Wave was halfway through the requests, neat piles with labels waited for pick up in the back room, when a cool breeze prickled her skin.
“Hello, morsel,” Irishen greeted her with a smile that was somehow softer than the smiles he had given her before.Wave gave him a cursory bow and then a glare.
“No ID, no entry.”
Irishen’s smile widened, and he pulled out a card and waved it out of Wave’s reach.She refused to reach out and just lifted a brow.
“You are no fun, morsel,” Irishen said.
“I’m not interested in your games, Risha.”
“It’syour highnessto you, morsel.”
“It’s going to be my boot in your ass soon to you, Risha,” Wave replied evenly.She could see irritation flicker over his face as he slammed the card on the desk.Wave picked it up and looked it over.It looked legit, but she wouldn’t put forgery past Irishen.
“Just a second.”She paged for Mrs.Riverson, who soon hurried out of the stacks.Wave held up the card.“Any way to verify this is legit?”
Mrs.Riverson’s eyes widened slightly, but she kept herself under control.“Let me see.”
“Are you accusing me of lying, morsel?”
“I’m just doing my job, your highness.”
“Now, morsel—”
“It’s real,” Mrs.Riverson hurried to say and handed the card back to Irishen.“You are free to enter Prince Sleethill.Please bear the library rules in mind.”
“Of course, Mrs.Riverson.”He then turned to look at Wave.“Care to accompany me, morsel?Purely to make sure I follow said rules.”
“I’m sure you can conduct yourself accordingly, your highness.”
Irishen’s jaw flexed, and the white of his eyes deepened to ashy grey.
“Why are you so antagonistic towards me, Wayla?I haven’t done anything to you,” he finally said.It sounded genuine enough that Wave blinked.
“Nothing, except you tried to bully your way inside the library and blasted me with ice.”
“I blocked Elena’s power from hitting you,” he hurried to defend.
“And that should make me fall for you?”
“Most would at least thank me,” he grumbled.
“Thank you,” Wave said.She almost meant it.Irishen sighed, but left the desk and headed toward the history section.What was he really playing at?And what had happened between him and Diana?
Wave frowned.There was some bad blood between him and the Powerhouses too.All things that she would like to know, but didn’t know how to ask without inviting questions about her own situation.
She had been hiding in plain sight most of her life.She’d had so many fake names, she didn’t even remember them all.She had played at being a human girl for a few years here and there.She had lived on deserted islands when Father had told her and Mother to hide.
There was always something.Some part of her, big or small, that she had to hide.It was getting exhausting.She couldn’t make any real connections or friends that way.She shouldn’t be making them here either, but a big part of her felt starved.
Chrissy, Ginny, and Diana were the closest thing to a friend group she had ever had.Saliswasher best friend.She had kept as close to the truth with them as she could.Then there were the three male specimens that she couldn’t avoid.She didn’twantto avoid them.
Maybe she should contact Mother.She would talk her out of this nonsense in seconds.A minor inconvenience was that she didn’t know where she was or how to reach her.But even thinking about Mother and the deal they’d made of no contact for five years and finding out all she could about Father did help.At least a little.
Here she was wasting her time with friends and dating, instead of training and working her ass off.She didn’t have any way to find out more about her father’s death, Mother had been right about that, too.Her best weapon to ferret out secrets was useless if she wanted to stay alive.
All the unsung notes burned in Wave’s throat and made her swallow bile.She forced herself to breathe in deep, nod at Mrs.Riverson, pick another list, and go back to work.She would figure something out.Eventually.
