Greed.
Pride.
Fear.
The Imperial Crown Prince couldn't help but berate himself for entertaining such thoughts at such a critical moment.
Normally, deciding what to do would've been easy. He was never one to hesitate, not even when he believed corruption could very well take his life, so the fact that he was being this cautious now felt almost ridiculous.
And yet, seated in the middle of a darkened hall, as desperate bidders clung to their last hope and tried to outpace Cassian—who had already raised the stakes from fifty-seven billion to seventy-two billion—Xavier found himself glancing at Kyle.
The adjutant had already caught on.
Xavier mouthed something without a sound, and Kyle responded just as quickly, nodding before moving as a member of House Nox.
"Eighty billion."
Ollie practically wriggled at the number, not because his brother didn't deserve it, but because he hadn't expected Kyle to suddenly join the bidding, and certainly not from right behind him.
"!!!"
