Feeling unreal and disconnected, I took a step to the door. “Listen.”

“I don’t hear anything.”

I reached out and wiggled the knob. “That’s the problem,” I said. “The boat is empty.”

There was a heartbeat of silence. Trent rose, his suit making a pleasant hush. He looked more concerned than alarmed as he shook his sleeves down and came forward. Nudging me out of the way, he tried the handle.

“What, you think it’s going to work for you when it won’t work for me?” I said, grabbing his elbow and pulling him out from in front of the door. Balancing on one foot, I held my breath and kicked at the jamb, thankful that even luxury boats tried to keep everything as light as possible. My heel went right through the thin wood, my foot catching. The strips of my beautiful dress dangled and waved as I hopped ungainly backward to disentangle myself.

“Hey! Wait!” I exclaimed when Trent picked the splinters from the hole and reached through to unlock it from the outside. Ignoring me, he opened the door and darted into the hall.

“Damn it, Trent!” I hissed, snatching up my clutch purse and following him. Ankle hurting, I caught up with him at the foot of the stairs. Reaching out, I jerked him back, sending his shoulder into the wall of the narrow passage. “What are you doing?” I said, inches away from his angry eyes. “Is this how you treat Quen? You don’t know what’s out there, and if you die, I’m the one that’s going to suffer, not you!”

He said nothing, his green eyes choleric and his jaw tight.

“Now get your scrawny ass behind mine, and keep it there,” I said, giving him a shove.

Sullen and worried, I left him there. My hand wanted to reach for my splat gun, but as long as that purple disk was up and running, the potions in it wouldn’t do anything but tick someone off as I got a nasty concoction of monkshood and spiderwort all over their nice dress clothes. A faint smile curved over my face. I didn’t mind doing this the physical way.

What I could see of the room was empty. I listened, hearing nothing. Crouching to put my head at knee level, I peeked around the corner. I was down here for two reasons. First, if anyone was waiting to hit me, they’d have to adjust their swing, giving me time to get out of the way. Second, if I were hit, I wouldn’t have so far to go to find the floor. But as I took in the elegant room, my stomach churned. The floor was littered with bodies.

“Oh my God,” I said softly as I rose. “Trent, he killed them.” Was that it? Was Lee going to frame us for murder?

Trent pushed past me, slipping my grasping reach easily. He crouched by the first body. “Knocked out,” he said flatly, his beautiful voice turned to steel.