Kyra’s eyes widened in surprise.
And then her cheeks went pale, translucent, as the bidding became fierce beyond anything I’d ever seen.
But when a giant of a man stood and shouted, “Twenty-five thousand!” the tears began to fall. Her proud face streaked with anguish seemed only to ignite the men, and when the other bidders were silent for the count of ten, Jasper announced her sale. Rings flashing as he twisted his fingers, positively alight with glee.
I moved to give her the small comfort she’d given me moments before, but I was jerked back by the man holding my lead.
Gone. Led off the stage with only a single, fragile backward glance. A brittle smile meant to comfort me as her new owner collected her in massive arms.
It took a few minutes, but the crowd eventually settled enough for Jasper to make his next pitch.
Mine.
“For those of you who enjoy a challenge, this is your girl,” he said, palming the back of my neck. Sneering, he glared into my face. “She certainly doesn’t seem like much. Honestly, I should be paying you to take her off my hands, but Hob comes with a nasty little bag of tricks!” He gave the collar a vicious tug, making me gasp in surprise and bare my teeth.
The crowd cheered.
“You couldn’t pay me to stick my dick in that mouth, Jasper!” called a man from the front. “Seems too risky for such important equipment.”
“She’d be doing us all a favor, stopping you from reproducing,” the man to his left shouted, and the crowd erupted into laughter again.
“Shall we start the bidding at one hundred dollars?” Jasper asked, and the crowd was suddenly a mix of laughter and astonishment.
I hadn’t been a part of society for some time, but even I knew that was an outrageously low price for a slave. I lost the battle with my pride as my head bowed under the pressure of the cruelty these people heaped on me.
“I’ll give you fifty,” came a lazy drawl from the center of the crowd.
The room went silent, except for the sound of my grinding teeth.
Throat aching, my breath caught. Blinking until my vision cleared, I lifted my gaze, unable to resist the temptation to see the face of the man who had made the offer. Who would dare to assign so little worth to a life?
For a moment, there was nothing. Silence as I scanned the crowd, glaring through a wave of humiliated tears.
My eyes landed on an inky, unblinking stare framed by a lazy smile.
Lips parted, I froze.
My priestess gifts, which until now had been easily subdued, flared to life.
Ravenous, pulsing energy swirled just out of sight. Seething with the sort of power I’d never known, it spat dark flames at the edges of my senses. Reached for me with greedy fingers dipped in pitch.
And I knew, without a doubt, I was looking into the eyes of a tightly coiled predator.
A Caledonian elite.
Rational thought fled, and I pulled back on the stick so sharply Jasper lost his balance. The crowd exploded into laughter as two burly men wrestled me into a kneeling position and chained me to the floor.
“Sold!” Jasper cried, sending me a hate-filled glare.
5
“Aww, Captain, what the hell?” asked a man to the left of the elite as the crowd began to disperse. “She’s awful! Dirty and—”
“We lost ground today, Marco. Tell me,” the elite drawled, adjusting his sleeve without breaking eye contact with me, “why should I reward you lot of ingrates with a good quality slave?”
“But that green-eyed one wassopretty, and you didn’t even make an offer.”
Without another word, the captain rose from his seat and approached the stage. His gait smooth, absent any hint of hesitation.
