Chapter 24

24

B ubbles rippled through the water. A quiet fizz of energy tickled up and down Hudson’s arms as though the bubbles on her skin waited to pop. They were finally going to do it. She was going to do it. Fighting for the freedom of her people had been all she ever wanted, since the moment she realized life didn’t have to be the way they all accepted without a fight, without a thought.

Defeating the Talons had been her primary focus. Her only true focus for so many years now.

The energy from her men buoyed her on, pushing her forward toward their victory. Because it wasn’t just her victory. It would be a victory for all of her people.

Memories of the last battle against the kraken filled her thoughts.

The Talons didn’t have the benefit of Kyree, the magnificence of the soul stone, or the combined power of the sea creatures defending their home. If the Talons fought in a battle against the humans would any of them even survive for Hudson to pick off later?

This was ridiculous.

She shook her head and focused again on the expanse they followed. Kyree’s presence beside her filled her with a strength she hardly recognized.

Her entire life had been all about fighting for her freedom, for her ability to choose and live how she wanted. Above all of that, she fought even harder for her existence to be considered of worth, of true value to her people.

But she did have value. It grew within her from a seed long ago forgotten and nourished into growth. But not from the battles. Not even from the war.

The knowledge swelled within her chest, wrapping like seaweed around every part of her. It caressed her, and as she allowed herself to relax into the touch, she knew she had already found the freedom she’d always craved.

A freedom unlike anything else she’d ever imagined.

Her mind filled and raced with too many thoughts. She traced the paths along to their conclusions.

She had never entirely doubted her own value, but she wanted others to acknowledge it, to give her the value she deserved.

And Kyree and Honour already had.

“It doesn’t matter.” The words bubbled out of her mouth before she could think about pulling the words back.

“What?” Kyree’s head turned toward her own, and she met those eyes. The feeling of home, the feeling of freedom and being seen alive within them.

“It doesn’t matter about the Talons,” the muttering began behind her.

Her chest tightened as the old fear tried to take hold. She pushed it back and shook her head.

After a quick smile at Kyree, Hudson twisted around, slowing her speed and watching as her men slowed automatically, following her lead. They’d always followed her lead, and she’d felt the power of such control build up inside her, be enough for her. The warmth remained, but she needed something else now, something so much more powerful.

“The Talons are our birth people. They’re our oppressors.” Hudson spoke the words with strength and power, even as part of her brain screamed, surprised and horrified at where her words were leading. “But they won’t be worth fighting if the humans win. If the humans win, we all lose. Talon and us alike. But we were never going to lose. And I won’t let us lose now.”

She saw confusion furrow the brows of her men. She was messing this up, as though it were her first time rallying them to the cause. But she couldn’t backflip and lose her momentum or her decision. It’d been made, and she would do what she needed to.

“This is where we part ways.” Hudson put her hands out next to her. She wasn’t going to drag them into this mess of her own making. And she had to be clear. Cryloc was trained well enough to take over leadership while she was tangled up with Kyree and Honour.

The chorus of disbelief and anger washed over her. She felt Kyree’s eyes boring into the side of her face, but she couldn’t meet them. Not yet.

“You’re the best of the best. The best Talon has ever had, the best they ever lost, and you’re the best of this whole damn world.” Hudson had to placate them through the breakup. This was almost as bad as leaving Honour and Kyree the last time. These men were her family—the only family she’d ever really had.

They cheered, relief filling the cheers that roared from them. Several sets of eyes still held confusion and uncertainty, but they would find their own way through this fight, through this war.

She believed in them.

The realization was almost as shocking as what she had been planning in her head.

“The Talons will be fighting alongside the rest of our people, all of our people. All the tribes and companions. Show them all what Talons are truly capable of. Fight and survive and make sure you get your piece of the enemy.”

The confusion from the eyes staring at her disappeared, replaced by the hunger for battle. The hunger for victory that had made her choose these men every single time. And every single one of them.

“Cryloc will lead you into the city of Reine.”

“Where will you be?” Cryloc asked, moving forward slightly from the rest of them.

“I’ll be following another path into the enemy. We’ll be making sure to attack the enemy from all sides and in all ways possible. They’ll regret the moment they thought our world could be stolen from us, that we were nothing more than a grain of sand to be washed away.” Hudson’s voice rose as she swam back and forth in front of her men. The need for movement, to build the energy and electric buzz that popped around her, was too much to remain hovering.

“We joining the Talons then?”

“No!” Hudson might know what she needed to do, what she and Kyree had to do. But she wouldn’t bow down to those monsters who had tried to break her and every single one of these men. “You won’t join them. You’ll join with the army of Reine, under the leadership of General Honour. You’ll pass the information they need and follow her as you would me.”

“They won’t even let us through the gates of Reine.” One man scoffed, not raising himself up enough to be singled out in the crowd. But Hudson would be a terrible leader if she didn’t recognize the voice of every single one of these men.

