Page 79 of Battle Fluke
But despite the responsibility that took up so much of her self-proclaimed identity, her mind had wandered as they drew nearer the organized rendezvous point. She had given Hudson and Kyree her trust and blessing to go find and rescue Soulara. The smirk on her face held far more concern than humor as she imagined her blessing if not given wouldn’t have affected the decision for the two of them to go.
And she sure as hell couldn’t leave the troops. Not now.
But Hudson and Kyree had come to her. They had asked permission instead of forgiveness afterward. They had sought her out to communicate.
Thatmeant something.
Of course it meant something to Honour, but she knew it also meant something to both of them.
“General?” Zendalia’s voice filled her ears. The respect she had always demanded from her soldiers lay in the words, and she sensed a caring there as well. Especially when it came to Zendalia.
“They’re on their way.” Honour knew it without having confirmation. The water vibrated with the energy of mers barreling toward them.
“Are we certain?” Zendalia asked.
“Yes.” Honour’s life had been changed since she’d met Hudson and Kyree. The war wasn’t a surprise. Hudson and Kyree, however, were like a dream of someone else’s life. Even now, it would be so easy for her to think that she was living someone else’s life—someone who deserved a family.
She wished they were here with her—Hudson fighting beside her with that laugh that bordered on psychotic, and Kyree able to protect herself despite all assumptions Hudson had made of her. She hoped she hadn’t made a mistake. She needed them safe and in her arms again.
The water rippled over her body, and she pushed her shoulders back. She had to trust them. They were incredible and amazing, and they would keep each other safe and bring each other back home—a home she would help keep safe.
The Kwights came from the tide side while the Talons emerged from the darker depths of soundings. Three tribes coming together in ways no one could have ever anticipated or expected. They were the three always ready to battle each other. And here they were, side by side, saving their world.
As the three generals of each tribe stood and laid out their plans, Honour found herself less inclined to turn toward the Talons’ general.
Reine had never believed the Talons were an honorable tribe for their dominion over their female mers, so the resistance to anything Talon suggested didn’t surprise her. The strength of the anger in her chest, however, was fueled in ferocity in proportion to her affection for Hudson.
No, her love.
“They’re coming.”
Strong buffets of water pressed against her skin. The sea definitely vibrated now. Soulara had been correct about the timing, and that thought made Honour’s lips quirk up with satisfaction. Soulara never failed her—even in captivity.
Each general returned to their people, and after a few short commands, the three armies of troops shifted in precise movements. Combining their strengths and becoming one army, one defense, one savior of the world.
They didn’t move from their location. Honour had picked this specific spot for everyone to meet because it was exactly where the humans were supposed to come, where they’d enter the water, where the mers could have their dirty way with the enemy.
And nothing could possibly prepare her for seeing another one.
A silent stillness washed over all mers who floated in attention around her. They weren’t as prepared for this as she was. They hadn’t seen the krakens before. They hadn’t fought them time and time again like Honour had.
And she couldn’t have prepared them any more than they already were.
The wall of writhing metal that drew near reminded her of a cliff’s edge appearing out of nowhere as she turned a blind corner and swam too fast toward it. The kraken bore down on them. Metallic tentacles reached out, probing the water, barely missing the other searching limbs as they moved.
They’d already lost one mer. Blood tinged the water and an arm floated past the corner of Honour’s eye. One beat of silence was all she needed. The command to attack ripped out of Honour’s throat, and the world around her exploded into a blur of fins and flukes, metal and flesh.
The water churned and buffeted, and Honour dove and struck. Each clash of her sword against the metal monsters was a clang of power and control. As tentacles fell away from the krakens, floating down into the abyss of the deep soundings, she found herself completely engulfed in the next strike, in the next clash of enemy against enemy.
“More are coming.”
Honour heard the scream, and the thrill of the battle she had been reveling in fell from her shoulders. Another wave of metal. Another wall of writhing limbs drew closer, revealed by their falling comrades. The clumps of metal that had broken and fallen away weren’t nearly as large or as many as Honour had believed.
With a silent apology to Hudson and Kyree, Honour resolved herself to using her last strength and breath to take as many of these bastards down with her.
Another rallying scream ripped through her. It roared from her mouth, making her throat raw as she gave in to the pure instinct of the battle and the blood lust of ensuring the pain that cracked her heart would be felt by all those responsible for it. And she would keep breathing, keep fighting, until she knew Hudson and Kyree at least were safe.
Her body ached, and the cuts on her arms stung as she moved without slowing, diving in and out of the waving limbs of the enemy.