Chapter 12
Soulara lingered in the water just below the surface. She watched and waited. Her tail moved back and forth in a slow stroke keeping herself in place.
Autumn remained on the beach until the sun had moved farther across the sky. When she stood up and dusted off sand from her bottom, Soulara smiled despite herself. Such simple things about this woman had her smiling.
But how much easier would this have been if they had never met?
That thought stabbed Soulara in the chest. Unfamiliar and far too close to her heart. She couldn’t love one of the invaders. One of the people here with the sole purpose of taking her people’s water. But this was Autumn, not some stranger.
Autumn, who had gone against her own people to bring Soulara the information about the next deep sounding attack.
With a firm nod of her head, Soulara turned her back on the now empty beach, and headed to Reine. It didn’t take her long, since the waters had receded so much. She swam directly to where she hoped Honour would be.
Soulara leaned against the wall of the training room. She wondered if Honour now slept on one of the weight machines. Every time she had searched for her general, Soulara found Honour here.
This time though, Honour was not alone. She swam between pairs of troops as they practiced moves and techniques.
“They don’t have tails. You can’t rely on them using those things the same way we use our bodies.” Honour’s voice rose as she spoke to the group as a whole, and then hushed as she helped adjust individuals with grips and holds.
Soulara and Honour had been friends for almost as long as Soulara could remember and almost as long as she had been friends with Zendalia.
Honour would always set her mind on a goal. The look was precise and firm, her cheeks hollowing as she focused. And no matter how many people told her she couldn’t, Honour pushed herself that much more to prove them wrong.
Muscles in her back rippled as she demonstrated again a move Soulara could do in her sleep. Only because of Honour’s training and patience.
“Princess,” Honour called over, and Soulara snapped herself to attention. She pushed off from the coral wall and straightened her fluke. “What a fortuitous time for you to visit.”
“And why is that, General?” Soulara asked just as she had been taught.
“I lamented earlier that there’s no one I could demonstrate the full power of this move upon.” The glint in Honour’s eyes told her all manner of pain was about to be inflicted on her.
Soulara wished she could close her eyes and disappear.
Then she heard the faint snickering and muffled chuckles from the tadpole trainees.
Well, two could play at this game.
Soulara turned her own mischievous looks to the group of trainees who had all stopped and watched with amused interest. She would let them be amused until they learned that this princess had never been one to sit on the sidelines while her people risked their lives.
“Well, let’s make sure we show our newest troops what their general is made of. I’ll try to go easy on you.”
Honour barked out a laugh before giving a short nod.
As though it were a dance they had choreographed and rehearsed many times before, they started their fight.
Honour struck out with her training spear. Soulara moved, but not fast enough. The head of the weapon struck the corner of her shoulder, pushing her back with the pure force Honour put behind it.
The crowd of onlookers grew, and the chuckles increased. Soulara risked them a glance before focusing on her opponent.
Good. Let’s ensure everyone learns their lesson today.
Soulara ducked the next strike as she curled the end fins of her tail up and slapped them against Honour’s hip. She put the full force of her body behind the movement and was rewarded with a grunt from Honour.
“That’s a new move.” Honour righted herself, and the two swam in a circle, neither taking their eyes off the other.
“Always be prepared for the unexpected.” Soulara let out a gleeful laugh.
“Indeed, Princess.”
The strikes continued, some hitting and others missing.
Soulara’s breath dragged in and out of her throat. Honour had not gone easy, and she had met Honour’s challenge blow for blow. They had laughed and bumped shoulders as proof of good sportsmanship before Soulara left to recover on the stones along the outer wall of the training room.
“That was a much harder work out than I expected it to be.” Honour had sent the trainees off to endurance training with one of her senior soldiers. She collapsed on the stone beside Soulara.
“You started it.” Soulara forced a smile, but the enjoyment she had experienced in the rush of the sparring had floated away as her thoughts were once again granted permission to roam.
“So did you come to see how the new troops were getting along or was there something else?”
“There’s something else.” Soulara enjoyed Honour’s friendship for many reasons. Her directness and ability to get right to the point of any issue made her a true and honest friend. It caused fights on occasion, but they were ones easily worked through.
“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?
Soulara swam out of the castle ignoring every greeting she sped past.
Zendalia’s home appeared before Soulara consciously realized where she had been heading.
“Hello?” Soulara called out from the front, waiting for either Zendalia or Kaelin to show up. She’d swum in on them one too many times to risk going any farther inside.
“Soulara?” Zendalia’s head poked out of the main living area. Her smile brought a warmth of comfort and a lump of fear to Soulara.
