Chapter 24
The meetings were endless.
Soulara yawned as she left the last one, not because she was physically tired, but because her brain was flat out done with thinking for a while.
Too bad she wouldn’t get a break.
Reaching up, Soulara went to touch the necklace and realized too late that it wasn’t there anymore. Nylah swam next to her though, flipping on their back and then their front again, as if they were having a blast in all these meetings. If Nylah had been paired with Kyree, what kind of meetings and decisions would they have been present for?
Soulara could only guess.
Because the deep sounding mermaids were such a mystery to everyone.
Even Kaelin didn’t have much to say about them, choosing to keep quiet rather than to share. Was that a latent effect of the abuses she’d faced there? Soulara wasn’t sure, but information would have been helpful when they were talking with Kyree.
Anything would be helpful with that mer. She was a closed book, and no matter how many times Soulara had tried to get information from her, she couldn’t. Honour hadn’t even tried to talk to her though. Something was definitely going on there, but Soulara didn’t have time to pry like she wanted to.
She hadn’t seen Autumn in over a week, but Autumn frequently used Nylah to send messages. It had taken them a lot of trial and error to figure it out, though, because Soulara had to learn how to communicate with Nylah in a brand-new way—which had managed to frustrate both Soulara and Nylah to the point of sleeping in separate rooms one night until they could come back and try again.
Soulara lifted her hand, brushing her fingers over Nylah’s back.
“Are you ready for this, Nylah?” Soulara asked as she bypassed her rooms and went straight for the beach. She was an integral part of this mission, and no one knew what was going to happen. If she’d told them, they wouldn’t have let her continue.
Nylah rubbed their head against Soulara’s hand.
“Good, because I’m going to need you to stay behind in case there’s trouble.”
Nylah tensed.
“I know. But we need a good distraction, and I’m amazing at distractions.” Soulara winked at the ray and swam past the city limits. She triple-checked to make sure that Honour wasn’t following her, but she’d made sure to leave when no one else was paying attention.
The swim to the surface wasn’t long, and Soulara was getting so used to making it. She rolled her shoulders as she watched the water break over the edge of the beach.
“Nylah, stay close. If I don’t return by dark, go find Kyree and Honour.” Soulara scratched Nylah’s head, loving the corporeal form of her friend far more than the spiritual one.
Soulara took a deep breath and centered herself in a quick meditation. She sent prayers to the gods and then let them loose. She could do this. There was no doubt in her mind. They were launching the krakens soon. Autumn had told her as much, and the soldiers were getting in position to fight them.
The war was just beginning.
Soulara could almost taste the blood on her tongue. There would be hell to pay, she had no doubts. But they needed to win. Because to lose would mean complete annihilation, and that was unacceptable. Soulara shivered as she pulled herself out of the water. She needed to do this. Distract the men while they were attempting to go into the water.
Give them something to think about that they shouldn’t and maybe get more information while she was there. If she could manage that, then they’d have one more advantage over the humans. The bonus at the moment was they couldn’t breathe underwater and most of them didn’t even know that mermaids existed.
Soulara stood on the beach, letting the sun dry her skin. She held her hands up to the sky and drew in a deep, sure breath. This was her time. This was when she could thrive. This was when her abilities would be to the benefit of her entire community.
She wouldn’t be tossed out like her mother had.
Soulara paused, furrowing her brow. Where had that thought come from?
Shaking her head, Soulara focused on being the distraction rather than being distracted.
There was so much more beach now, a much longer distance between the tide and the tree line. Had they collected more water without Soulara knowing? Without Autumn knowing? The Kwights’ communication system would come in handy right about now. At least they’d be able to track where all the krakens were once everything was in place.
With an insistence she hadn’t needed since Milan had first taught her how to harness the magic in her blood, Soulara tugged until the magic pulled free. She would use every ounce of advantage she had to make this happen the right way. She strode purposefully toward the tree line and the human encampment within.
It was quiet—too quiet.
Had they already taken the krakens into the water? Had they launched earlier than Autumn knew? Had they kept it from her as well because they suspected her?
Relief filled Soulara with hope, like a scared blowfish. If Autumn didn’t know, then she remained out of harm’s way.
Remembering both Autumn’s memories and her instructions, Soulara made her way through the thick greenery. Even having seen it through Autumn’s eyes, the sight overwhelmed her.
Everything about these humans and their presence on her planet was hard and sharp. Violence lingered in everything she saw. Gray structures with sharp edges pointed up to the sky, as though they might pierce through the clouds themselves. Around the cluster of buildings sat the fence Autumn had told Soulara about. Something called barbed wire glinted in the dying sunlight on the top. It wound in large loops to prevent anyone climbing over the top. That was not the way to get in or out of the camp.
This wasn’t a camp.
It was a prison.
Soulara hadn’t had a lot of time to think about the infiltration. She’d simply woken that morning, frustration bubbling within her and an energy to get moving, to find success again in the way they had the last time.
Waiting—there was so much damn waiting in the buildup to war. And she’d had her fill of it.
But this was something she could do, something active—maybe even a way for her to stop her people having to fight and lose more good mers to the brutality of these aliens.
Was she willing to pay whatever it cost to be rid of them, though?
Her throat felt thick as she struggled to swallow.
The thoughts could wait for later. She had to stay alert.
At the fence, she allowed her fingers to dance over the wire. It hummed lightly as she flicked from one angled strand of metal to the next. It was thick—thicker than she had expected—but she would still be able to get through.
