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a rendezvous with a pack alpha, or anybody else for that matter. Well-bred human girls didn’t do that sort of thing. No, she was probably trying to make her curfew at the Guild. If the Guild had a curfew. A safe destination, the Guild of Metalmages. Much like the drive of this house was, most likely, perfectly safe. Still, the stupid side of me set free by the alcohol latched on to the excuse to walk to where she stood.
    “Miss DuCaine,” I said politely as I reached her side.
    She jumped a little, then made a noise of apology as she turned to see who had spoken. A smile curved her lips briefly. “Technically the correct form of address is Prentice DuCaine.”
    “I stand corrected.” I swept a bow, not sure why I felt the urge. “Prentice DuCaine. What are you doing out here all by yourself?”
    I waited for the visions to crowd me, but it seemed that the iron was enough to deal with just one person and the air around her stayed almost clear. Flames flickered over her head but they were fainter. Much fainter. And really, flames around a metalmage were to be expected.
    I was tempted to push, to look again and see what was to be seen now that her futures weren’t tangled and blurred by those of everybody else in the ballroom, but I stopped myself.
    “Waiting for my ’cab,” she said. “It’s late.”
    “Likewise my hackney,” I said. “Perhaps something is slowing their travels.”
    “I hope not,” she said, frowning. “I have to be up early.”
    Whereas I was unlikely to see my bed before dawn. A timely reminder that we were from two very different worlds. I took another breath of that cooling, calming night air. “I’m sure they won’t be long.”
    She raised an eyebrow at me. “Exactly how sure?”
    I mirrored her eyebrow lift. “I can’t see them turning the corner down the street, if that’s what you’re asking.”
    “Pity.” She scratched idly at the back of her hand, then made an exasperated face and tugged off her gloves with impatient movements. Once her hands were freed, she shook them, flexing the fingers slowly before stretching her arms out before her. “Sainted earth, that’s better.”
    A red weal marred the skin on the back of her right hand. A burn?
    “Did you hurt yourself?” I didn’t reach to touch her. One didn’t take the hand of nice young ladies alone in the dark.
    “It’s nothing. I was just a little careless.” She made a fist, then dropped her hand to her side. “It will be fine tomorrow.”
    Looking at the angry red mark, I wasn’t so sure of that. Burns hurt—I knew that much. I thought of all the time she must have spent tonight with men’s hands pressing on the burn through her gloves as she danced. She’d either numbed it up with something or she was tougher than she looked. Something made me suspect the latter. “You should get Simon to look at it.”
    She flicked her fingers in a gesture of dismissal. “We have healers at the Guild.”
    “Then you should get one of them to look at it.”
    The exasperated look returned to her face. “You sound like my brothers.”
    I wasn’t sure if that was insult or compliment but before I could ask, a ’cab chugged through the gate and came to a steaming, heaving halt before us. I stepped down and reached to open the rear door.
    “Prentice DuCaine,” I said and, unthinking, stretched out my hand to help her into the cab.
    As her fingers touched mine, the thunder in my head disappeared, the flames flicking at my vision snuffed like candles. Stunned, I stepped back, releasing her hand, but before I could speak, the ’cab took off and she was gone.
    “Did Saskia leave?” It was Holly.
    I started, eyes still staring at the gate where the ’cab had turned and rumbled out of view. Had I imagined it? That sudden respite from the visions?
    They were back now, back as soon as I had let go of Saskia’s hand, rising around me like shredded ghosts once more. I reached for my wrist to press the iron