Page 74 of Surface Pressure

No. That’s not what it was. Had Autumn led the enemy straight to the mermaids?

That shift, now solidified, was mind-blowing. Humans were the enemy. They were the reason this war was happening, the reason no one could have peace.

“Were you peaceful before we came?” Autumn asked.

Soulara nodded. “Yes. We weren’t unified, but peaceful. We all had an understanding of each other.”

Autumn bit her lip, not wanting to ask more questions than she should. The more information she had, the more Chalmers could use it against the mermaids. She had to keep what she knew to a minimum in order to protect Soulara and her people.

“They’re sending water collectors down again in eight days’ time. More than half the fleet.” Autumn straightened her spine. “I won’t be on them—at least that’s not the current plan. They’re still fixing my water collector.”

Soulara nodded sharply. “I have a gift for you.”

Autumn jerked back with a start. This wasn’t the time for gifts. This wasn’t even the time for them to have moments of sweet touches and sweet nothings. Everything needed to be business. Autumn had to pull away from Soulara to help protect her from the coming war.

“Here.” Soulara reached up and unhooked the necklace that sat right in the center of her chest. She immediately moved to clasp it around Autumn’s neck. The moment Soulara pulled away, she dragged her fingers along the chain, her lips slightly quirked into a smile. “It suits you.”

“It’s against regulation,” Autumn answered, reaching up and holding the stone in her fingers.

It was surprisingly warm. She frowned at it, a vibration and heat filling her before it moved throughout her entire body and then centered in the front of her head and her heart. When she blinked, she was confronted with a blue creature that was nose to nose with her.

“What the hell?” Autumn said, jerking back.

“This is Nylah,” Soulara answered, a smile blooming on her lips now. “They’re a soul, and they’re how I’ve managed to know you were at the beach when you needed to see me.”

“A soul?” Autumn looked from Nylah to Soulara. She could see Soulara through the creature, as if Nylah was one step outside the real world.

“Yes. This is a soul stone.” Soulara brushed her fingers over the stone. “I can’t see them anymore, but if you need to speak with me or tell me something, use Nylah.”

“But if you can’t see them…” Autumn trailed off, more confused than ever.

“Nylah has joined me in body. Their soul can communicate with their body and will be able to share things with me.”

This was beyond anything Autumn could imagine. This was more magic than she’d managed to dream of. “I can’t wear the necklace.”

Soulara nodded. “Keep it with you. I can also send you messages, and I have a feeling we’ll need to be able to speak more often and it will be harder for me to come to the surface.”

“Soulara…” Autumn trailed off. “What if I get caught with it?”

“You can’t.” Soulara pressed her palm to the stone. “You can’t let anyone else have this. Ever. It’s Nylah’s soul.”

Autumn nodded slowly, understanding dawning. “And you have their body?”

“Yes.” Soulara smiled again. “It’ll be a way for us to communicate.”

“Right.” Autumn clasped the stone in her hand. “What do we do now?”

“Now you go back to the humans, and I go back to the sea.” Soulara ran her fingers along Autumn’s cheeks, holding the sides of her head. “I don’t know what will become of our future.”

“If there is a future, you mean.” Autumn looked up at her. She hated this. She hated that this couldn’t just be them anymore. Everything had gotten so complicated in the span of a few breaths.

“There’s always a future, even if it’s in the afterlife.” Soulara pressed a kiss to Autumn’s forehead. “But I don’t know what that looks like. And if we’re meant to be, then we’ll find each other there.”

“You say that like we’re not going to see each other again.”

“I don’t know if we will.” Soulara’s lips thinned.

Autumn’s stomach twisted at that thought. This was really happening, wasn’t it? The one person Autumn had trusted in her life was walking away, and Autumn was going to have to willingly let her go.

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