Page 39 of Surface Pressure

“The humans?”

Soulara nodded. “They’re planning another journey into the deep soundings—three days this time.”

“Three days?” Honour’s brow furrowed.

Soulara suspected the words were more for Honour’s own benefit rather than Soulara’s. She waited as Honour digested the information.

“How many of them will there be?”

“I’m not sure yet.” Soulara looked away from Honour’s searching eyes.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

“Autumn will be on one of the krakens.” Just saying those words out loud sat too heavily in her stomach, a dead weight that was rotting.

“The human?” Honour sneered.

“She’s helping us. She’s the reason we even know about the next mission.”

Honour sighed heavily, her entire body tense. The disappointment was evident, and Honour didn’t even have to say it. “When?”

“I don’t have all of the details. But it’ll be soon. I’ll go and see Autumn next time she can get away. She’ll have more information for us.”

“Soulara.” Honour spoke her name as though the sounds were brittle. “We can’t put one life ahead of protecting our people.”

“I’m not asking you to.”

“Are you sure?” Honour caught Soulara’s hand in her own and waited until Soulara’s eyes met hers. “Because I can see you fighting with yourself over this. She could be killed, and I need to know you won’t punish your own people for defending themselves.”

“Is that a threat, General?” Soulara pulled her hand free from Honour’s and got up from her position on the rock.

“No, Princess.” Honour didn’t rise from her own rock. “It’s a fact that people die in battles. I won’t mourn your human if she becomes collateral damage.”

“So you’ll kill our only way to gain information because you see all humans as one?”

“I’ll defend our home!” Honour shot up from the recovery rock, her shoulders rigid.

“And you think I won’t?” With effort and years of training, Soulara lowered her voice in a threat.

What she wanted to do was scream. She wanted to howl into the deeper soundings and have all this turmoil within her disappear into the darkness.

“I think you need to consider where your focus is. You can’t help any of us if you’re more worried about who’s inside the enemy’s monsters.”

“This is my fight, Honour.” Soulara thumped her fist against her chest, her eyes narrowed in a glare. “I’ll be beside my general and face the enemy square on.”

“And will I still be your general?” Honour stayed perfectly still, the threat clear.

“That’s your choice. But don’t ever question my loyalty to my people. Not again. Not after everything I’ve had to do to be here in this position. Not after I’ve given up—” her voice broke. Her mother. Her childhood. Her friends. Her hopes and dreams of love. Herself.

She’d given it all up for this. To be the one person she never wanted to be.

“Soulara.” Honour’s voice softened, but Soulara didn’t want to hear it.

Why had she gotten so angry?

It wasn’t as though Honour spoke anything that she hadn’t considered in the back of her own mind.

So why the fury and outrage?

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