“Not even for a half metric ton of rhodium, who knows how much gold, or the wealth of Capella III?” Ednund asked. “Once you win, take command of the wealth and wield the power, the act will be forgotten. The narrative will change to ‘Can you believe that, wet and bedraggled, she once pleaded to get back in her brother’s good graces?’”

“We talked about new rules clear back when we were aboard Turalon,” Clarice reminded her as The Jewel came into the view. Slanting rain shone in silver streaks in the light over the door.

“All that matters is winning in the end.” Falise sighed, then laughed. “What the hell am I thinking? I’ve debased myself far worse than this. Played more pathetic roles. If I could endure the things I did in Vincent Xian Chan’s bed—and for a far lesser prize than Capella III’s wealth, I can do this.”

She made a face. “It’s just that it’s Derek. And this place.”

“Only results matter in the end, Lady,” Ednund told her.

She took a breath, hated the water leaking down her face, and started forward, only to hesitate as a staccato of sound erupted in the night behind her. Something about it chilled her worse than the rain. Couldn’t be fireworks. That crackling and popping. Gunfire?

A scream sounded. Then a shout.

What the hell? This didn’t sound like revelry. She turned, lifting a hand to shield her eyes from the rain. A flicker of lightning strobed white in the clouds, momentarily illuminating the avenue. In that instant, she saw something coming. Just the quick glimpse. Long bodied, running low, like some . . . And then it was gone.

“Did you see that?” she asked.

“Something,” Ednund agreed. “Like a creature that . . .”

The blaring of the siren almost made Falise jump out of her skin. The damn thing was so loud, painful, she clapped hands to her ears.

Ednund had taken another step, his head forward as he used the flat of his palm to shield his eyes against the downpour. As the siren continued to blare, he shouted, “I thought I saw it.” He pointed with his other hand. “Something between where we . . .”

A piece of the night—swelling darkness—came alive. Midnight moved, blotting the light down the avenue. Falise tried to make sense of the inky shape that came barreling out of the rain. In the flickering white of distant lightning, she caught the momentary image of a great triangular head, wet and gleaming in the black. Something like a sheet flared wide behind the head, faintly red in the reflected light from The Jewel. Big. Fast. Three shining orbs, widely spaced eyes, glinted.

And then the jaws opened, shadowy in the midnight rain. The casino lights gleaming on wet serrated teeth.

The huge head slammed into Ednund, lifting, crushing his hips and stomach as the monster twisted him up into the air.