Chapter 15 · Bidders Are In

The stage lights hit before I could breathe.

Kade was already in the center ring. Blood on his jacket. New blood. The kind that meant someone else had tried him first tonight.

"Mara Voss." The announcer's voice came through every speaker in the Glass District. "Your sister's clock is live. Lyra Voss, age fourteen, current location: Sublevel Three detention. Her buyer's offer expires in forty-two minutes."

The crowd noise spiked. Betting feeds lit up the tower glass around us.

I stepped onto the platform. Nox pooled at my feet, silent for once. Kade didn't look at me. He was watching the camera drones circle.

"You know the deal," the announcer said. Smiling. Always smiling. "Winner takes the chip. Loser stays for the next round. Bidders are in. Show us what she's worth."

A brass chip dropped into the center. Small. Glowing. The kind that opened one detention door.

Forty-two minutes.

Kade finally looked up. His face was wrong. Too blank. The kind of blank he used when he was coaching me through a bad bond burn and didn't want me to panic.

"You ready?" he said.

I wasn't.

"Yeah."

He pulled a blade from his belt.