Chapter 5
Ethan
The guard did not give us a moment to rest. He shoved the group of us forward, and our chains rattled together like a sack full of old bones. We moved out of the dark, damp hallway and stepped into a large, open courtyard. The night air was freezing. It hit my torn back like a thousand tiny needles, making me wince, but I forced my expression to stay neutral.
The courtyard was a grim place. Large torches were mounted along the high stone walls. They burned with a bright, orange flame that flickered in the wind, throwing jagged light over everything. I looked around and saw dozens of vampires lining the edges of the space. They were dressed in elegant clothes, but they did not look kind. They looked like predators. Their eyes gleamed with a deep red light in the darkness. They watched us walk in with a hunger that made my skin crawl. It was the way a group of starving men might watch a piece of meat being carved for dinner.
Every slave around me was shaking. I could hear their teeth chattering from the cold and the fear. They kept their heads down and their shoulders hunched, trying to make themselves look as small as possible. Some of them whimpered low in their throats, a sound of pure terror. I was the only one who didn't look at the ground. I kept my head straight and my chin up. I stared right back at the crowd of monsters. I let them look at me. I let them point their fingers. I wasn't here to hide or cower in a corner. I was here for one reason, and one reason only: I was here to die.
The auction began quickly. A tall female vampire with hair the color of silver lifted a delicate finger. She pointed toward a shivering girl who stood just two places down from me. The girl looked like she was about to collapse. Another vampire, a broad man with deep scars across his face, nodded and gestured at a young boy with hollow cheeks. I watched as choices were made and lives were handed over to monsters. It felt like watching a tragedy happen in slow motion.
I didn't flinch as the buyers moved closer. This was my chance. I just needed to make one wrong move. I needed to say one insult that was loud enough to break someone's patience. If I could get one of them to snap, I would have my clean death. I would have my ticket home.
"Kneel!" the huge guard barked. His voice was so loud it seemed to boom across the entire courtyard, echoing off the stone walls.
The reaction was instant. Every slave dropped to the ground. It was a wave of movement as knees hit the hard stone floor with a series of dull thuds. The sound was heavy with submission. But I stayed right where I was. I stayed standing. My arms hung loose at my sides. I kept my eyes focused on the space in front of me.
Suddenly, the mood in the courtyard shifted. The vampires stopped talking. All the attention moved from the slaves on the ground to me. I could hear whispers rippling through the crowd. Some of the vampires narrowed their eyes in confusion. Others let out soft laughs, their fangs flashing in the torchlight as they smirked at my defiance.
System: Shock Points +200.
I felt a tiny twitch at the corner of my mouth. I hadn't even said anything yet, and I was already earning points just by standing still. I liked those odds. I wanted to see how high I could climb before someone decided to end me.
"Kneel!" the guard repeated. This time, his voice was even louder, full of a growing anger. He took a step toward me and drew his sword halfway out of its sheath. The metal glinted dangerously.
I turned my head slowly to face him. I didn't look scared. I looked bored. "What if I refuse?" I asked. My voice was clear and loud enough for everyone to hear. I made sure to sound as mocking as possible. "What are you going to do about it? Will you kill me right here in front of everyone? Because I am waiting for you to try."
The guard's face twisted into a mask of pure fury. He was a man who was used to being obeyed, and a slave talking back to him was more than he could handle. He lunged forward. His large, meaty hand clamped around my throat with a bruising grip. He didn't just hold me; he lifted me clean off the ground.
My toes scraped against the stone floor as I dangled in the air. The pressure on my neck was intense. My windpipe felt like it was being crushed, and the air was cut off instantly. My vision started to go dark, and small black spots danced at the edges of my sight.
But even as I struggled for breath, I smiled. It was a wide, real smile. This was what I had been waiting for. This was the moment. Finally, someone was going to finish the job.
System: Shock Points +1000.
Everything was perfect. The guard's grip tightened. I felt the blood rushing to my head, and stars seemed to burst behind my eyes. I just needed him to give me a little more pressure. Just one more squeeze and the task would be complete.
"Who told you to touch him?"
The voice cut through the noise of the courtyard like a cold blade. It was a voice I knew well. It sounded amused, but there was a deadly chill underneath the words.
The guard froze. He looked toward the sound, and his face went pale. He dropped me instantly, as if my skin had suddenly turned into burning coal.
I hit the hard ground with a thud. I started coughing violently, my lungs screaming for the oxygen they had been denied. I stayed on my hands and knees for a second, sucking in air in slow, ragged gasps. Once my head stopped spinning, I looked up to see who had interrupted my death.
Felix was walking through the crowd. The vampires moved out of his way as if they were afraid of his shadow. His black coat billowed behind him as he strode forward. His crimson eyes were locked on the guard, and he looked at the man as if he were already a dead body. Right behind him was Desmond. He was tall and dark, and I wondered if the memory of the whip was still fresh in his mind. Both of them moved with the grace of predators who had already decided who they were going to kill next.
The reaction from the crowd was immediate. Every vampire in the courtyard bowed their head low. Even the wealthy buyers who were looking for slaves showed respect to the princes. The slaves who were already on the ground stayed there, pressing their foreheads against the cold stone.
I didn't bow. I pushed myself up from the ground, moving slowly and deliberately. I stood tall and looked them in the eye. I didn't tremble, and I didn't look away.
The two princes stopped right in front of me. They looked down at me, and the silence in the courtyard was so heavy it felt like it had weight.
Desmond tilted his head to the side. His violet eyes gleamed in the torchlight, looking like polished jewels. "You, boy, are very bold," he said. His voice was quiet but carried to every corner of the space. "Tell me. Why do you not kneel like the others?"
I thought about the punishment from earlier. I thought about the fire of the whip across my back and the way my blood had stained his floor. I thought about the way he had smiled while he caused me pain. A sudden surge of rage burned hot in my chest. I wasn't just Ethan the transmigrated soul anymore; I was a person who was tired of being treated like an object. I wanted to rip his head clean off his shoulders.
"Why should I kneel?" I shouted. I made sure my voice was loud enough for every single person in the courtyard to hear me. "Why should I bow to you? Or to any of you? I was a boy with dreams once. I had a normal life. I had normal problems that had nothing to do with monsters. I lived until you vampires dragged me into this nightmare. You turned me into this!"
I gestured to myself with my chained hands. I pointed at the bruises on my arms and the torn, bloody clothes that hung from my shoulders. "So go ahead," I continued, stepping closer to them. "Keep hating my attitude. I don't care. Or better yet—why don't you just kill me already? End this joke of a life."
System: Shock Points +700.
I saw Felix's expression change. A growl rumbled low in his throat, a sound of pure animal aggression. He stepped closer to me, his fangs fully extended and white against his pale lips. "How dare you speak to us like that?" he hissed. "Do you not value your pathetic little life, slave? Do you not understand how easily I could end you?"
I didn't back down. In fact, I took one more step forward. I was so close to him that our chests almost touched. I could smell the faint scent of copper on his breath. I looked him right in his red eyes and spoke with every bit of courage I had left.
"If you dare," I whispered, my voice dripping with challenge, "then kill me."
System: Shock Points +2000.
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