Page 18 of Siren’s Secret

Elena was seething, but there was nothing she could do against the binding magic. They both knew it. With jerky movements, she took the pen and signed her name on the papers too.

“There!” She threw the pen away. “I hope you realize I’m no longer obligated to hold back from your little toy.” Her expression morphed into a smug smile. “I’m going to burn that little bitch.”

Irishen roared out a laugh. “Oh boy. You haven’t heard.” He chuckled and glanced at the judge, who studiously kept her mouth shut.

“Heard what?” Elena narrowed her eyes and Irishen shrugged.

“Never mind. It can be a lovely surprise when—well, if, you ever get out.” Irishen turned to the judge and gave a small, polite bow. “Judge Holloway, let me escort you out.”

The judge rose and stepped out of the room, clearly happy to get away from Elena’s seething. Irishen wasn’t quite sure that his ex-fiancée wouldn’t attack the good judge. As soon as the door closed behind him, he smelled smoke.

Well, that wasn’t his problem anymore. The smile that spread over his face made the guard do a double take. It felt like a weight burned from his shoulders with every step he took away from that room.

He was finally free.

Chapter 10 – Wave

Wave stared into the mirror at the outfit Chrissy had made for her and gulped. The spider silk sweater was thin, smooth, and soft to the touch. It molded to her frame without looking indecent and the deep midnight color brought out the blue in her hair without making her look pale.

Carefully, Wave ran her hands over the material, but it didn’t feel flimsy, just looked like it. At least Chrissy had taken mercy on her and the jeans were almost normal. Just a little bit of silver threading around the pockets to accentuate things. And the pockets were spelled to fit plenty of stuff.

“Here.” Chrissy rushed into the room, holding out another pair of sneakers.

“Thank you.” Wave hugged her. “I really love your sneakers. Almost like they are magic or something.”

Chrissy poked her tongue out at Wave and pushed the shoes at her. “Try them on.”

Wave sat down and pulled them on. Her eyes widened immediately.

“Good?” Chrissy looked anxious.

“What did you do?” Wave wiggled her toes. “They feel like a… I don’t know what, but they are amazing!”

Chrissy’s shoulders relaxed. “They are my best work, if I do say so myself. Maybe now you’d be willing to try some heels?” She looked pleadingly at Wave.

She hesitated, got up, and bounced a bit to test the soft feeling out. “You can make heels feel like this?”

“Well, not exactly, but…”

“You know what, fine. I’ll promise to try them, but I won’t promise to leave the apartment wearing them. How’s that?”

“Yes!” Chrissy’s squeal brought laughter from the living room, where Ginny and Diana were waiting.

After Wave made sure her Chrissy-approved mascara was in place and added some gloss to her lips, she felt like she was ready to face the campus. She was an heir apparent and looked the part. Even her grandmother would approve of the quality of the clothes Chrissy had put her in. She would certainly find fault in the style but not the quality.

Wave squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. She would need to sort things out with the administration soon, and wouldn’t that be lovely. If she could avoid that, she would, but Grandfather certainly wouldn’t let things slide.

“It’ll be just fine. You can always freeze their noses off,” she muttered to her reflection before walking out of the room. As soon as they stepped through the dorm’s front door, Wave felt the change in the atmosphere. People were moving in groups. Some even held visible shield bubbles. Wary looks were thrown around and all of it was compounded by the sound of construction going on.

Most of the damage had been already fixed during the month Wave had spent in a cell, but landscaping crews still littered the grounds. Hedges were in the process of being replaced and flower beds replanted, while a fresh layer of paint covered most surfaces.

“Everyone’s on edge,” Ginny muttered as they walked.

“Still, it’s Tracthesia. This is not the first time. It’ll bounce back,” Diana said. She exuded serenity and good cheer. “None of the students died and the Council Force has arrested most assailants. It’ll blow over soon.”

“But there was death,” Ginny said. “One demon and one fire spirit.”

“Well, let’s not focus on that now,” Chrissy said. “We already rehashed all that yesterday. Today is Wayla’s proper debut into the Academy, and I, for one, am not going to be a downer.”