Chapter 11: On the Block

Thomas

The roar of the crowd sets my teeth on edge, and I clench and release my fists in preparation to step past the curtain and into the auction itself.

“You sure you’re up for this?” Azriel asks, and I shoot him a look so hard he puts up his hands. “Easy, man. I’m just asking.”

“I’ve worked too hard to let this opportunity slip. We’ve sunk a year of work into this, and I’ll be damned if I back down now.”

“Technically, you’ll be damned anyway,” he smirks. “If you believe in that sort of thing.”

“Knock it off. I haven’t come by this cheap.” Another blistering cry goes up from the other side of the curtain, making me bite down hard.

“No shit. Sucks to have to prove you’re no better than the rest of us, huh?”