“They will!” Hudson roared and stopped in the middle of her back-and-forth swim. “Because I say they will. And have I ever told you a lie?”

“No, Hudson,” the chorus of voices replied, and it filled her with the power she had adored. But a sadness lingered at the edges. She would miss her men. They had been a means to an end. But somehow, along the way, they had become an unexpected family.

“Follow Honour as you would me. If I hear of a single fin against her, I will hunt the mer down and make them wish for death.”

“Yes, Hudson!”

“At ease, soldiers.” Hudson let her own shoulders relax as she motioned for Cryloc to swim forward.

“Where are you going? I never thought you would let anyone else lead, especially in sight of Talons.” He looked more curious than worried, which was a good sign. He had been ready for longer than Hudson had wanted to admit, and instead of expanding her troops, she’d held them frozen where they were. She hadn’t been prepared for battle against the Talons at all. And it was this war that was pushing her to make those changes.

“Some things are more important.” Hudson flicked her gaze from Cryloc to Kyree, beautiful, stunning Kyree, who stayed put a little way off, watching the entire interaction with her wide, observant eyes. Nothing ever got by that mermaid, did it?

“Putting strategy over show? You’ve grown up.” Cryloc chuckled lightly, his voice carrying through the water to Hudson’s ears.

“Ha!” Hudson punched the man in the shoulder. The smile on her face said more than she would ever be able or willing to speak aloud. “Even battle-wrought mers can learn new tricks, can’t they?”

Hudson finished filling Cryloc in on the plan, giving him exactly what he needed to know in order to get through the gates of Reine and pledge their lives to Honour. As her men swam on ahead of them, Hudson breathed a sigh of relief. Kyree had been right all along.

This battle was going to take every single mer available.

And that meant her.

It meant them.

“Hudson?” Kyree had remained quiet, moving in the periphery of Hudson’s vision as though trying to hide.

As if Hudson could ever be less than hyperaware of Kyree’s every movement.

“Kyree.” Hudson let the wall fall as the name left her lips in a far more natural tone than she ever had before. She didn’t hide from the emotion or pull back from the need.

“What are you doing?”

Just the warmth of Kyree’s body next to hers, even though her skin was still colder to touch than Honour’s, was enough to tell Hudson she had made the right decision. “You were right.”

“Can you repeat that?” Kyree’s smirk made Hudson bark out a peal of laughter.

“You. Were. Right.” Hudson didn’t hesitate as she flipped around, grasping Kyree’s cheeks and pressing their mouths together. That one kiss before had been everything she’d needed and more. She hadn’t realized how much she craved it—the connection, the touch, the love that emanated from it. Their bodies pressed together, chest to tail as Hudson held Kyree tightly. Eventually, she slowed and pulled away, the water against her skin tingling through her arousal and promising all the touches that she wanted and more.

“I like that.” Kyree’s eyelids fluttered half-closed.

“Mmmm.” Hudson groaned, wishing she had time to enjoy Kyree before they moved out, but time wasn’t on their side. At least, not for her to enjoy one of the mermaids she loved.

She hadn’t known what this feeling was until Kyree had come to find her. She hadn’t thought about its name, but as it came to her she knew it for what it was. It made her heart speed and the bubbles push from her mouth in small rapid clusters.

“Hudson?” Kyree’s voice filled with concern this time.

“It’s okay.” Hudson nodded, forcing her body back under control. “We’re going to make it right.”

“Make it right?” Kyree’s eyes filled with hope, but everything about her hesitated.

“We’re going to show Honour how much she’s worth. We’re going to make sure she knows that her happiness is entwined with ours and is as important, no—that her happiness is more important than anything else.”

“All right.” The hope that had hesitantly filled Kyree’s eyes now stretched over her entire face. “What’s our plan of action, commander?”

“You and me and Nylah.” Hudson smiled over at the ray that hovered near a rock face. “We’re going to infiltrate the human’s sky ship, and we’re going to get Soulara out of their clutches.”

Kyree’s eyes widened, and her mouth formed a large O shape.

“We can do this.” Hudson had no clue how they were going to do it, not just yet, but she was skilled at making crazy plans that had no chance in hell of working but always managed to get the job done in the end.

“The humans?” Kyree’s lip trembled a little as she asked.

“I’d never ask or expect you to kill, not even for me or Honour. Who you are is who I want. I wouldn’t change either of you for anything.” Well, if one confession was going to fall, she might as well let the rest of them fall.

“But?” Kyree’s mouth worked by no other words came out.

“I’ll keep us safe. I’ll take care of anything and anyone who tries to stop us. Trust me.”

Hudson lifted her hand to Kyree’s cheek and cradled the soft skin.

Kyree melted into the touch, placing her own hand over Hudson’s and pressing her cheek hard against her fingers.

“Together.”

“Yes. Together,” Hudson whispered.

“Okay.” Kyree opened her eyes and met Hudson’s. “Let’s save the princess.”