With a deep breath, she pulled the knife from its sheath against her leg and pressed it to the fence. She held still for one more second before she sliced down hard. The spark made Soulara catch her breath, but she forced her body not to jump back or flinch away. The single cut had severed three wires. She had hoped for more but had expected less.
It took far too long for her liking to get through enough of the metal for her to push her lithe body through the gap she had created. With a hiss, she pulled her arm through after her, catching it on one of the newly cut wires.
“Damn it,” she muttered, twisting her body around to see the large cut along the back of her bicep.
Soulara looked down at her body and the nakedness that had never seemed strange before. She would need to find some coverings. Of all the things she had thought about, in the short amount of time between thought and action, not once had that entered her thinking.
But she would find something. She could easily find the place where Autumn slept. In her mind’s eye, she saw the large area, Autumn small and alone within it. It would take her from her original destination, but it would help her blend in while she caused the distractions.
She pulled Autumn’s memories closer to the forefront of her mind. Corridors and turns, false lights and rough faces flashed through Soulara’s mind. First, the coverings, and then she would find the others, and ensure they knew the mers wouldn’t simply sink to the bottom of the sea.
The corridors all looked the same. The difference between her own world and Autumn’s had never been so clear. There were no markers, no coral clumps or polished stones, no way to know if she were in the same corridor she saw in Autumn’s memory or a different one entirely.
Soulara cringed as she sauntered along, keeping her eyes and ears attuned for enemies who might come around the corner. Finding an uncovered woman in this place might just send them into a tizzy.
Reaching out, Soulara ran her fingers along the wall, finding it hard and cold. She jerked her fingers back and stared at them. What had she been expecting? Her own world had similar paths from place to place and rooms behind to hide whatever was inside, but that was just the castle. The people lived in the coral reefs, using them as shelter from the elements.
Oh, how she wished she could bring Autumn there to see what it looked like. The beauty of it all. The serenity.
Which was about to be destroyed.
Soulara hardened as she took another turn and almost sobbed with relief.
Yes, this was it. She was certain of it.
The door to Autumn’s home lay ten paces to her left. It took all her strength to keep her steps light and soundless against the hard polished floor. Her feet ached from all the walking on odd surfaces since the sandy beach had vanished, and she hoped she might find some of those foot coverings as well.
Her body yearned for the water, but she pushed her shoulders back and shook off the pain and discomfort. She would lead her people to victory, her own pain minimal compared to what they would suffer if she failed.
It took a moment to work out the strange silver ball on the door. Eventually, she managed to open the heavy metal. She let it swing back, not realizing the noise it would make as it hit against the wall beside it.
She stepped into the room, fruitlessly grabbing toward that silver ball in the hopes of stopping any more sounds that flagged her existence. Her hand reached out and grabbed only air. But that hardly mattered now. What did matter where the dozen pairs of eyes staring at her. The people stared at her, mouths falling open.
“Who the hell are you?” One man stepped forward, his eyes roaming over her body. She liked her body and had never felt the need to cover it. But this look that grazed over her like sand trapped against her skin made her shudder and wish for the coverings like never before.
“You aren’t soldiers.” She had opened her mouth, not knowing what would come out. But the way they were all covered. It wasn’t at all like the coverings Autumn wore.
“No. We’re not,” a younger man said, stepping tentatively closer.
“Don’t go any closer, Josh.” The man who had looked at her so hurtfully lifted a hand, palm turned away from Soulara but toward the other man. He gently moved his hand as though it had the power to shift the younger one.
Soulara didn’t feel any magic in the air, but Josh stepped back once more and curiosity warred with fear. Did they use a magic she couldn’t sense?
“Who are you?” the man asked again. “What are you doing here?”
Soulara hissed and bent her legs slightly. It felt strange, taking up a fighting pose with legs instead of fluke. But she could do this. Moving on land wasn’t all that different from moving under water, and she’d had her fair share of practice already.
Josh stumbled back, fear in his gaze. Soulara would recognize that anywhere. She’d seen it several times throughout her life. Soulara tightened her shoulders, preparing to strike whichever one of them came at her first.
The leery man cocked his head at her, lips quirked up in a sneer. “It seems as if we’re not the only life on this planet.”
So they hadn’t known. That was at least something. Someone knew, but these ones hadn’t.
“We come in peace,” the leery one said.
“Shut up, Cole. What if she doesn’t speak our language?” Josh chimed in.
Except Soulara did, but only because of magic, and she’d already spoken to them, so they should know that. They must be just as shocked as she was. Everything rested on this moment. She hadn’t expected to walk into a room of humans and have no backup. She’d wanted to sabotage something, stay hidden in the shadows for as long as she possibly could.
But now she was out in the open.
One of the men moved slowly toward something. Soulara pushed her magic toward him, reading his mind instantly. He was so easy to read. He was looking to press a button to warn others to her presence.
“Don’t do that,” Soulara warned, making her voice sound far more menacing than she actually was. “I’ll have to kill you if you do.”
“Oh, so the pretty lady does speak our language.” The one in the front crossed his arms. “Maybe she isn’t from here. Maybe she’s a concubine that Chalmers brought.”
Chalmers.
That name rang a bell in Soulara’s memory. But who exactly was he?
Still the one in the back moved to push the button. Soulara moved quickly, diving between the two brutish men in front of her to reach the other one and slap his hand away from the machine while pistoning her elbow into the underside of his jaw.
He grunted and fell to the hard floor. She had far more traction with her bare feet than she would in those foot coverings Autumn always wore. Spinning around to put her back to the wall so they were all in front of her, Soulara stared them all down.
“You won’t win this war,” she threatened.