“I’m not interrupting, am I?” Soulara grinned cheekily, leaning back on her teasing because right now being the crown princess was too much for her to carry.
“No.” Zendalia met Soulara halfway to the living area and wrapped her friend in a hug.
The moment Zendalia’s arms wrapped around Soulara’s shoulders, the pressure that had been building burst, and she collapsed in her friend’s arms. Small sobs escaped as she buried her head into Zendalia’s shoulder, letting her hair hide her face.
A small noise of surprise escaped Zendalia, but her arms tightened, and she moved them both farther into her home.
“Kaelin, would you mind fixing some herbs for us?”
“Of course.” Kaelin disappeared from the room in a blur Soulara couldn’t keep up with. The mermaid from the deep soundings had gotten faster since she had taken Reine as her home.
“Some great leader I’m turning out to be, aren’t I?” Soulara laughed self-deprecatingly as she rested against one of the moss-covered stones that decorated the room.
Zendalia took another of the stones across from her, the seaweed bandages from her attack still shining against her scales.
“You’ll be an amazing leader when you’re ready to take up the mantle.” Zendalia gently rubbed the back of Soulara’s hand.
A wave of guilt and failure washed over her. She’d been so busy she hadn’t even let Zendalia know that she had been given no choice but to step into her power.
“I’ve claimed my royal birthright,” Soulara whispered.
“What?” Zendalia’s rubbing stopped. “When? Is that why you’re here?”
“No.” Soulara shook her head back and forth. “Well, not exactly.”
“Soulara.” Zendalia’s words were gentle and kind. Even now, knowing that Soulara would in fact become leader of their entire people, Zendalia treated her exactly as she always had. “What happened?”
Soulara took a deep breath and filled Zendalia in on what had happened since the moment she had seen Autumn up until the fight she had with Honour. She left out the parts about kissing and wanting to do so much more, though Zendalia would be all for that sort of gossip. Soulara also chose not to mention her ability to split her tail and walk on the ground outside of the water.
During her frenzied recounting of events, Kaelin had joined them. The herbs were exactly what Soulara needed. The sharp tang of them burst on her tongue and gave her the strength to continue telling her story.
“I can’t make her stay behind. And I get the impression that she wouldn’t be allowed to even if she tried.”
“She’ll be in the battle.” Zendalia’s face had taken on a stern, worried expression.
“Do you believe Honour will intentionally try to hurt her?” Kaelin asked.
“What?” Soulara looked up at Kaelin. It had taken time to get used to the differences between her and Soulara’s own people. But it turned out the differences were a superficial decoration. Beneath, Kaelin seemed more like a citizen of Reine than many other mermaids who had been born into their city.
“Isn’t that what you accused Honour of?” Kaelin flicked her eyes to Zendalia. Kaelin’s eyebrows were pulled together as she turned back to Soulara. “Did I not understand that right?”
Soulara leaned farther into the stone. “I don’t think she would intentionally target Autumn any more than the other humans.”
“But you feel like she should see Autumn as different from the rest of the humans?” Kaelin had a knack for unsettling Soulara. Most of the time, Soulara enjoyed Kaelin’s direct and curious ways. But right now, she floundered to know what to say.
“Does she know?” Zendalia rescued Soulara from the silence that demanded her to answer Kaelin’s question.
“Does who know what?”
“Oh come on, Soulara,” Zendalia said. “You can go through all the details without spelling it out, you can put all your diplomatic training and skill to good use. But I’ve known you far too long.”
“What are you talking about?” Soulara asked, affecting a bored tone that belied the racing pulse at her wrist.
“It’s okay to care about her.”
“She’s a friend. Of course, I care about her.” Soulara sounded defensive, too defensive. Even to her own ears.
“And does she know that you care about her?” Kaelin asked Zendalia’s question for a second time.
“Of course she does.” Soulara answered, a little bit rushed and a little bit harder than she had meant. But her mind didn’t linger on her snappy words. Instead her body heated, her cheeks warm as she brushed her fingers against them.
In her mind she relived the moments with Autumn. The moments she wished they could experience again and again.
No. Autumn was charming and kind. Her body, though intriguing with differences, was beautiful. And that did things to Soulara’s body. But that was all this could ever be. Would ever be.
“Then perhaps it’s time we start helping you find a way to end this as peacefully as possible.” Zendalia looked directly at Kaelin. “Because we know the lengths we’ll go to for those we care about, don’t we?”
“What are you talking about?” Soulara asked.
“We need to make sure Autumn, and the rest of us, swim away unscathed. And the best way to do that is to find the numbers we need to show our true power. The strength of those who share this beautiful water with us.”
Kaelin jumped in. “We’re going to the deep soundings, Soulara.”