It was warm, and the air pleasantly scented. The disk hanging over the center of the room seemed quiet, but I imagined if I bothered to look at it with my second sight that it would be pulsating with that ugly purple and black. I glanced at my reflection to see if my hair was behaving under the stylist’s sprays and wires, glad the yellow of my black eye was still hidden behind the mundane makeup. Then I looked again.

Damn! I thought, slowing. Trent and I looked fantastic. No wonder people were staring. He was trim and debonair, and I was elegant in my borrowed dress with my hair up off my neck and bound with that heavy gold wire. Both of us were confident, both of us were smiling. But even as I thought we made the perfect couple, I realized that though we were together, each of us was alone. Our strengths were not dependent upon each other, and while that wasn’t bad, it didn’t lend itself to being a couple. We were simply standing next to each other looking good.

“What is it?” Trent asked, gesturing that I should go up the stairs ahead of him.

“Nothing.” Gathering my slit skirt as best I could, I went up the narrow carpeted stairway after the doorman. The sound of gaming people went faint, turning into a background hum to stir my subconscious. A cheer rose, and I wished I could be down there, feeling my heart pound in the breathless wait to see what the dice would show.

“I thought they’d search us,” Trent said softly so the man escorting us couldn’t hear.

I shrugged. “For what? Did you see that big disk on the ceiling?” He glanced behind us, and I added, “It’s a huge spell damper. Kind of like the charms I used to have on my cuffs before you burned them all to hell, but it affects the whole boat.”

“Didn’t you bring a weapon?” he whispered as we reached the second floor.

“Yes,” I said through my teeth, smiling. “And I could shoot someone with it, but the potions won’t take effect until whoever it is leaves the boat.”

“What good is it then?”

“I don’t kill people, Trent. Get over it.” Though I might make an exception for Lee.

I saw his jaw tighten and relax. Our escort opened a narrow door, gesturing for me to enter. I stepped in, finding Lee looking pleasantly surprised as he brought his attention from the paperwork on his desk. I tried to keep my expression neutral, the memory of that man writhing on the street under a black charm aimed at me making me angry and ill all at the same time.

A tall woman stood behind him, leaning to breathe upon his neck. She was leggy and lean, dressed in a black jumpsuit with bell-bottom hems. The neckline went almost to her navel. Vamp, I decided, when her eyes dropped to my necklace and she smiled to show me small, pointy canines. My scar twinged, and my anger slowed. Quen wouldn’t have stood a chance.