took a stranger's rough hand to g

hurch pulpit used to be. Now, there was nothing but red carpe

ss. Watching me. Evaluating me. Try

le spotlight remained above my head, putt

, even knowing dozens of eyes were

imming with confidence. "Healthy, one hundred and twelve pounds, no physical anomalies, bl

thing happening b

ve bids twenty blood

dark barrier, search

en bids twenty

ng. Men and women. Numb

as I realized the last shreds of control over my own life were slippin

I blinked rapidly to

ght bids fifty ru

ft

my family would only receive a pitiful sack of coins. With just one o

y blood

ran down

blood

distic. I

red blood

war, instantly silencing the woman wh

motionless, waiti

stretching into a

now dripping with delight. "Miss Voss has just been purchase

snapped off, plunging m

could react, several hands grabbed

ould fight back. Numb, I j

d how much the stage lights had been warming m

th the others who had bee

ught it was just lingering fear from the auction block, but

oing on?"

red to sa

ng out of place-a new bruise, or maybe my clot

up, desperat

ll looking at

mall girl with hunched shoulders fi

he

rd w

bough

me Cassian Drakov..

ted, her voice trembling. "A

use

's a soulless monster. The worst of th

ll like that?"

hispered. "Your life ended

goes for all

s... you probably won't liv

my veins to ice. The silence in the room was so profou

t them to stop looking at me like I was already a corpse. Until my heart stopped beating,

sake, he was a vampire. He could snap every bo

stead of letting in another member of our club of newly

leeves that ended in cascades of delicate lace. The unnaturally crimson shade of their lips was the firs

arely sparing me a glance. "We

to the floor for a split second-just long enough to remember exactly w

other captives before the heav

f her entourage. Every single one of them had sm

s. All

er crept dow

It's best not to keep him waiting too

ck a thick, bright red velvet curtain, rev

d in seconds. Their absolute lack of restraint over their supernatural strength made every grip and p

as a sigh of pure relief the momen

. They treated me like I'd spent my entire life caked in a layer of filth. They scru

ore, they hauled me to my feet and

," the lead woman decided. "It w

he wrinkled her nose in

captivated by her beauty. Were a

ossy sheen creating a striking contrast against her sharp, angular fac

making my eyes water more than once as they worked. They brushed, pinned, and arranged the strands entirely

s," another vampire announced, carrying

me into fabrics so delicate that my own fingers he

ess attention, but finally, the green-eyed leader uncove

e braids, culminating in an elega

yet free. A cold draft swept over my back, and a quick glance over my shoulder confirmed why-th

This gown looked absolutely nothing like the

only by delicate cords tied around my neck. I couldn't eve

eels in front of me and swift

have been custom-chos

r my shoulders, and nimble fingers

what w

ope it's

his blood ladies

alking to me, to each other,

we need

rward so fast that I stumbled and crashed r

e a lethal glare as she bared

t yield either, holding the standoff until another vampire touch

us. He moved with a swift, regal bearing, his rigid posture making it abundantly clear that he was n

coldest, most piercing shad

at, and the women around me

ey whispered

, my mind reelin

shoving me forward again.