Xavier leaned back in his chair, rolling her words around in his head. Dangerous. Underworld auction. Eyes on him. It almost sounded like a warning—but coming from Angel, it sounded more like an invitation.
He tilted his head, smirking. "Dangerous, huh? Sounds like your kind of playground more than mine."
Angel didn't even try to deny it. She grinned, flashing teeth. "You're not wrong. But don't act like you're not curious. I can see it in your eyes already—you're dying to poke at the edges."
"Curious, sure. But I'm not stupid." Xavier drummed his fingers on the glass table between them. "If half the shit you said about that place is true—AIs, artifacts, bottled memories—it's not just some shady flea market. It's a den full of wolves. Wolves who eat idiots that show up waving cash around."
Angel leaned forward, chin resting on her hand, studying him. "And you're not an idiot."
