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My spine straightens. “You know what it is?”
He smiles, teeth too big for his mouth, forehead gleaming until it reaches his hairline halfway back his head. Before I can stop him, he plucks the medallion from my fingers.
My breath catches. I keep my eyes glued to it, making sure it doesn’t end up lost on the floor.
He turns it over in his palm. “A Serpent’s Head. Rare coin.”
Hope spikes at the possibility of a lead.
“Can I have it back, please?”
His grin widens further. “Would you take five hundred for it?”
The offer punches through my composure. “It’s not for sale.”
“One thousand?”
“No.” My voice comes out firmer now. “It was a gift. Please give it back.”
Still smiling, he hands it over. Relief loosens my throat as soon as it touches my palm again.
“You know what to do with it, right?” he asks.
I close my fingers around it. “Not exactly.”
He slides off the stool. “Come on. I’ll show you.”
Every part of me says this is a bad idea. But this is the first real answer I’ve found.
I grab my purse and step down. His hand takes mine the moment my feet hit the floor. The contact turns my stomach, but I don’t pull back.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“Somewhere we can talk privately.”
Privacy isn’t what I want with this guy, but I need information, and he has it. I need to know why Asher trusted this coin.
Across the room, Calista notices the man leading me away. One eyebrow lifts before she shrugs with a grin like this is exactly what should be happening.
This is supposed to be normal.
That’s why I keep walking. Calista isn’t afraid. No one is trying to stop me. I can’t tell whether the warning in my chest is instinct or years of being taught that everything outside my cage is dangerous. Maybe I should loosen up.
The man leads me towards the dim hallway Calista pointed out earlier. The farther we go, the more the music fades behind us. Soft lighting glows along the walls while our footsteps grow louder on the thin carpet. The club feels far away already.
Ahead of us, the corridor stretches long and empty, with the playrooms waiting, each one with its name printed on the door.
I should stop walking. But I don’t.
The answers are somewhere in front of me.
For once, I choose them over safety.
CHAPTER 8
ZAIYA
Shadows swallow the green carpet ahead. There’s no way for me to turn back without making the man angry, and I know anger is waiting just beneath his smile.
