A door opens on the other side, revealing a woman dressed entirely in ck. Her face bis /bcovered by ace veil, as if she must hide her identity to avoid being recognized by one of us and facing retribution.

“You’ll go out one by one,” she informs. “You can’t see them, but they can see you. Stay still and silent on the other side of the ss. It’ll be over before you know it.”

Her voice sounds very mature.

She says a name, and out of the corner of my eye, I see it’s a tiny, petite girl who, by the way she hunches her shoulders, must be terrified.

She walks out the door, and it closes forcefully behind her.

The woman stays in the room with us, and even though bI /bcan’t see her, I feel she’s subjecting us all to her scrutiny.

Maybe ten minutes pass when knuckles knock on the door, calling the next one.

Little by little, the room empties, and the air bes heavier and more ufortable.

“For some of you, today will be a special day,” the woman says suddenly. “I’m sure of it.”

Maybe this woman is an olddy who’s begun to lose her mind. A special day? Being bought like pieces of meat?

How special can it be to know that the rest of your life will be dedicated to letting them sink their fangs into your neck?

“I seriously doubt it, ma’am,” I bsay/b, unable to hold back.

I know her beyes /bnd on me, and the rest of those still in the room look at me in disbelief.

“Do not bdare /bcontradict my word, youngdy.”

“What’s so special about being bought?”

The woman decides I’m not worth her time or the effort of wasting saliva on me. The door opens again, and then she turns toward me.

It’s my turn.

It’s hard to put one foot in front of the other, and yet I manage.

I pass by herb, /band a musty smell hits me. Without needing to bsee /bher, I know she must have a smug smile on her face.

bAs /bI step out, the light is so blinding that bI /bhave to close my eyes–I’m not used to this artificial light that only ba /bbfew /bbpossess/b.

My eyes sting and tear up, and a stranger’s hand is necessary to guide me to the center.

After ba /bfew blinks, bI /bbrealize /bI’m standing where the pulpit of the church used to be, and bwhere /bnow there’s nothing but floors bcovered /bin plush red bcarpets /band a massive bss /bpane that breflects /bmy image.

They’re there, behind it. Watching meb, /bevaluating me, trying to smell my blood.

The lights dim, and only a single spotlight remains above my head, disying me as if I were an expensive vase.

I don’t allow myself to lower my bgaze /bor blush, knowing that many pairs of eyes are seeing my barely covered body.

“bra /bVoss,b” /bspeaks a voice I recognize as the woman in the red dress. She sounds loud and confident.

“Healthy, weighs fifty–one kilos, presents no bphysical /banomalies, her blood type is O negative, and… her virtue is intact. Bidding starts at fifteen blood rubies.”

bI /bbcan’t /bsee anything happening on the other side.

Gentleman number five offers twenty blood rubies. Does anyone offer more?”

My eyes dart around, searching for something behind the ss.

“Lady number ten offers twenty–five blood rubies.”

Amounts continue bto /bbe announced.

bMen /band women. Numbers and more numbers…

My legs buckle from time to timeb, /band bI /bfeelpletely overwhelmed knowing that the control of my life bis /bslipping through my fingers and that

in a few minutes I’ll have lost it entirely.

My vision blurs, and I blink quickly to chase away the sensation.

“Number twenty–eight offers fifty rubies–any higher?”

Fifty?

How ironic that I’m being bought here for blood rubies while my family will receive only a pouch of coins.

With just one of those precious stones, my family could live peacefully for years.

“Seventy blood rubiesb./bb” /b

A shiver runs down my spineb. /b

“Eighty blood rubiesb!/bb” /b

This bis /bbso /bsadistic and inhuman.

“One hundred blood rubiesb!/bb” /b

shrill sound interrupts the sequence of bids, silencing the woman who kept torturing me with her voice.

I stay in ce, waiting for an exnation.

Seconds pass, then whole minutes.

“The bidding has just ended,” the woman’s voice now reflects delight.

“Miss ra Voss has just been purchased by Cassian Draven for the price of six hundred blood rubiesb./bb” /b

The spotlight above my head turns off, plunging me into absolute darkness.

The creak of a door opening reaches my ears, and several pairs of hands grab me by the arms, pulling me out of there.

I don’t know if I should resist, but I let myself be dragged.

As they take me to another room, I realize that the lights had been warming me, and now the cold embraces me once again.

I find myself with the rest of thepanions who were shown before me.

They look at me with wide eyes, and at first, I think it’s because of the fear they must have experienced out there, but after a few minutes, I realize

it’s because of me.

“What’s going onb?/bb” /b

None of them dares to say a word.

I look at myself, searching for something out of ceb–/bba /bwound, or maybe my clothes got disheveled, showing more than they should.

Everything looks fine.

I lift my eyes, seeking answers.

“Why are you all looking at ane like thatb?/bb” /b

Agonizing minutes pass until the petite girl I saw earlier, the one with hunched shoulders, dares to speak.

“We heard it.”

“Heard what?”

“Who bought you?”

“What about it? It was some Cassian Drakov… Drakon or something.”

“Cassian Draven,” she corrects me. “Is it possible you’re this ignorant?”

“Excuse bme/b?”

“Cassian Draven,” bsays /ba boy. “He’s a soulless monster. The worst of them. He’s ruled by ban /binsatiable thirst.”

b“/bAren’t they all like thatb?/bb” /bI reply.

b12:18 /bPM

“Not like him,” adds the girl again. “Your life ended the moment he bought you.”

“I think that goes for all of us here.”

“What we’re trying to say bis/bb… /bYou probably won’t live to see the next full moon.”

b3/3 /b