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“I have to get back to my men.” On the surface, Hudson’s voice seemed entirely unaffected by anything that had just happened—Honour’s leaving, and the words that had cut Kyree to the core.

“I want to fix this.” Desperation leaked into Kyree’s words. Fear latched onto her heart, and it was digging its claws in deep. Honour leaving was one thing. But Hudson? It really would plunge Kyree into isolation. She wouldn’t ever be able to get back home or to who she was before them. They had changed her.

Wholly. Completely.

“You can’t, Kyree. None of it can be fixed. We’ve kept our secrets and our real purposes. We treated Honour like she was an idiot.” Hudson threw her hands up in the air and shook her head. “We made our bed.”

“And that’s okay with you?” Now desperation entered the conversation. Tears stung Kyree’s eyes, but she refused to letthem loose. The entire ocean was falling apart around her, and she was witnessing it in slow motion. This wasn’t just about a war. It was about mermaids. And connection. Relationships.

They could come together to fight, but they couldn’t ever do anything beyond that. Could they? They were the essence of why the mermaid race was broken and shattered and would never become one again.

“I don’t have the privilege of playing games. My people are relying on me.” Hudson made a fist and planted it right in the center of her chest. Her eyes were dark, serious.

“Games?” Kyree furrowed her brow. She’d never been more confused than she was right now.

Hudson rolled her eyes, and Kyree wondered how many more stabs to the chest she could survive. She should stop while she was ahead. She should go back to the deep soundings and beg for them to accept her back into the tribe.

But there was something else in Hudson’s face. Was that hurt?

“You really agree with Honour? You think I’ve got some other agenda?” The words tasted rotten on her tongue. She hated that she was asking this, but was it really the issue? The one they needed to get out in the water between them?

“Of course you do. We all do.” Hudson twisted around and began swimming off in the opposite direction to Honour. Over her shoulder, she sent her parting words. “Even Honour does. She just isn’t sure what that is yet.”

“Wait…” Kyree said, but the word died as soon as it left her lips. Was Hudson really gone just like that? No fight? No goodbye? Just gone.

The second person Kyree had ever truly felt a real connection with swam away from her, devastating her. She’d needed them. And now they were both gone. She’d given them her life, and they didn’t even seem to care.

They didn’t seem to understand her decision or the consequences of the choice she’d made for them.

It was all for them.

And honestly, how could she have told them about the soul stone? She wasn’t even sure if the stories were true. She’d spent years listening to the elders tell them, search for the soul stones, but she’d never fully believed they were real.

She hadn’t come to save the war. She’d come to show her support, to fight and help in whatever way she could. And this was how she could do that. She’d finally found her purpose.

She’d never thought that she’d find herself in the middle of a relationship—not when she’d left the deep soundings. But she had. She had finally found home. A real home where she belonged. Between the arms and bodies of these two beautiful warriors.

How stupid could she be?

Kyree with her high ideals and beliefs.

The ripples in the water that lapped toward her made her heart beat for a moment in hope. Had Honour come back for her? Hudson?

But it wasn’t warming that touched her. It was the cool smooth skin of her familiar. Nylah brushed their fin against her arm and then her cheek. Wiping away the tears she’d spilled. Giving her the sweet comfort she needed from Hudson and Honour, not from Nylah.

“Oh Nylah,” Kyree murmured, lifting her hand up and brushing her fingers along Nylah’s back. They’d never been particularly friendly with each other. They’d tolerated her presence, and Kyree had known as soon as she’d met Soulara that Nylah was hers. “No one understands the deep soundings but you.”

Nylah flapped their fin on Kyree’s skin. But Kyree wasn’t sure if it was in opposition to what she’d said or agreement. Theyweren’t connected like that, not unless Kyree worked really hard to focus on Nylah’s thoughts and feelings.

“Hello, my friend. Do you have another message from Soulara?” That’s the only reason Nylah would be there, to protect Soulara.

The message was clear and sharp in her mind. It sent waves of nausea rippling through Kyree’s body, from her head down to her fluke fins. Instinctively, Kyree snuggled into her familiar and the overwhelming warmth and comfort of love filled her. That was what she was missing in her life—but she couldn’t focus on that now.

She began to swim toward Reine. This was the information the king would need, that all of them needed to know about. After three strong kicks of her fluke, she stopped. Staring into the dark water in front of her, Kyree shook her head. She hesitated.

Without Hudson, Honour wouldn’t listen to her. Honour would think it was yet another lie, a ploy by Kyree in an attempt to manipulate Honour and Reine. The king wouldn’t get the information because it would never get past his general.

And they wouldn’t tell Hudson and her men. They wouldn’t even know to. Beyond that, this could be how they could show Honour what mattered most. That Kyree wasn’t trying to hide the truth.