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Belledieux raised his hand, stealing the upperhand. Elyse clenched her teeth, waiting for the counter.
“That’s fourteen, can I get fifteen?”
“Twenty-five million!” Mr. Grayson shouted, his ancient voice trembling.
Everyone in the room turned to him, stunned. Even the auctioneer seemed amazed.
“Twenty-five million, do I hear thirty?” he called after he regained his composure.
Belledieux just shook his head.
“Going once… Going twice… Sold to the centenarian!”
Mr. Grayson beamed as everyone broke into breathless applause. He certainly knew how to captivate a room, despite his many years.
“Congratulations, sir. You can collect your prize shortly. For now, we will move on to the most-anticipated item of the evening…” The auctioneer paused and slowly made his way to the final chest. He unlocked it and opened the lid, taking his time. Elyse thought her heart might explode as she waited. She wasn’t breathing as the auctioneer donned a pair of crisp white gloves and reached into the chest.
With careful hands, he raised the eternal rose, displaying it for all to see.
Chapter 33
- Killian -
Killian set his stein on the table and spoke the question that had been burning in his chest.
“How does this all turn out?”
He stared Sera down, crossing his arms over his chest, trying to steady himself as he awaited the answer.
Sera’s brows furrowed slightly as she blinked at him. “Pardon?” she asked, reaching for her chalice.
“You can see the future, right?” Killian answered, sounding more indignant than he meant. “So how does this turn out? Do we get the rose? Do we stop whoever is trying to raise a demon?”
Do I make peace with Elyse? That was the part that he was truly afraid to know. Even if he did somehow learn to forgive her, it would only end in heartbreak. There was no way of severing their blood pact, which meant she was destined to turn herself in to the Guard.
Sera laid her hand flat on the table, abandoning her chalice. She stared down at her pale fingers, avoiding Killian’s earnest gaze. “I don’t know,” she uttered in a barren voice.
“You don’t know?” Killian repeated. He had braced himself for the worst, for Sera to reveal to him that they would fail, but he hadn’t expected this answer. “How can you not know?”
She didn’t move for a moment. Killian couldn’t read her expression beneath her lowered lashes, so he waited, holding his breath.
“I can’t see everything,” she replied in a low voice. “Only bits and pieces, and sometimes it’s difficult to put them together.”
There was something about her tone that made Killian uneasy. “So what do you see?” he pressed. “Do you see you and Manny growing old together? Do you see our kingdom burning?”
Do you see Elyse and I together? Or do you see her execution?
Sera’s throat bobbed slowly. “I don’t know,” she repeated. She finally lifted her gaze to his, and there was nothing but cruel uncertainty in her eyes. “I know that it won’t be easy, that we have a long, painful road ahead of us. But I don’t know how it ends.”
The tavern, which had been stuffy and loud, now seemed deathly quiet. All noise faded away as the intensity of Sera’s words crashed into him.
“But surely you see—” he began, but she cut him off sharply.
“I don’t.” Her eyes bore into him, a finality in her voice. Killian didn’t know what to say.
All at once, he wanted to be away from this place. He wanted to be back in the inn, waiting for Manny and Elyse to return. He wanted the night to be over.
Sera dropped her gaze to her lap, all liveliness gone from her posture.
