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Phuong
Phuong looked at the wealth in the auction’s underground tunnels. How many families could it feed? Nobody on Vestra would ever need to go hungry again.
She tried to focus on the Illinium. They wouldn’t have a buyer for anything else, but Xuan’s contact was very interested in acquiring Illinium, and he had a good underground reputation among the Peddlers, a reputation good enough for Xuan to go on this incredibly risky mission.
They’d already used up at least 8 minutes of their time, if not more. Phuong wished that they had practiced this part beforehand. They hadn’t found as much Illinium as they wanted, and surely the guards would’ve noticed that the dark-skinned duo was gone.
They also had to make it through all of the doors that they had passed through on the way in. Carrying the Illinium and running out would be harder.
There was a pouch for it under the skirt of Phuong’s dress. She just hoped that they didn’t ask her about her sudden pregnancy.
There would be no second chances. The effort involved in getting in was intense, and the whole auction house would be on high alert once they realized that they had been robbed.
“I’ve got enough,” Xuan told her. “One minute to go. Let’s get out of here.”
The two of them hurried out. Xuan didn’t even take the time to put the Illinium in its hiding place. Their first priority was getting out. Not that many people knew what Illinium looked like. They thought that it was just platinum.
They were nearly to the door when Phuong tripped over an object, which would have been a big deal, except she fell to the side.
All of a sudden, the floor gave way. She held back a scream as she fell downwards at least 20 feet.
“Phuong!” Xuan looked around. “We don’t have time for this. Grab my hand.”
Phuong shook her head. “Xuan, get out of here and take the Illinium with you.”
Xuan put the Illinium down and reached down as far as he could to no avail.
Their mission had failed. Yes, they’d gotten Illinium, but they wouldn’t make it out of here.
Phuong looked around her, but the pit didn’t have any way to climb out. Her eyes stung as she acknowledged the truth: she was truly caught. Xuan already knew it.
“You need to get out of here right now, before someone comes.”
“I’m not abandoning you.”
“Don’t be stubborn and get caught.”
“I’m not going to leave you here.”
“They’ll be nicer to me than they would be to you. Get out of here. Sell the Illinium. When I can, I’ll come back to our home.”
They could both hear the echoes of footsteps and the murmur of voices.
“Go!”
“I can’t.”
“I will never forgive you if you don’t save yourself now. You know that the penalty for theft is hard labor for the rest of your life. I won’t tell anybody about us. I’ll say that this was my job, solo. You need to go.”
Xuan hesitated only a second more before darting off the way that they came.
14
Racing Smoke
Olivier
“Are you sure that we should go?” Olivier turned to Gahariet as they exited their levi-car.
