Chapter 25 · The Bid for a Dead Girl

The auction house smelled like old blood and new money.

Rin stood at the back entrance, hands still shaking from the gate. Kael's grip had been warm. Real. The way he'd said that name—the one Mom used when it was just the two of them, no sect, no rank, no war—had carved a hole straight through her chest. Varric's voice coming out of Kael's mouth right after had filled it with ice.

Bring me your next death.

She wasn't planning on it.

Mira shoved the iron door open with her shoulder, then jerked her chin at the narrow stairwell. "Down. Fast. They start bidding in ten minutes and if we're not in position, we lose the slot."

"What slot?" Rin's voice came out hoarse. She hadn't slept. Hadn't eaten. The reset scars on her wrists were hot under the bandages.

"The one I bought with the last of my coin." Mira's grin was sharp and a little unhinged. "You want to see what they're auctioning tonight? It's your mother's case file. The real one. Soul-record included."

Rin's heartbeat slammed into her ribs.

"How—"

"Don't ask. Move."

They went down.

The underground gallery was smaller than Rin expected.