been kidnapped by the humans.

“Did you see anyone before we were taken? Did you tell anyone what happened?” Honour focused back on Kyree, needing to know what was happening in the world.

Kyree shook her head. “You were so injured.”

Honour had thought that might be the problem. Kyree had probably barely managed to even get her to that rock cliff.

“I wish Nylah were here,” Kyree murmured.

“Nylah?” Honour frowned deeply. “What good would they do?”

“They could pass messages, not just between us and Reine, but between us and Soulara.” Kyree looked directly into Honour’s eyes. Kyree’s eyes were so dark, hard but soft at the same time. She was sure of this conviction, sure that she was right. Honour didn’t have the heart to tell her that she was wrong.

“Well, we don’t have Nylah.” Honour rested back into the spot they’d been stuck, still keeping her eyes open. Why did she care so much about whether or not she ticked Kyree off? It shouldn’t matter ultimately. Kyree was there to do her job for the war and then she’d go home and they’d never see each other again. Then Honour wouldn’t be saddled with babysitting a mer who shouldn’t be this far into the upper soundings.

“I wish I had more moss. You look to be in such great pain.” Kyree’s voice was smooth, easing out the wrinkles that Honour had accidentally found.

“It’s nothing.” Honour clenched her jaw tightly.

She was just about to speak again when the battalion finished arranging their camp for the night. The one in front eyed Honour suspiciously, and she knew she was going to be his immediate target. She was going to bear the brunt of whatever was going to happen next, and she would gladly do it to prevent just one more mer from being injured in this gods-forsaken war.

He swam over, stopping right in front of the two of them. His gaze slid over Honour, then Kyree, and then back to Honour. “You’re not from the same tribe.”

Honour shook her head. “No, we’re not.”

“Where are you from?” He prodded Kyree’s tail with his hand, hitting it hard enough to move it.

“The deep soundings.”

He pursed his lips. “I’ve never met a deep sounding mer before.”

“I wouldn’t have expected you to.” Kyree’s gaze remained unwavering.

A thrill ran through Honour. She wasn’t meek in this moment at all, and that was all the thrill was. Seeing the strength Kyree had kept well-hidden underneath all her calm pacifism. The mer slapped Honour’s tail.

“And you’re from Reine. We’ve had many dealings with your people.”

Not many, Honour thought, but kept that thought to herself. It was clear at this point that he had no idea who she was or what her rank was. He must have thought they were out for some leisurely stroll or something. Honour didn’t answer him because there really wasn’t a question. She didn’t want to give him more information than he needed.

“I’m Cryloc.” His voice sounded gruff, as if he’d been awake for days. “We were returning from a battle and found you.”

“Where are you taking us?” Kyree spoke up.

Honour could have kissed her. Leave it to the innocent one to ask those types of questions. She might actually get answers, whereas Honour was too much of a brute to get any kind of information from them.

Cryloc nodded his head down and put his hands out. “To our leader, Hudson.”

Hudson. Hudson. Hudson.

Nope, that name didn’t sound familiar at all. In fact, it sounded like a very strange name for any Talon to have. Honour rubbed her lips together, but she kept her silence.

“Are we your prisoners?” Kyree asked.

Cryloc laughed boisterously, loud enough that the vibrations moved through the water and hit Honour square in the face and chest. He turned away from them, saying, “We bring everything we find back to Hudson.”

Then he swam off, just like that.

Honour winced. That had been less than helpful, except at least she knew where they were going now, and it wasn’t back to Talon. She scooted ever-so-slightly closer to Kyree. “We’ll sleep here while we can.”

“Sleep?” Kyree jerked her head up, surprised.

“Yes.” Honour gave her a serious look. “Lie down on your side. I’ll lie behind you.”

Kyree was confused, and rightfully so. Honour hadn’t explained anything that was happening yet. She hadn’t told Kyree that this was part of her plan. Honour waited patiently for Kyree to comply. When the awkward shifting finally ended, Honour rested her head just behind Kyree’s.

The scent wafting from Kyree’s hair was intoxicating. They’d never been this close before. Honour had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep herself focused because she was so entranced by the sweet scent that came from Kyree’s body. How could one mer smell this good?

“They’re not taking us back to Talon,” Honour whispered. From this position, she could keep her voice quieter than before, and the battalion couldn’t see if she was talking or not. She buried her nose in Kyree’s hair, moving against her neck so that her lips brushed against Kyree’s skin. “They’re not wearing Talon colors, and Talon is a very proud tribe. Everyone wears their colors, even the civilians.”

“Really?”

“Shh, yes.” Honour took in another breath, closing her eyes as the scent rushed through her. Her body pulsed, a mix of sensations and emotions floating through her. “They’re defectors.”

“Who’s this Hudson?”

“No clue.” Honour bit back the whimper that she wanted to release. She didn’t want Kyree to think she was in any kind of pain, because it was the complete opposite from that. The sensations running through her chest and tail couldn’t be more different. “But if this Hudson defected from Talon, we can expect her to be wild and untethered.”

“What does that mean?”

“We’ll be lucky to ask for a swift death.”

Kyree stilled, her entire body stiffening from that revelation. Honour moved in closer, her lips brushing the edge of Kyree’s ear. “I’m working on a plan to get us out of here.”

“We’re tethered. You’re injured. And we have no weapons.”

“I know. But I can be… resourceful.” Honour bit her lip. Kyree had put out into the universe the same things Honour had been thinking. They had very little hope of escaping before being brought to Hudson, but after they were with this Hudson, wherever they may be, then their chances of getting out of there were nil.

“Just trust me,” Honour whispered. She wished her hand was free so she could slide it around Kyree’s waist, giving her some of the comfort that she knew Kyree wished for. But she couldn’t move more than a little bit to lean into Kyree’s back. It would have to be enough.

Kyree splayed her fingers against Honour’s abdomen, pressing her full palm into Honour’s body. The connection was warm. It was the comforting presence that Honour had been hoping to give Kyree from the beginning, so perhaps it had worked. Perhaps they had finally found a way to communicate with each other despite trying since Kyree had agreed to come to the upper soundings.

“I trust you,” Kyree murmured and then repeated, “I trust you.”