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How could she have let two mermaids who had no idea what life was like distract her from her purpose? Sure, they were gorgeous and beautiful and had made her feel like she could be like them. Like she could be calm. And that taste of peace had been amazing. Hudson shivered as she pushed herself harder. If she looked back now, she’d never find her way again.

The problem was, they made her feel. Something other than rage at the tribe who had used her and her fellow mermaids.

The thoughts whirled through her head as she headed back toward Talon territory. She’d told Cryoc it would only be a few days. She’d tasked him to keep staking out the Talon borders and seeing what they were doing in relation to this war. It had been a little longer than she’d planned. But she’d find them, even if Cryoc had gotten cocky and taken things into his own hands.

They would bow down to her rule once more, or she would kill them.

Honour might pride herself on loyalty, but Hudson demanded it. And Honour had broken that promise. If Honour had been part of her war party, Hudson would have killed her too. Except she hadn’t. Why was that?

Waiting for the familiar rush of adrenaline and fire in her belly, Hudson allowed her mind to turn toward battle plans and revenge.

But the rush didn’t come.

She remembered the feeling of it, how it filled her and made her laugh with the pure thrill of blood lust. Getting payback from those who had spent her life holding her down had always been enough.

“Hudson,” Cryoc interrupted her thoughts, and she appreciated him for the first time in a while.

She shook her head. She wouldn’t let some orgasms, no matter how water-rippling they were, turn her soft. And she was home, finally. Except…it no longer felt that way. Cringing inwardly, Hudson convinced herself that it would eventually feel that way again.

“Report.” Hudson ignored Cryoc’s concerned look and followed him back toward the camp he had set up.

“They aren’t moving on this side at all.”

“What? But they made a treaty with Reine.”

“I’m just as surprised that they’re honoring it.” Cryoc smirked, and Hudson returned the gesture.

At least her muscles remembered how to play the part, even if something inside her felt wrong.

Broken?

No, she would never allow anyone to break her again, no matter who they were. She didn’t bow to Milan, and she wouldn’tbow to anyone else. Not the King of Reine, not even for Honour and Kyree.

“Hudson?” Cryoc asked.

“What?” she snapped. That felt good. That felt like something akin to her old self.

“Crew wants to know what’s going on?”

“What’s going on is whatever I say is going on.” She gritted her teeth. She wasn’t playing the role as well as she’d thought, and her cracks were growing by the second.

“Right,” Cryoc said, but he didn’t cower like he had before. Or was she imagining that? “But you aren’t saying anything.”

“Because nothing’s changed.” She snarled.

“What the fuck?” Cryoc asked.

“Cryoc,” Hudson warned.

“We’ve all got reason to despise the Talons. You know that. But we saw those things, Hudson. All of us did.”

“So what?” Hudson turned back to Cryoc, elbow raising as she did. It hit square in his jaw. The blood was slow to leak from the corner of his mouth, but as it did, the hair on the back of her neck rose.

Turning around, the rest of the crew stared at her. Wide eyes met her own, and the usual fear filled them. Still, that rush was nowhere to be found.

“We move on as planned. The Talon are too busy pretending to play nice with Reine.” She ignored the bile that rose to the back of her throat. “We’ll take them. And we’ll show them what it means to be strong despite their savagery.”

“And what about our savagery?” Cryoc spoke as he spat another stream of red blood from his mouth.