Bid You Adieu Novels & Stories

I ask casually as he leads me towards a ballroom full of beautiful dancers twirling to an elegant waltz. "Practically brothers," he chortles, as if I just said some kind of joke. An alarm goes off, and Adam looks down at his watch. "Oh, it's time." Taking my hand from his arm, Adam bows elegantly, kissing my fingertips. “Alas, I must go, mein freund," he sighs. I need to help with the silent auction." His eyes sparkle as he hands me a paddle with the number 101. “Make sure to bid on Lot 7,” Adam smiles showing all of his teeth, looking like a feral creature behind his golden mask. “It’s part of your surprise.”

"This is where we part ways. For now." I frowned. "What do you mean? We came all this way. You can’t just leave us here." He gave a slight bow, his gaze lingering on Minseok for a moment longer than necessary. "The Veil knows you’re here. I’ve done what I can to get you this far. But the rest is up to you." And with that, he turned and disappeared into the shadows, leaving us standing at the edge of the safe house, uncertain of what lay ahead.

The call ended without another word. Adriano put the phone down and stood in the center of the room for a beat, the moonlight slicing in through the window and casting lines of silver across the stone floor. This wasn’t rage anymore. This was promise. And someone — somewhere — had just signed their death sentence. Not with a bullet. But with a sip of poisoned wine. ---