Still, I had to admit he was right. I had cleaned up pretty well tonight, thanks to the dress Finn had picked out. The scarlet gown had a tight fitted top that emphasized the smooth skin of my arms and shoulders, while the front of the bodice swooped down to show off what assets I had there. Scarlet teardrop-shaped crystals decorated the seams that cinched in around my waist, adding some sparkle to the gown, before the fabric fell away into a long, flowing skirt, also dotted here and there with crystals. As I walked, the skirt swirled out around me, the slits in it showing teasing flashes of my legs. Finn had even insisted on my buying shoes the same color to match, although I’d held my ground and had picked a pair with a relatively low, two-inch heel instead of the sky-high pumps he’d tried to browbeat me into getting.

The gown was beautiful—certainly more beautiful than I was—but I couldn’t help but feel exposed it in. The top left my arms bare, which meant that I couldn’t carry knives up my sleeves like I usually did. Still, I hadn’t come to the museum completely weaponless: two blades were strapped to my thighs underneath the long skirt, just in case. I would have preferred to be carrying my full five-point arsenal, so to speak, but two knives were usually enough to get the job done, especially when I was the one wielding them.

Still, I couldn’t help but listen to the tense, worried mutters of the stone around me—mutters that had only gotten louder and sharper since we’d entered the rotunda.

And it wasn’t just the stone’s whispers that made me wary. There were increasingly more giants inside the museum than there had been outside, until it seemed like they were everywhere I turned in the rotunda. Most of the giants were dressed as waiters, but really, they were just glorified guards in black bow ties. They’d be ready to deal quickly, brutally, and efficiently with any problems that might arise. In fact, there were more giant waiters in the room than there were personal bodyguards. I supposed that some of the movers and shakers thought they’d be safe enough at such a public event and had left their muscle at home for the night.