Chapter 17

With each pull and shift, the icy chains encircling my wrists cut into my flesh.

However, the worst aspect wasn't their weight. It was the oppressive sense of powerlessness that accompanied being chained, escorted, and shown like animals.

I have a lot of dreams about the future, but this? Being disposed of like a valuable item? I never even considered it.

In the dimly illuminated auction hall, the faces of the assembled throng were stretched and distorted by the shadows cast by flickering lamps.

A mixture of amusement and ennui permeated the whispers of wealthy patrons seated in comfortable chairs. They arrived wearing jewels and silk, and they smelled of a combination of power and pricey perfumes.

People like me were treated like nothing more than money in this world, which was very different from the one I had known.

My heart was beating so loudly that I was certain they could hear me standing on a raised wooden platform.