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“Conn. You going to the after-party?” asked Kraven.
Conn arched a brow, his gaze flicking in my direction. “Yeah. You’re not bringing Moira, are you?”
“Why not?” I asked. “Kraven told me the fights in the Pit are pretty exciting.”
I’d gotten a brief explanation that the after-party centered around a Morgon-on-Morgon fight match, surrounded by heavy drinking and carousing before and after the main event.
Conn leaned closer to Kraven. I pretended to be distracted by the players, the Storm-gale stealer sweeping down in a vertical dive to snatch the torque.
“It’s not safe these days for humans, Kraven. Does Lucius know you’ve got his sister-in-law here?”
Kraven whispered something I couldn’t hear.
“Right,” was Conn’s terse reply.
The crowd erupted as the Storm-gale stealer whisked the torque from the spire, crowning his team the winners.
“Come on,” Kraven whispered close to my ear. “Let’s beat the rush.”
He threaded his fingers through mine, leading me out of the Box and down the corridor to a darkened stairwell. We descended, each curving flight lit by one flaming torch. My heart picked up pace. Kraven halted one step below me. His eyes shimmered in the dark, an animal’s night vision.
“Focus on slowing your pulse.”
“You can hear it?”
“I can feel it.” He squeezed my hand, his thumb brushing my inner wrist. “But Morgons can sense fear. For the wrong kind of Morgon, it’s an aphrodisiac.”
“Isn’t that the kind we’re trying to find tonight?”
His eyes narrowed. “Slow your pulse.”
A Morgon couple slipped past us, clinging to each other. Closing my eyes, I inhaled a deep breath, blowing it out steadily.
Opening my eyes, I nodded. “Lead the way.”
Five flights down, the stairway opened to an underground tavern, one vast room with nooks and niches, bars and booths along one wall and a barred-cage surrounding a pit in the ground to one side. Lit by torchlight in sconces along the wall and a few wrought-iron chandeliers dangling on chains from the ceiling, the room remained mostly in shadow. Dance music pumped from somewhere. The entire scene was…seductive.
Still holding my drink, Kraven led me to one side, away from parties of drinkers already making noise.
“So this is it?” I took a bigger swig of beer, needing a tad of liquid courage.
“This is it. There’ll be a fight later in the Pit.”
“Do you see the Nightwing Security guys?”
“Yep. They’re here.”
“Conn doesn’t know about this plan?”
“Lucius didn’t want everyone knowing your involvement. They might give something away, guarding you too close. But with the recent abductions, he heightened security anyway. Everyone is on alert.”
I scanned the crowds. No one looked our way. Of course, Lucius and Lorian’s guys would be expert at disguise. I needed to move about the room, see if I could find my target. “I’m going to roam a bit.”
His frown deepened. “I’ll come with you.”
“Kraven, no Morgon man is going to approach me with you hovering. Especially not the one we’re looking for.”
He must’ve seen the determination in my eyes, softening as I waited for him to bend. He scanned the room. “Fine. Just don’t leave this basement for any reason.”
