Page 7 of Siren Problems
The readings spike again. Higher than before. The ley current bends here, warping like heat above asphalt. Something ispullingthe energy.
I plant the tripod, anchor the scanner, and mutter under my breath, “Come on, just give me one clear signal. Just one.”
“You really don’t know how to leave things alone, do you?”
I jolt, nearly knock the sensor into the sand.
He’s there. Calder. Shirt on this time, but just barely—half-buttoned like he got halfway through getting dressed and changed his mind.
“I’m working,” I say. “Don’t you have some brooding to do? Maybe sculpt driftwood into emotionally symbolic art?”
His jaw tics. “You’re pushing the ley field too hard.”
“And you’renotthe ley police.”
He steps closer. “You don’t know what you’re messing with.”
“That’s what researchis, fishboy. Messing with things until they give up their secrets.”
His eyes narrow. “This place isn't a lab. The sea doesn’t care about your thesis.”
I laugh. Not because it’s funny, but because if I don’t, I’m going to scream. “You think I don’t know that? I’ve been laughed out of every department back home for saying magic affects ocean currents. This is my last shot. So unless you’ve got something helpful to add—back off.”
His gaze flicks to the glowing scanner, then to my hands, still shaking from the surge I absorbed earlier.
“I’m trying to protect you,” he says, voice lower now. Rougher. “You don’t understand what’s buried here.”
I freeze. That’s... not a denial.
Before I can ask, a third voice cuts through the tension.
“Wow. If I’d known this was athing, I’d have brought snacks.”
Kai stands a few feet away in a flowy top and leather sandals that cost more than my entire aura kit. She’s holding two drinks—one bright blue, one milky pink—and a half-eaten skewer of grilled mushroom from the night market.
“Please, don’t stop glaring at each other. The sexual tension is feeding the ley lines.”
Calder curses under his breath.
I sigh. “Kai.”
She hands me the blue drink. “It’s got electrolytes and a whisper of flirtation enhancement. You’re welcome.”
“To be clear,” I say, “I amnotflirting.”
“Nope,” she says, totally ignoring me. “Just aggressively arguing with a hot man at midnight on a magically active cliff. Totally academic.”
Calder rakes a hand through his hair. “I’m leaving.”
Kai calls after him, “Tell your aura it’s looking extra cursed tonight!”
I sip the drink. It tastes like regret and blueberries.
When he’s gone, Kai nudges me with her shoulder.
“You okay?” she asks, quieter now.
I nod. “He knows something. I can feel it.”
