Chapter 92: The Price Placed Upon the Weak
{IRIS}
"All are untouched," the host proclaimed with sickening delight, his voice ringing across the hall, "and for one night only, you may indulge. The bidding begins now!"
My heart plummeted.
"What?" The word tore itself from my throat before I could stop it. "Did Lord Valtheris allow this?"
He couldn’t have. He couldn’t have—right?
I knew he cared nothing for humans. Nothing for other kinds, either. Whatever passed for loyalty among his own kind was thin at best, frayed by centuries of indifference.
But even so...
Could he truly have sanctioned something like this?
Sol looked at me then, his expression infuriatingly calm. Detached, as though we were discussing the weather rather than the sale of living people.
"Lord Valtheris?" he said coolly. "He’s not here. He doesn’t attend parties like these."
The implication struck me like a blow to the chest.
Then... Caroline had been deceived.
She had come here because she believed he would be present. Because she was his human blood bank—protected, claimed, untouchable.
Before I could think of a way—any way—to rescue her from a gilded cage in a hall full of predators, Sol’s hand closed around my arm.
"We still have one more," he announced, his voice carrying effortlessly through the room.
The concave ceiling amplified every syllable.
Spotlights snapped toward us.
I froze.
Every gaze turned. Hunger sharpened the air. Interest flickered like flame.
In that instant, I understood something with chilling clarity.
Even if Sol appeared detached—even if he spoke with disinterest—he had never been on my side.
I should have run the moment he recognized me.
"Sol, you—"
"Sorry," he said quietly as other vampires seized my arms. "Nothing personal."
I tried to lash out, but the words twisted before they reached my tongue. Instead, something else slipped free.
"Sol... are you sick?"
I felt it the moment our skin touched—something wrong, something cold and erratic beneath the polished exterior.
For the first time, his composure cracked.
Just barely.
But before he could say anything—before I could press further—I was dragged away.
====
{IRIS}
The world blurred.
By the time I was shoved onto the stage, my mind was still reeling. Light burned my eyes. Murmurs rippled through the crowd like a living thing.
I looked instinctively toward Sol.
He met my gaze only briefly.
Detached again. As though whatever fissure had formed had already sealed.
"What’s this?" the host said gleefully. "A strong new addition to tonight’s auction!"
He circled me like a carrion bird. "No scent at all—but her blood will be different."
Before I could react, pain flared.
I gasped as he sliced my palm without ceremony.
The hall erupted into startled murmurs—anticipation thick in the air.
Then confusion.
There was no scent.
Relief washed over me as I realized the Bloodveil vial I’d taken earlier was still working.
A second gasp followed when the wound sealed itself, skin knitting seamlessly as if nothing had happened.
The host clapped his hands in delight.
"Ohh! How intriguing," he crooned. "A woman of mystery! Perhaps a creature of the night herself. Virgin or not—who can say? Mystery is part of the game!"
"Iris."
I turned sharply.
Caroline stared at me from within her cage, shock etched into every line of her face.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded. "Why are you here?"
Her tone was sharp. Furious.
I bristled immediately.
"Why are you angry at me?" I snapped back. "I should be furious with you! Why did you come here? Are you out of your mind?!"
She growled, gripping the bars. "I didn’t want to be here in the first place!"
"Oh, really?" I shot back. "Because it looks an awful lot like you marched straight into a vampire auction wearing optimism and poor judgment!"
"I came because they threatened me!"
"You came because you thought Lord Valtheris would be here!"
"Of course not!" she snapped. "I came because they said they’d take you instead if I didn’t!"
I stopped cold.
"...What?"
Caroline exhaled sharply, clearly irritated. "In the first place, I only agreed to be a vampire’s blood bank because they promised to leave you alone. This party? They told me if I didn’t come, you’d be the one in the cage."
My chest tightened.
That was... new.
Why—
"Why didn’t you tell me?" I demanded.
She shot me a flat look. "Did you give me time to explain?"
I opened my mouth.
Closed it.
"...Fair."
But still—
"Why would you do that?" I hissed. "I didn’t ask you to sacrifice yourself!"
She scoffed. "You didn’t ask to be dragged into this mess either, but here we are. I was fixing my mistake."
"Well, congratulations," I snapped. "Your ’fix’ landed us in an even bigger disaster!"
She leaned forward, glaring. "You’re welcome."
"Oh, I’m thrilled," I shot back. "Absolutely delighted. Ten out of ten rescue plan."
We argued like the world wasn’t actively ending around us—voices sharp, barbs flying, both of us furious and terrified in equal measure.
And beneath it all, something fragile began to mend.
The crack between us—long ignored, long resented—started to close, thread by thread.
"Ahem."
The host cleared his throat loudly, clearly offended that we were stealing his spotlight.
"If you two are finished," he said dryly, pinching my chin between his fingers, "we can begin. We’ll start with you."
He tilted my face toward the crowd.
"A lovely woman with white hair and moonlit eyes," he announced. "Capable of healing instantly! Inflict all the pain you desire—she won’t die. She’ll endure the entire night."
Nausea rolled through me.
I couldn’t move. Couldn’t fight. Hands held me fast.
"Wait!"
Caroline slammed her hands against the bars. "If you’re going to start, start with me."
I stared at her.
Was she seriously trying to play noble now?
Whether it was her or me, we were both trapped.
The host spared her a dismissive glance. "Wait your turn, girl."
Then he turned back to the crowd, grinning.
"Shall we begin? Bedding starts at one thousand gold!"
Gold?
Was that price high? Or low?
I didn’t know.
And right now—
It didn’t matter. I had to find a way to get us out of here!
