Page 82 of Battle Fluke

“I can’t see her.” Hudson’s panic seeped through her voice as her head thrashed back and forth in search of their missing piece.

“It’s okay.” Kyree placed a hand up to Hudson’s cheek. “I can find her.”

“Is she—” Hudson’s voice cracked, “—is she okay?”

“You know she is.” Their eyes met, and the panic in Hudson melted away.

Hudson nodded.

“Let’s go find Honour.”

Kyree could all but see the thread of energy from her and Hudson as they followed it to Honour. The call between the three of them was so strong it now seemed impossible to believe there was ever a time when they hadn’t been connected.

Kyree wriggled her way out of Hudson’s arms, and side by side they swam the last of the distance. Her fingers tingled as she laid them gently on Honour’s arms.

“Honour,” Kyree squeaked out, freezing in place. Honour was so very close to cutting her neck, to killing her, to not knowing who was friend and who was foe in this war. She stilled.

Honour’s blade halted. She froze.

In a blur of touches and words, the three of them found their place in the world once more, wrapped around each other, finally complete and whole.

“Soulara?”

“Safe. Home.” Kyree’s chest rose and fell rapidly. “I promised you.”

“You did.” Honour relaxed even more than she had before. This was who Honour needed to be, the strength and the compassion—the hardness and the softness.

“They’re retreating.” Kyree finally spoke after she had tasted the joy and salt on the lips of her lovers.

“Yes. But it’s not over yet.” Honour sighed, running her hands over Kyree and Hudson’s heads, as though the idea of ever not touching them again was unthinkable.

“It is.” Kyree reached up and plucked Honour’s hand from her hair and brought it to her lips.

“You were amazing, Kyree. They all love you so much that they fought against their own natures.” Honour stared directly into Kyree’s eyes, never breaking the connection they had found again.

“They love our home, they love our life, and they love feeling connected to us again.” Kyree had never felt more sure of something than this. The deep sounding mers had longed for this connection again, and to have it, even if it was just with her, was beyond comprehension. The stories didn’t do justice to what she was experiencing right now, to what they could do together.

“They love you, Kyree,” Hudson jumped into the conversation.

“All of us.” Kyree’s cheeks burned at such overwhelming praise and affection.

“We must keep following them.” Honour’s face filled with anguish, and Kyree could read the distress in her eyes. “We can’t allow them any place to recover, to believe that this home of ours will be taken by their greed. Not again. I want them gone forever.”

“Theyareleaving.” Kyree let out a small chuckle of laughter. “Not just retreating. They’re leaving. The water, and the planet. They’re leaving our home.”

“What?” Honour blinked and looked again into Kyree’s eyes. “How do you know?”

“Oh, she’s been incredible, Honour.” Hudson swam closer, and Honour’s arm slipped easily around Hudson’s waist.

“I can feel it.” Kyree’s entire body filled with such light that she wondered if she might burst apart from the happiness that overtook every one of her senses. “The animals—they’re all talking to me and sharing what they see.”

“You can see through their eyes?” Honour’s voice had a hushed reverence Kyree knew she would both never get used to and luxuriate in.

“Yes. They’re showing me everything.” Kyree chuckled again. “They’re wanting to show me absolutely everything.”

In time, my souls. In time. But for now, we must be sure the world is safe.

The warmth that returned in answer to her thoughts made Kyree’s entire body feel weightless.

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