Chapter 17 · The Murder Box Has My Name

"Lena Vale, accomplice to murder." The auctioneer's voice punched through the crowd like glass breaking.

I didn't move. Couldn't. The blood-red contract box sat on the shattered auction block, my name stamped across the lid in gold that looked more like a brand than a label.

"That's a lie," I said. My voice came out steady. Good. Let them hear it.

Kael's hand closed around my wrist. "Don't."

I yanked free. "Don't what? Let them call me a killer?"

"Let them bait you into confessing something you didn't do." His eyes flicked to the box, then back to the wolves crowding closer. "This is a setup."

"No kidding." I stepped forward anyway. The crowd split just enough to let me through, the way people make room for someone about to fall off a ledge. "Open it."

The auctioneer smiled. He had too many teeth. "The accused may inspect the evidence. House rules."

Kael moved up beside me.