Page 11 of Siren’s Secret

“That no fries is always a lie,” Salis replied smoothly. Then he looked at Wave with some worry in his eyes. “How bad is it?”

Wave didn’t want to admit that she could go for another damn burger at least. It almost felt like the more she ate, the more her body demanded.

“Wayla?” Risha prodded her when she stayed silent too long.

She felt tears well up and panicked, blinking furiously. She was not going to cry over a damn burger. No, nope, absolutely—

A cold hand pressed against her neck, and then Irishen pulled her into his lap. Coolness seeped in when he guided her face against his throat. Wave felt his throat move when he spoke, but she didn’t hear the words.

Somehow, Irishen maneuvered them up and carried her outside. She just clung to him, trying to absorb as much of the cold as she could. She expected him to put her down once they reached the car, but instead, he handed her over to Salis. As soon as their contact broke, a whimper fought its way free of her throat.

“Hang in there, Way,” Salis murmured. “Just a second.”

Wave wasn’t sure what was going on anymore, but then the cool heaven of Irishen’s touch was back. Blearily, she looked around and realized she was sitting on his lap on the passenger side and Salis was sliding behind the wheel.

“You’re letting him drive?” Wave blurted out. For some reason, that seemed to be the most important thing in the world right now.

“Yeah,” Irishen replied curtly and when she flinched, he cursed softly. “Find the fastest way out of any residential area,” he barked at Salis, who revved the engine and pulled out of the parking lot way too fast.

“What’s wrong with her?” Salis asked, throwing worried glances at her.

“Do you trust him, Wayla?” Irishen asked her instead. Wave nodded, the tiny movement causing pain to shoot down her spine. When it became clear she wasn’t going to say anything, Risha finally answered Salis’s question.

“She just claimed an heir apparent well, but she’s too damn stubborn to let that power flow. The Council Force’s cells have suppression spells woven in to keep powers contained and she’s been in one for over a month. Not to mention before that, she fucking burned out from suppression. I bet that without Ilijas working on her constantly, she would still be unconscious.”

Now it was Salis’s turn to growl. The car picked up speed. Wave blinked. That couldn’t be it. Could it? Were her powers building back up this quickly?

Now that she was thinking about it, she felt the power clawing at her insides. Irishen’s ice was the only thing dimming the pain of that, like it had been last time.

She was fraying at the edges, and the horror of what she might accidentally do to Salis if she slipped made her tremble. Irishen felt the change immediately.

“What is it, Wayla?”

“Not. Safe.” Wave gulped in air and focused on keeping everything inside. She couldn’t blast out a storm now. “Salis. Away.”

Irishen just shook his head. “He’s driving.”

Wave trembled even harder. She would hold on as long as she could, but—

Irishen cupped her face and lifted it up to meet his white, swirling eyes. He was using his own power, but it didn’t drive hers higher like it would have done in a power buildup. This was different, went deeper, stroked that slumbering part that she kept denying existed.

“What are we going to do?” Salis’s question pulled Wave’s focus apart.

“You are going to keep driving. Higher altitudes would be better,” Risha answered, not turning his eyes away from Wave’s. “She needs to get this under control and it won’t happen as long as she is fighting to hold it in.”

“Ca-can’t.” Wave’s teeth chattered too much to speak. In the next moment, Irishen’s lips sealed over hers. He became the air she breathed, full of ice, seeping into her lungs. Instinctively, Wave fought and pushed back.

Irishen’s hand grabbed her nape hard enough to bruise and kept their lips sealed together. With every breath that Wave pushed the ice back out, her breathing became easier. It took her a moment to realize that he was siphoning the excess power from her.

Helping, coaxing her to let go, Irishen kept breathing ice into her. Wave went limp in his hold and closed her eyes. The moment she stopped fighting him, the power started to flow easily from her to him.

“Oh fuck.” Salis gasped.

Wave’s eyes flew open, and she jerked back, breaking the connection. Every surface in the car was covered in a layer of ice.

“Keep driving. It’s all spelled to function with ice.” Irishen huffed and tried to pull Wave back, but she resisted.

“No, I—” She shook her head, trying to clear it. Sharing power like that was dangerous. What if she pushed too much at him? She had no experience in controlling power sharing.