After the meal was done and plates were cleared, Veyr leaned back in his chair like the conversation had just reached the part he'd actually been waiting for.
"There's an auction tonight," he said casually. "Underworld circuit. Private floor. If you want in, you come with me."
Xavier didn't answer right away. He leaned back against the table, arms crossed, letting the idea sit. He had already done what he came here for. Bull's treasure had been found. His face was fixed. Whatever business Helior Prime had held for him was finished, and the underworld wasn't a place you stayed in longer than necessary.
But auctions were different.
The last one he'd attended, back on Earth, was where he'd walked out with Serpent's Fang. He still remembered the room, the tension, the way dangerous things hid behind polite smiles and sealed cases. Auctions had a way of putting the right objects in front of the right people at the wrong time.
And curiosity had always been his worst habit.
