Page 10 of Siren’s Secret

“Car. And I still need to eat. I can’t face this on an empty stomach.”

Irishen got himself under control. “A trip to a drive-through and then we are taking you home. How does that sound?”

Wave nodded and Salis narrowed his eyes but then seemed to come to a decision and nodded, too. “We need to get her off the streets before the vultures land.” He turned to Wayla and continued, “He’s right, sugar. You shouldn’t push your power down like that. It’s not good for you in the long run.”

Wave’s expression turned stony when she faced Salis. “Let it go, Salis.”

“But—”

“Officially, Salis.”

“Oh shit,” the angel blurted before pulling himself together. Irishen very much wanted to know what that was about, but he got the distinct feeling that neither of them would say anything more. Salis even mimicked zipping his lips and throwing away the key.

“What would you like to eat?” He decided to change the subject for now. Wayla groaned and looked pleadingly at him.

“Cheeseburgers?” The pure desperation and yearning in her tone made Irishen smile.

“I think we can arrange something,” he replied. “Follow me.”

Chapter 6 – Wave

Wave ended up in Risha’s car and on Salis’s lap. It was a tight fit with all three of them, but Wave refused to leave Salis behind and, to her surprise, Risha didn’t even suggest it. When they turned into Lark’s parking lot, she sighed happily. She just couldn’t help it. They didn’t have a drive-through, but she was willing to suffer sideways glances if she could get Lark’s burgers.

“I want a triple cheeseburger, extra cheddar, banana milkshake, and no fries.”

Salis, who was accustomed to her eating habits, just chuckled. “You got it, cheesepuff.”

Risha, on the other hand, looked a bit green. “It already has triple cheese,” he muttered.

“If you are going to judge, you can stay in the car,” she muttered.

“No, I—” He stopped and mimicked zipping his lips like Salis had done. “Let’s go.”

By the time they were sitting down with their food, Wave couldn’t hold it in anymore. She pointed at Risha’s plate, eyes wide.

“What abomination is that?”

“I thought we weren’t judging,” Risha replied huffily.

“But… that’s just not right. There’s no patty. How can you order a burger with no patty? No chicken? No meat? No veggies? How is that sold as a burger?”

Risha’s expression turned smug, and he lifted the bun bursting with sauce and salad to his lips. “It’s the Sleethill special.”

“But—”

“Just eat up, sugar,” Salis interjected. “He’s baiting you.”

“I would never,” Irishen replied primly and kept eating.

Wave wanted to argue, but her stomach kept growling. With a shake of her head, she attacked her food and demolished it. Salis was halfway done with his food when she was done. Risha had stopped eating after her second bite.

Her stomach was still complaining. Adjusting to all the power shifting in her veins was burning calories faster than healing from the power buildup. Wave frowned at her empty plate, but before she could do anything more, Salis pushed his fries over.

“If you stick around, your highness, you’ll learn,” he said.

Wave glanced up and caught Irishen frowning at her.

“Learn what?” he muttered distractedly.