Chapter 629: I Like Reyna Better
The paparazzi lost their collective minds.
"La Sirena! Is this an exclusive relationship?"
"Nakano-san! How does it feel to be dating two of Valoria’s most famous women?"
"Are the three of you in a love triangle? Is Celeste Vance aware of this?"
I held up my free hand. "I think we’ve given you enough material for today. If you’ll excuse us, I promised this lady breakfast."
We pushed through the crowd. The cameras followed us for half a block before losing interest and dispersing to hunt other prey.
Reyna kept the La Sirena mask in place until we’d turned a corner and ducked into a small cafe. Then she dropped it, and the real Reyna emerged with a snort of laughter.
"A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell? Where did THAT come from?"
"No idea. It just came out."
"You’re a natural." She shook her head, still grinning. "Veronica’s going to have a field day with this footage. The Stray Dog and La Sirena, Valoria’s hottest new power couple. The tabloids will run that story for weeks."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"No." She looked at me, and something soft flickered behind her eyes. "It’s actually kind of nice. Having someone who can handle the cameras without freaking out."
I thought about all the years Kaelen had spent talking his way out of trouble. All the interrogations. All the lies. All the performances that meant the difference between prison and freedom.
Turns out that skill set translated surprisingly well to celebrity interviews.
We ordered coffee and pastries. Sat in a corner booth where the windows let in warm morning light. Reyna pressed her thigh against mine under the table.
"So," she said, wrapping both hands around her mug. "This is what normal feels like."
"You don’t do normal often?"
"I don’t do normal ever. There’s always training. Interviews. Appearances. Strategy meetings. Media prep. Veronica has my schedule planned out three months in advance."
"Sounds exhausting."
"It is what it is." She took a sip of her coffee. "This whole prodigy thing, being the family legacy, Veronica’s investment... it’s a lot. But it’s also everything I’ve ever known. I don’t know how to be anything else."
"You could try being Reyna."
She looked at me over the rim of her mug. "That’s what you keep saying."
"Because it’s true. La Sirena is a brand. A performance. Reyna is the girl who secretly watches magical girl anime and eats spicy street food and screams on rooftops when everything gets too heavy." I reached across the table and touched her hand. "I like Reyna better."
Her fingers curled around mine.
"You’re dangerous," she said quietly. "You know that, right? The way you see people. The way you make them feel seen."
"I’ve been told."
"I bet you have." She smirked, but there was warmth underneath it. "Come on. Finish your coffee. I want to show you my city."
We spent the next four hours exploring.
Reyna took me through the Artisan District, where street vendors sold handmade jewelry and pre-Rupture antiques. We wandered through the Harbor Market, where the smell of fresh fish and frying food filled the air. She bought me something called a "Meridian Dog" which was basically a hot dog topped with about seventeen different ingredients, and laughed when I got chili sauce on my chin.
Everywhere we went, people recognized her.
Some were polite. A wave. A nod. A quiet "love you, La Sirena" from a passing teenager.
Others were not polite. Cameras appeared from nowhere. People stopped us for photos. One woman actually tried to grab Reyna’s arm for a selfie and got my best "back off" glare until she released her grip.
Reyna handled it all with the grace of someone who’d been famous since childhood. Smile. Wave. Keep walking. Never show annoyance. Never break character.
But I noticed the way her shoulders tensed every time someone invaded her space. The way her smile tightened at the edges when another camera flash went off.
"Hey." I steered us toward a small park that seemed relatively empty. "Let’s take a break."
We found a bench overlooking a pond where ducks paddled in lazy circles. Reyna sat down with a sigh that seemed to come from somewhere deep in her chest.
"Sorry," she said. "I know this isn’t exactly the relaxing day I promised."
"You promised lost together. Mission accomplished."
She laughed. A real laugh, not the polished one she used for cameras.
"You’re handling this really well. Most people freak out when they see how invasive the attention can be."
"I grew up invisible." I leaned back against the bench, letting my arm rest along the back behind her shoulders. "Spent eighteen years being nobody. A Zero. The kid people looked through instead of at. This is just the opposite extreme."
"Do you like it? The attention?"
I considered the question honestly. "Parts of it. The power that comes with recognition. The doors that open. The way people treat you differently when they know your name." I shrugged. "But I could do without the cameras in my face while I’m trying to eat breakfast."
"Welcome to my entire life." She leaned into my side. Her head came to rest against my shoulder. "This is nice though. Just sitting. Not performing."
"Mhm."
We watched the ducks for a while. The sun was warm on my face. The city sounds felt distant, muffled by the trees surrounding the little park.
Reyna’s hand found mine. Our fingers intertwined.
"I’m scared," she said quietly.
"About your powers?"
"About everything." She lifted her head to look at me. Without the sunglasses hiding her eyes, I could see the vulnerability there. The fear she kept buried under layers of confidence and bravado. "What if they don’t come back? What if that device did permanent damage? What if I wake up tomorrow and I’m still empty inside?"
"Then we figure it out."
"It’s that simple?"
"It’s that simple." I squeezed her hand. "Your powers don’t define you, Reyna. They’re a tool. A weapon. But you’re still you without them. You’re still the girl who found a secret garden to scream in. You’re still the person who kissed a stranger on a rooftop because you wanted to. You’re still worth knowing even if you never throw another bolt of lightning in your life."
Comments