Page 40 of Song of Lorelei
Once clean-up and lock-up were taken care of, the Branson duo followed her and Killian home for drinks. They kicked off their shoes, passed around bottles of beer, and didn’t quite make it out of the kitchen. They were too busy recapping the night to even think about sitting down.
During a break in conversation, Will lifted his bottle of beer and said, “To Lorelei. Our badass mermaid friend and museum expert extraordinaire.”
“Aww, Will.”
“Cheers!”
“I’ll drink to that!”
They clinked their bottles together. Her friends’ beaming smiles warmed her just as much as the alcohol. Eventually they drifted to the kitchen table and settled into seats all around. Lila raised her bottle to her lips and took an extra-long pull. “I have some good news and bad news. But good news first.”
The cheery mood sobered.
Lorelei wrapped her hands around her own beer, centering herself in the cool touch of glass. She could guess what the bad news was about—something to do with Phil, the board, and Nireed. And if it gave her friend pause about sharing even the good news… “Lila, what is it?”
“The good news is that the virophage we gave Nireed a couple weeks ago worked. She hasn’t been having human-flesh cravings. I wanted to tell you sooner, but I thought it would be better to wait until my team knew for sure. I didn’t want to get your hopes up. But we can begin treating the merfolk population.”
“That includes me, right?”
Lila hesitated, her eyes darting to Killian. Neither liked the idea of her participating in the clinical trial, but it wasn’t their decision to make. Her body, her choice, and all that. “If it’s fine enough to use on more of my siren kin, it’s fine enough for me to volunteer.”
“But…”
Lorelei leveled Lila with a firm look. “I want the injection.”
The marine biologist puffed out a breath. “Okay.”
If bad news hadn’t been promised, Lorelei would be soaring right now. No more insidious hunger. No more potted meat. She’d be completely in control again, and never have to worry about the dire consequences of a skipped meal.
Judging by the grave look on Lila’s face, Lorelei wouldn’t like the price. She twisted the beer bottle in her hands. Killian settled his hand over hers, and she stilled. With a small smile, he gently pried the bottle from her grasp. Siren strength carried over into human form, and she could easily break the glass.
Lorelei wrung her hands underneath the table instead. “So, what’s the bad news?”
Regret pinched Lila’s lips as she tugged on one tight curl, pulling it straight. “You know what? Tonight’s your night. It can wait until tomorrow.”
Will smoothed circles across his wife’s back. “It’s a little late for that now, hon.”
Peace already disturbed, Lorelei voiced her agreement. Should that state of mind continue, better it be with the truth than an unanswered question.
Killian reached under the table and steadied her hands, saving them from their own punishing grip. That man missed nothing. “She’ll be up all night wondering,” he said, taking her hands into his and massaging away the stress.
With a heavy sigh, Lila gave in. “Nireed took a turn for the worst last night. It’s not virophage related. That’s been in her system for a couple weeks now. But she knows now that the research center is never letting her leave alive. Overheard some idiots talking about it yesterday in front of her. And she doesn’t know we plan to break her out. I’ve been trying to sneak messages, but Jerry’s been watching me like a fucking hawk.”
“Took a turn for the worst? What does that mean? I thought she was healthy.”
“She’s been on a slow, but steady mental and physical decline since we brought her to shore. The field trip last month gave her some life back, but since…she’s not been doing well, Lorelei. How she looked before our ill-fated field trip is nothing to how she looks now. It’s bad. Real bad. And now she’s crashing. But when I pointed that out to leadership—” Lila’s voice began to rise. “How we’re isolating her, and screwing her mental health to hell, they just say it’s an unfortunate, but inevitable result of life in captivity. My team’s doing what they can—making sure she gets enough fluids and nutrients, but it’s not enough. We’re petitioning to have the tank drained and refilled with new seawater, but it’s been denied as ‘an unnecessary and outsized expense.’ The whole lab’s too scared to do anything more drastic, what with the NDAs they signed. They don’t want to put their careers on the line for her, and while I can’t make that call for them, I can’t just sit around and do nothing. Nireed doesn’t even swim in her tank anymore, just drifts. It’s horrible, and even if I could access the Mermaid CAM to show you, I wouldn’t.”
The men swore under their breath.
They were killing her.
“Her lungs are going to go out. She’s been away from the ocean too long.” As she shared what Nireed told her, Lila nodded along as if she’d already deduced as much, and said, “Phil doesn’t give a shit.”
But Killian stiffened beside her, jaw clenched. “You conveniently left that part out when you refused to return to the sea.” Although his hold on her hands tightened, it wasn’t painful. More clinging. The scent of fear mixed with anger rolled off him in droves. “Were you just going to let yourself asphyxiate and die?”
“No,” she answered but it sounded weak even to her own ears.
Given her mental state at the time, anything could have happened, but she wouldn’t have let herself die, would she? Lorelei pulled her hands from Killian’s to rub her temples, her mind racing a mile a minute. No, she wouldn’t have. Itchy, irritable skin was easy enough to habituate to. Difficulty breathing was not, and it would’ve snapped her out of it, which she voiced to Killian.