The world moved in slow motion for a moment as a wave of fear crashed over me. The room pulsed with the club’s muffled bass, and a muscle in Stavros’s jaw twitched as he glared at me, the beat from below vibrating through the soles of my heels.
Shit. Crap. Fuck.A barrage of expletives exploded in my brain.
The Siren’s smile became serpentine as he circled me. Black scales burst from his flesh, glittering on his cheeks. Behind him, his brute security guard cracked his knuckles and blocked the door.
“You are going to lookso nicein my collection,” he hissed, eyes gleaming.
Cursing my tight leather outfit, I dropped into a ready stance. My pulse thrummed as I recalled everything I had learned on the cliff with Aranare. Stavros paused, eyes sweeping over me, and I realized how ridiculous I must look, poised to fight in this dress. He let out a dark chuckle, then he lunged.
I ducked, pivoting low, and drove my elbow into his gut before twisting to send a sharp knee into his ribs. He grunted, stumbling backward.
“Oh, I like you.” The Siren grinned, brushing his dark hair from his forehead before rushing at me again.
His movements were fast, a blur of limbs. I parried with my forearm, but he knocked me toward the wall of artifacts. He faltered momentarily, worried about his precious collection. My hand found a blade from the wall—a ceremonial dagger crusted with black pearls—and I slashed upward, grazing his shoulder.
Blood spurted to the floor, and Stavros snarled, more beast than man now.
With the Siren regrouping and his bodyguard ready to join, I scanned for a way out. My gaze landed on the window, which overlooked the nightclub below.
Breath sharp in my throat, I grabbed Tutankhamun’s staff from the shelf and hurled it full force at the glass. With a crash, it shattered in a glorious spray, shards catching the light like drops of crystalline rain as they poured down onto the dance floor below.
Stavros roared, and the guard surged forward.
I ran toward the broken window and leaped.
Wind and music rushed around me, and for one breathless second, I flew. Then I tumbled into a throng of people, and limbs began flying as fights ensued all around me.
In the chaos of my fall, Finn broke free from the guards holding him near the dance floor and pushed through the haze of strobes and smoke.
“Are you okay?” His dark hair was damp, lips parted like he’d run through hell to find me.
“I think so.”
“Did you get the artifact?” he asked, eyes sharp as he pulled me up.
“I–I threw it at the window.” I gestured to the brawling nightclubbers, a mess of body parts and grunts under the aquamarine glow.
Shit, my plan was unraveling. I’d lost the staff.
A patron stumbled from the chaos, striking Finn in the jaw.
Finn grinned wickedly as he rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt. “Oh, I do love a good bar brawl.”
The man swung again at Finn, who dodged it and punched him back.
My heart began to race. I couldn’t have asked for a better distraction while I slipped out with the staff. My eyes darted across the flying limbsuntil I saw it, gleaming blue and gold amid the shattered glass on the floor. I ducked around the brawlers and grasped it.
Finn’s fists were still flying left and right. He stopped momentarily to wipe blood from his lip and sweep his hair from his face, and then he was back into it.
Clutching the staff, I began to run, shoving through the heaving crowd, the bass pounding my skull. Sweat-slick bodies closed in around me, but I held the staff against my chest.
I caught a glimpse of the exit ahead just as a hand seized me and an arm clamped around my waist. Stavros’s burly henchman blocked my path, sneering down at me, while a new man dragged me back into the throng. I thrashed, twisting against his grip, still holding the staff. My magic hummed in response, but I shoved it down. I couldn’t risk it; there were too many innocent people in this club.
Across the room, Finn broke free from the brawl, blood streaking across his jaw, fists still clenched as his gaze locked on mine.
“No!” I gasped as one henchman yanked the staff from my grasp, and then Finn was there, slamming into the guard holding me with the force of a crashing wave.
The man dropped me to the floor and joined the fray.
