Chapter 33

33

T he new building in the center of Reine was still new enough that it wasn’t familiar for Hudson, and yet, here she was, standing in front of the large bubble and holding her breath. She wasn’t certain she’d ever get used to this sensation. But she was one of the few mers who could actually converse with the humans—Milan’s magic still within her cells.

Pushing her hand forward and into the stretchy bubble always freaked her out. Hudson clenched her jaw as her fingers broke through first. She never could go face first like Soulara. It was too damn scary for that—even for a seasoned soldier like her.

Her hand was instantly dry as she pushed her fluke to move herself forward even more. She really, really hated this. Closing her eyes, she tightened her entire body until she couldn’t feel anything. Then she came out the other side, pain searing into her fin—no, now it was legs—as they split and made those weird things Kyree called feet.

It had taken close to five seasons to build this thing from spare parts the humans had left and a bit of magic from Soulara and Milan, but it was done. And the inside was just as strange as the outside. The lights were brighter here, especially to her dried-out eyes.

But she could handle it. She had before when she’d called on Autumn. And there was something about that pesky human soldier that Hudson adored. They had become rather close in the last few seasons while Hudson had helped build this new empire that Soulara was hell-bent on ruling.

She wasn’t sure about it.

The only thing she did know was that it sounded a whole lot nicer than Talon.

“Hudson!” Autumn held her arms out like she was expecting a hug. The constant touching of humans was surprising, and it had taken Hudson a long time to get used to it. Hell, she wasn’t used to it yet.

“Autumn,” Hudson answered, half-heartedly wrapping Autumn in a hug.

“I didn’t expect you today.”

“Right.” Hudson slid her hands over her legs, not quite comfortable in the chill air. Autumn wore clothes too, which always made Hudson feel naked, even though Autumn never said a damn thing about it. And Hudson hated that feeling. She much preferred to meet in the water, but Autumn couldn’t breathe there, so they were stuck in this bubble of a new world that they were still building.

“Was something wrong?”

Hudson shook her head. “Can we go to your…apartment?” That was the word, right? Hudson had taken a long time to learn the human language, and the words were still foreign on her tongue. But Autumn’s mouth didn’t make the noises they used for their language, so again, they were stuck in the human world.

It was everything that Honour feared and more, and despite the fact that Hudson kept reminding Honour that they had planned for this and it wouldn’t be a takeover, that fear still lingered in Hudson’s stomach as well. She just had to work through it for longer. There was peace in the oceans for the first time in as far back as the memories and stories went.

And that was a feat in and of itself.

“Sure.” Autumn squinted, but she led the way back to her apartment. They stepped into the room, and Hudson was so glad that it was warmer in here than out in the open air. She must keep it that way for Soulara.

Sliding into the chair and sitting down was something that Hudson had come to love, so she immediately plopped on the soft cushions and made herself comfortable. Autumn smiled at her and sat next to her.

“So what’s going on? You seem far more nervous today than any other day.”

“Yeah, well, I am.” Hudson swallowed the lump in her throat. She’d been the chosen one to ask this, not only as a way to bring the humans closer to the mermaids, but to help Honour make up for some bad blood between her and Soulara.

She was still groveling, even after all these seasons.

“I wanted to ask if you’d be willing to risk your life again.”

“W-what?” Autumn stammered out.

“Yeah. I probably should have said that differently. Soulara says she’s been working on a way for you to breathe under the water for longer periods of time and not…” Hudson tried to remember what Soulara had said and how she’d explained it, but it was so technical and her brain just didn’t comprehend those sorts of things. “…not squish your skull.”

“Oh, because of the pressure. Yeah, she said that she’d been working on something, but I don’t think she’s anywhere close to being finished.”

“She is,” Hudson said. She’d made sure to check because of the question she was going to ask. Hudson rolled her shoulders and leaned back a little. “What do you know about mermaid bonding ceremonies?”

Autumn scrunched her face up. “No clue what that is.”

Nodding slowly, Hudson folded her hands in her lap and then immediately pulled them apart. Her nerves were getting the best of her. She’d much rather stand up and go to war again than face this. “Bonding ceremonies are fairly private affairs. Not big, only those involved and one other person to honor and support them. So depending on how many mers are bonding, there are twice that amount of people.”

“Okay, I’m still confused,” Autumn said, her voice dropping at the end.

Hudson knew she wasn’t doing a good job explaining this, but she’d never really had to explain it to anyone before. Bonding ceremonies were just a thing that everyone knew about…well, they had been until the humans had shown up.

“I’m not very good at this. Kyree would be so much better at it. When two or more mers love each other, and usually it’s more, they officiate that love with a bonding ceremony.”

“Oh! Like a wedding.” Autumn nodded in understanding. “We have something similar on Earth.”

“Okay, so the point is that Honour, Kyree, and I are going to have a bonding ceremony.”

“Oh my God! Congratulations!” Autumn grinned broadly and stood up, wrapping Hudson in yet another hug. This time, however, it felt so different from before. This one was warm and comforting. It was filled with gratitude and familiarity.

This had been what Hudson had wanted all along, wasn’t it? The support and family that she’d never had with the Talons?

“Uh…thanks.” Still she knew she was awkward about it all. Battle was definitely her forte. Not this emotional crap—though she’d gotten way better at it in the last few seasons. Even Cryloc had commented on it.

“I wish I could be there,” Autumn finally said, pulling back and giving Hudson a bit more space.

“I want you there. We want you there,” she corrected at the last minute. This wasn’t just her asking. It was Honour and Kyree and Soulara. Soulara would be there for Honour, and Kaelin would be there for Kyree, but that left Hudson. She’d originally wanted to ask Cryloc, and while she knew he would do it, she figured it would be out of mere obligation and not actual support that she wanted and needed.

This was her taking a step that she hadn’t managed to take with Kyree and Honour before. And that was only because they weren’t the ones that she could take this step with. Hudson had to make her own family, and this was where she’d chosen to start that path.

“I want you to come for me.”

“To support you?” Autumn raised an eyebrow, pushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

“Yes.” Hudson worried her lower lip. “I need someone to stand with me.”

“You need me or you want me?” Autumn crossed her arms defensively.

“I want you to.” That was the first time Hudson had admitted that to herself or anyone else. “I want you to be there to support me.”

“Then I’ll go…if I can, that is.”

“You can.” Hudson’s lips turned upward at that. “Soulara promises she’ll be done with whatever mechanism she’s working on.”

“Perfect!” Autumn clapped her hands together. “Are there any other traditions I should know about? Like am I supposed to get you a gift or something?”

“A gift?” Hudson furrowed her brow. “What’s that?”

“Like a present. Like I find something you might like and then give it to you.”

“We don’t do that.” Hudson wrinkled her nose. “Besides, I wouldn’t ask you to do something like that. I’m asking you for a huge favor, I wouldn’t then expect you to give more than your time for something I want.”

“Or something you need?” Autumn added, no doubt wanting to double check the confirmation that Autumn wasn’t just going out of a misguided obligation.

“Yes, need and want.” Hudson smiled slightly. “I don’t have family here, and you’re the closest thing I have to a friend. I’d like to be closer as sirens, if you’d like that.”

“Absolutely.” Autumn smiled again. “I need a friend too.”

“Perfect.”

“So what exactly does a bonding ceremony look like?”

Hudson grinned broadly. She wouldn’t spend hours explaining it like Kyree might, but the little she was going to give would be enough. And it would be beautiful, especially with all six of them there to honor each other and the relationships and lives that they were building together.

“Oh, it’s going to be amazing,” Hudson leaned back into the soft cushion. “It’s going to blow your mind!”