SIGRID

"Sold! This magnificent slave now belongs to Lady Lucrecia Silver!"

I looked down, sighing heavily at the man who was now in the worst place imaginable.

"I’m leaving, my lady," Silas murmured, pulling my attention back to him—only then did I realize how close we were.

I immediately stepped back, not wanting to make him uncomfortable.

"Fine. Just don’t do anything reckless, please. Remember—I won’t fall for your sake. If you screw up even a little, I can kill you with a snap of my fingers."

I threw in that last threat, afraid he might march straight toward Lucrecia to attack her.

It would be like sending a pup to kill an adult lycan.

I watched him walk out, the darkness around him swirling like a living thing. I had noticed it—his eye wasn’t just burned, it was cursed.

Later, once I had earned his trust, I needed to ask exactly what that dark energy coursing through his veins was.

He was an elemental—he shouldn’t be like this.

I sank back into my seat. I had lost everything—the