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Wasn’t that what Kyree was doing?

Slipping from Kyree’s grasp, Honour made her way into the main living area. Hudson was resting on a rock, slipping a small snail between her lips and sucking on it with her tongue peeking out.

“Don’t give me that look,” Honour muttered as she snagged a snail for herself.

“What look is that?” Hudson’s gaze was just as brutal back. She wasn’t going to let Honour get away with anything tonight, was she?

“You find it just as disgusting as I do.”

“Find what just as disgusting?”

Honour seriously could kill the mer if she kept this up. She was directly and purposely pushing the boundaries of what Honour wanted to say out loud. And while Honour understood why she was doing that, she still didn’t like it.

“To kick her out when she’s the one who saved the world.”

Hudson canted her head to the side, her lips quirking up in a half-smile. “Not everyone comes from a home that wants them.”

Honour halted. She’d never really considered the deeper reasons behind Hudson’s desire to take the Talons and rip their current way of life to shreds. Perhaps her reasoning wasn’t so far off from Kyree’s. Pressing her lips together, Honour stared at Hudson, taking in all the changes in her as the stare continued. Hudson went from being enigmatic and stoic to breaking down second by second.

That was it, wasn’t it?

“You deserve a home,” Honour said simply, her voice carrying in the water.

Hudson’s brow furrowed and she shook her head sharply. “No, I don’t. And I don’t have one. I never have.”

“Doesn’t mean you don’t deserve one. Isn’t that what you’re fighting for? So that every Talon can have a home where they’re loved and welcomed and feel like they’re a part of the community?”

Hudson grunted and waved her hand in the space between them. “I’m trying to make Talon better, give my men a place.”

“And yourself,” Honour pushed. If Hudson could try to trick her into talking, Honour could very easily do the same back.

“You know, until I met Kyree… and you,” Hudson added sheepishly as she slid closer to Honour, “I’m not sure I would have agreed with you.”

“Oh?” Honour tilted her chin down and narrowed her gaze as Hudson slid up against her, hand on her hip, and pulled her in closer.

“But something about you two has actually made me want a home.”

“So you’ll continue to fight the Talons?”

“Yes,” Hudson answered simply. “Did you really think I would make a good housemer?”

Honour barked out a laugh. “Hardly!”

“Then we have an understanding.”

“Only if you believe that you actually deserve a home, Hudson. Because you do, just like Kyree does. And if that home ends up being in Reine, then so be it. But you both deserve everything that everyone else does—home, love, friends, family, support. Nothing will change that.”

“Hmm, careful General, you’re getting soft in your old age.”

“Maybe it’s not because of myoldage but rather the company that I’ve been keeping.”

“Agreed.” Hudson pressed her lips to Honour’s.

Tingles raced through Honour’s body, pooling in her slit. She wrapped a hand around Hudson’s back, tasting the lingering bits of the snail Hudson had just eaten. But she relaxed, her entire body easing into this moment when she knew Hudson would catch her if that’s what she needed, fight her if that was what she needed. They were meant for each other, and there wasn’t a love out there that was more pure than what they’d all found together.

Hudson slipped a hand down Honour’s side and around to her front, playing the edges of her fingers against Honour’s slit. Moaning, Honour’s eyes fluttered shut. The ripples in the water were so familiar, ones that she hadn’t felt in far too long, and they brought a smile to her face.

“You’re not going to have much longer to do that,” Honour murmured into Hudson’s ear.