Once he got back and had these stones cut open, Quinn Thorne wanted nothing more than to see the look of pure shock on Vivian Sinclair's face.
By evening, the sun was preparing its descent. The horizon blazed with streaks of vermillion and gold, clouds catching fire across the western sky as if the heavens themselves were celebrating the day's gains. The lively bustle of The Serenity Gemstone Festival was finally winding down.
At six o'clock sharp, the festival organizers provided a lavish buffet dinner. The venue was the same grand hall where the earlier auction had taken place. The chairs had been cleared away, and an enormous chandelier overhead cast a dreamlike glow across the polished marble floors, refracting light into soft prismatic patterns along the walls.
The spread included
