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rare.”
    “Indeed. This one was made specifically for me. Only I can use it.”
    “So you can sneak back into the places you provide security for? Isn’t that illegal?”  
    “I’m not all good, Cass.”
    Startled, I glanced up, meeting his dark eyes. The heart of him was there—the good Aidan I’d grown to trust—but so was the darkness that’d made me fear him when I’d first met him.
    “But you’re mostly good, right?” I asked.
    He nodded. “Yeah, I think so. Where it counts.”
    I nodded. Considering that “where it counts” had been sticking by my side and saving me from nasty situations, I figured I could live with that. We all had a little darkness in us. Me, particularly, I was learning.  
    “Good enough for me,” I said.
    “Excellent.” He returned the charm to his pocket and pushed open the window. “Shall we?”
    “Wouldn’t miss it.” I hopped up onto the windowsill and climbed down into the huge atrium of the main entry hall.  
    No moonlight shined through the glass dome above, so the only light came from the dim recessed lights set into the walls. Shadows of statues and glass cases loomed in the darkness, places where anyone could hide.
    Aidan landed silently next to me and shut the window, then ran the Spell Stripper over the edges again, presumably reigniting the protection spells.
    “Let’s go,” he said.
    We crept through the main part of the atrium, keeping our footsteps silent. My skin prickled to be so out in the open. Damn, I hoped these invisibility charms worked. I felt like I was just strolling through and could be spotted any moment.
    I heard and saw no guards as we passed through a narrow room full of white marble statues. Ancient gods and goddesses draped in frozen fabric gazed impassively at us as we passed.  
    Like many museums, this one was a maze of different-sized rooms. Magic swelled from the room ahead of us, differing signatures that indicated the artifacts within were enchanted like the ones in my shop. Glass cases reflected the dim light. As soon as we stepped over the threshold, a ghostly howl broke through the silence.
    It tore at my eardrums as the hair on my arms stood up. My gaze darted to Aidan’s. Surprise flickered in his eyes.
    Footsteps thundered toward us.
    “Run,” we said at the same time.
    We retreated, sprinting back through the statue room and veering left down a narrow corridor lined with ancient shields. I tried my damnedest to keep my footsteps silent. Aidan, of course, had no problem with that, despite his great size. The Shifter in him gave him an unnatural grace.
    Footsteps sounded behind us, but I didn’t dare turn to look. I pushed myself faster, seeking a place to hide. We were invisible, but no need to court trouble. And I really didn’t want to risk anyone sensing my magic.
    We dove into a large exhibit of Egyptian statues. Towering Pharaohs loomed in the darkness. We ducked behind a sitting Hatshepsut, her throne giving us enough space to lean against her, side by side.
    “What was that?” I panted, trying to keep my voice low. The ghostly howl was still screeching.
    “Extra enchantments. That room had the most valuable stuff in the place. They must have doubled up on protection charms.”
    “Yeah, I felt the magic.” I snapped my mouth shut when I heard footsteps.  
    I tensed, trying to calm my heart and hopefully any magic that I was putting out. As long as I didn’t use it, I should be okay. Using magic was a bit like sweating. If you worked hard to access it, people would smell you. Or sense you, rather, depending on what kind of signature your magic gave off.
    Aidan squeezed my hand as a guard walked in ten feet in front of us, his brow scrunched, like he sensed something was off here but couldn’t figure it out. My heart pounded so hard I swore he could hear it. We could fight him if it came down to it, but then we’d lose any chance at eavesdropping on the investigators.
    Finally, when I was about to start