Chapter 37 · Sable swore under her breath. Cael leaned toward Lia

He lifted his token. "Twenty."

Sable swore under her breath.

Cael leaned toward Lia. "Put it down."

"You want to stay broken?"

"I want you alive."

"Then help me win."

"With what?"

Lia took his hand and placed it over the token. His palm covered hers. Heat flooded between their fingers.

"With the thing everyone here is afraid of," she whispered. "Let them feel it."

Cael's eyes went silver.

The lamps flickered.

Every vial on the stage trembled.

The broker stepped back. "Control your power."

"You first," Lia said.

The masked bidders began shouting.

"Thirty thousand!"

"Forty!"

Cael's grip tightened around Lia's hand. "This is too much."

"You have a better plan?"

"Yes. We take the vial and run."

"That was my plan until you decided to be reasonable."

A bell rang from the upper balcony.

Sable looked up. Her face changed.

"Wardens," she said. "Rowan found us."

The theater doors slammed shut.

Masked figures drew weapons. The broker reached for the vial case.

Lia shoved the token forward. "I bid the oath in my blood."

The room fell silent.

Cael's head snapped toward her. "Lia, no."

The token split down the middle.