Page 10 of Battle Fluke

“Well, unless they’re now naming others in your honor…” Hudson smirked, pleased with her own play on the word. “Then yes,General,I do.”

Honour bit the inside of her cheek. This was going to take her finest diplomacy, that was for sure. The question remained whether she had it in her or not. “Thank you for helping, Kyree.”

“Just Kyree?” Hudson batted her eyelids and tilted her head. Then with a quirk of her lips, she slid her hand down her side from her breast to her hip and over the scales of her tail. Honour hadn’t been able to take her gaze off Hudson.

“All right, I think that’s enough measuring flukes,” Kyree’s tone was sharp and reprimanding. It shocked Honour back to focusing on the woman who had saved her, not the one who had kidnapped them. “Thank you both very much.”

The heat of embarrassment washed over Honour’s chest. Cringing, she opened her eyes and saw Hudson chuckling silently. Of course the mermaid would have noticed the deep coloring of embarrassment. Hudson didn’t strike Honour as someone who missed anything, which was going to make escaping even more difficult.

Honour narrowed her eyes in defensiveness. She hated being read so easily. Hudson shrugged, ridding herself of the amusement in the flick of a tail as she turned toward Kyree.

“Yes, of course you’re correct, Kyree.” Hudson moved closer, skimming her hands on Kyree’s shoulders and down her arms.

A possession stole over Honour’s heart, clasping her firmly in its grasp. She didn’t want Hudson to touch Kyree at all. She didn’t want Hudson anywhere near Kyree. Especially when Kyree had just been touching Honour for the first time in their short acquaintanceship.

“Thank you.” Kyree looked over her shoulder to meet Hudson’s gaze, and Honour hated how the water between Hudson and Kyree sparkled with a tension she had to be mistaken about. Because there was definitely something there, something Honour couldn’t deny, something that was bringingout Kyree in a whole different way than Honour had ever managed to do.

Honour leaned her head back against the wall of the cave once more and half-closed her eyes. She wasn’t going to let Hudson have control of the cave if she could help it. Exhaustion still washed over her, and the limitations of her body were more frustrating than she would have imagined. She wasn’t used to being the one injured. It hadn’t been this bad since the first kraken attack she’d faced with Kaelin, and yet, here she was, injured by another one of those beasts.

“Hudson?” Kyree was so gentle in her word. Not simpering to the woman in the hopes that sucking up might buy her something. Just typical Kyree gentleness.

“Yes?” Hudson’s own reply seemed almost gentle in return.

What had happened while Honour was unconscious trying to heal from the kraken’s claws?

“My people do not fight. We hold all life dear. Please let me get word to Reine that Honour survives.”

“Word to Reine?” Hudson cocked her head.

There was no flintiness in the tilt of Hudson’s head this time. And it took Honour a moment to catch up with Hudson’s train of thinking. That wasn’t something she was used to. And to be fair, Honour wouldn’t have thought a Talon mermaid would be savvy enough to not only question the request, but to find the strangeness hidden in Kyree’s words.

“Yes. They’ll need to know what’s happened.” Kyree was pushing, but in that calm way Honour was coming to envy. Would this even work?

Honour stiffened, her breath catching in her chest as she feared what words would next come out of Kyree’s mouth. She wanted to speak over her, tell her the details didn’t matter. But she didn’t dare. She could feel Hudson’s eyes, and at least partial attention, remaining on her and her reaction to Kyree’s request.

Who the sea was this Talon mermaid and what was her agenda? She had met several Talon mermaids throughout the years, and as violent as their mermen were, their mermaids were as extreme on the other end of the spectrum. They were beaten down as secondary, subservient to the savagery of their men. And they had no place except to serve the males around them. Hudson was an extreme outlier.

“And,” Kyree’s voice pulled Honour’s thoughts back to the current issue, “the dangers that currently surround others they will be worried about.”

Honour let out a small sigh of relief. The water in front of her face tickled up and over her cheeks.

“You want me to take my men to Reine?” Hudson’s laugh was cruel and mocking. “And here I was thinking you were so much smarter than that, Kyree. Or is it you think I’m truly that stupid?”

“I-I don’t understand?” Kyree flicked her head toward Honour, eyes filled with confusion and a plea for assistance.

Honour gave Kyree a sad smile. Kyree’s head dropped down, a flash of shame and hurt crossing her face before it was hidden from Honour’s view.

Whatever the long, dark, and handsome mermaid hid, whatever stiffened her shoulders and made her place in Reine more important than her own tribe, didn’t hide the fact that Kyree truly didn’t understand Honour’s world. And neither understood Hudson’s.

Honour knew it as easily as she understood there would be no way to escape Hudson, but there might be a way to talk to her. Escape would mean bloodshed, but the more information Honour could glean, the better chance of survival she and Kyree had.

“She really doesn’t understand the way of battle.” Honour ensured as little as possible of her anger and frustration withHudson leaked into her words. They came out still tarnished with aggression, but she hoped it would be little enough for Hudson to see the extent of what Honour was saying.

“How is that possible?” Hudson scoffed and rolled her eyes. This time the mockery directed toward Honour. “It’s not like she’s from a Talon tribe.”

“No.” Honour narrowed her eyes at Hudson. She was made of much tougher things than mere mockery could stab through. “But aren’t you?”

“Hmmmm.” Hudson purred noncommittally, as she swam closer to Kyree. “So tell me, beautiful, what Tribe do you come from?”

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