Page 111 of Siren’s Secret

It was Tanner who laughed. “I knew from the moment you walked through that door that you were a lady, Wayla.”

Wave shifted her attention back to him and smiled widely. “And you played along so well. The high society should be on their toes once you are released to the wild, my good sir.”

“Tanner, you should have told me,” Hatty interrupted them. She pushed closer and took Wave’s arm. “I do apologize for any offense. Tanner is still young, but he knows he should have informed me—”

Her sentence got cut short when Wave pulled her arm free with a sharp yank. She liked Tanner and was willing to play civil for Marc’s sake, but this woman had no right to manhandle her.

“Excuse me, but I need to say my greetings to Lord Ulriche,” she said and turned back to Tanner. “Could you please escort me to him?”

“I can take you—”

“Maman, please,” Tanner moaned. He seemed to know well all the social niceties his mother was breaking. “I can escort Lady Stormwell to Father’s study. Maybe you could check that the dinner is on track? We don’t want to keep her ladyship waiting.” The boy tried to be diplomatic, but Hatty’s cheeks flared.

“Tanner, this is not the time—”

“Mrs. Ulriche,” Wave cut in and let her aura unfurl a little. Just a little, but that was enough to make Hatty stagger several steps back. While her husband was powerful, she wasn’t. Tanner stood steady on his feet and Marc finally decided to step in. He offered Wave his arm and turned to Tanner.

“Father is in his study?”

“Yes,” Tanner hurried to assure him.

“Then I will escort Lady Stormwell there.” Before anyone had time to protest, he looped Wave’s hand over his arm and began walking toward the staircase. He led her to the second floor and down a hallway. Their steps were muted by a thick carpet and portraits hung on the wall. Marc slowed his stride when he noticed Wave looking at them.

“Ulriche mages,” Marc said. “Only the head of the families, of course.”

“There are almost as many women here as men,” Wave commented as she counted.

“Yes, well. My family is a lot of things, but it has never discriminated based on gender. If you are powerful enough to squash everyone else, you’ll get your picture on the wall.”

“Sounds… well, like most families in power, to be honest,” Wave said.

“Yours too?”

Wave rolled her eyes. “Oh yes.”

“Did you really want to see my father, or…”

“Yes, I actually did. Unless you’d rather I didn’t?”

“No, I don’t mind.” Marc stopped by a door and rapped at it. “Father?”

“Come in, Marc.”

He opened the door and stepped through. Wave followed and took in the massive office filled with books. The magical energy wafting from them made her head spin for a second. Unlike at the library, it was very organized here.

“Good evening, Lady Stormwell,” Mr. Ulriche said and stood up when he saw her. He gave her a small bow and Wave returned the gesture. Then she smiled.

“Nice office.”

“Thank you. It’s been in the family for generations. The books do pile up after a while.”

“I can see that. Neatly organized, though.”

“I do my best to know where everything is. Makes staying on top of things easier,” Mr. Ulriche replied.

“It certainly does. Nothing more annoying than hunting for a book that someone has misplaced.”

Mr. Ulriche frowned slightly at that and tapped at his chin. “There are spells for that kind of thing.”