The underground auction wasn't held in a grand ballroom or flashy venue. It was tucked beneath an old clock tower in the heart of the Old Quarter, masked behind a bookstore with broken windows and faded paint. To outsiders, it was abandoned.
To those with the right access code, it was a haven for the rare, the dangerous, and the priceless.
Aira stepped out of the Leyden, blending into the shadows with practiced ease. Dressed in dark layers, her signature cool gaze hidden beneath the brim of her cap, she looked nothing like a Laurent. Nothing like a girl from a gilded legacy.
Selene Whitmore waved from beneath the bookstore's awning, eyes flicking over her quickly. "Perfect. No one will recognize you."
"I prefer it that way," Aira replied softly, glancing once over her shoulder before they slipped inside.
Beneath the ground, the walls opened into a narrow hallway lit with soft gold sconces. The auction chamber was circular, lined with plush booths draped in black. It reeked of secrecy and wealth. Men and women whispered behind glass goblets, eyeing the center stage where the bidding would soon begin.
Aira's eyes scanned the list already scrolling across the screen.
There it was.
Lot 27 – Glacier Bloom Root (Wild variant, age est. 20+ years).
Starting bid: 1.2 million.
Selene leaned close. "This is real, isn't it?"
Aira nodded once. "Yes."
She didn't blink as the first lots were called. Her expression never shifted. She didn't engage in the hushed conversations around her or entertain the curious glances from a few guests trying to place her.
She was only here for one thing.
—
From a private observation level above the auction floor, a man sat with a glass of dark wine in hand, half-listening to his assistant's briefing while his gaze wandered.
Kieran Lockhart wasn't the type to be distracted. Especially not at work. But something had tugged his attention toward the floor below. A feeling—instinct, perhaps.
His eyes found her in an instant.
She sat near the outer edge, posture quiet but composed, like she'd seen the world and didn't need it to see her back. Her cap shielded her eyes, but something about her still glowed.
"Who is that?" Kieran asked, his voice low.
His assistant followed his line of sight. "I don't know. She didn't register under any notable name."
That only intrigued him more.
She wasn't dripping in designer jewelry or flaunting status. But she didn't need to. She looked like someone who commanded silence without asking for it.
Kieran took a sip of wine, eyes never leaving her.
He didn't know her name.
Didn't know she was the missing Laurent heiress. Or that she was the phantom behind the world's most exclusive fashion empire. Or that she could create medicine that defied reason.
All he knew—was that she moved like someone who belonged nowhere… and everywhere.
And for the first time in years, Kieran Lockhart felt something more than interest.
He felt curiosity.
—
Lot 27 was called. Aira lifted her bidder tag, her number silent, precise.
The bidding war began. She didn't flinch once.
By the end of it, the herb was hers.
She slipped out quietly before the final lot was even called. Selene lingered behind to handle the transaction.
The night air outside was crisp as Aira stepped into a dim alleyway toward her car, only to stop.
Someone had collapsed just beyond the streetlight, coughing violently. People walked past, indifferent.
Aira didn't.
Without hesitation, she moved forward, crouching beside the man as her bag swung forward. Her gloves were on. Her voice, calm.
"Don't speak. Just breathe slowly."
She worked quickly, assessing vitals, stabilizing him with a syringe of herbal serum she'd developed for sudden cardiac distress.
Minutes passed.
The man's breathing steadied. His grip on her coat loosened. She waited until his pulse normalized before retreating into the shadows again.
Across the street, hidden behind tinted glass, Kieran watched it all.
His eyes were wide now. Focused. A flicker of something darker behind them.
"She saved him," he murmured.
His assistant raised a brow. "Should I find out who she is?"
"No," Kieran said slowly. "Not yet."
His gaze lingered on the spot where she had vanished.
"She's not ready to be found."
But he knew one thing with certainty.
He'd see her again.