It was nighttime.
The moon was high in the sky, crescent and luminous.
The auction hour had arrived quickly.
The girls were huddled together in a dimly lit hall. The entrance door through which they had come in, had long been shut.
Now, there was only a haunting black metal door that opened every few minutes to let another girl out.
Whatever happened on the other side? No one knew. Not even a sound reached them.
But one thing was clear. No girl who'd been taken through the doors, had returned.
Sloane desperately wanted to believe that meant something positive. It had to...they couldn't have braved such dangers in Evernight just to be trampled on here.
Deep down, Sloane knew how ironic her thoughts were.
Tax brides...
Their fates were in the name.
"Next!" The auctioneer called out, and yet another girl stepped through the door.
The tension grew heavier. A few of the girls whimpered and Elise clutched Sloane's hand from behind, trembling hard.
Sloane wrung her hands, apprehensive. It was all she could do to keep herself from breaking out of the row and making a run for it.
"It should be okay, right?" Elise stuttered, "Boris won't abandon me, would he?"
Sloane didn't have the heart to tell her she also thought it was ridiculous to trust in a predator who had no reasons to keep his words, most likely whispered in the heights of his pleasure and long forgotten.
Their own families had abandoned them. How much more a bunch of strangers?
"We just have to prove to them that we're not useless, whimpering, pleasure tools." Denna muttered from her place behind Elise. "The Federation may have everything in the world, but they don't have enough women, and they don't have moon gifts. Our abilities aren't much to brag about, but they're unique."
"Moon gifts are tied to nature. We can heal, nurture plants, channel vines, take the form of wood or rocks, predict weather changes, speak in animal tongue... name it." Denna continued, "Our gifts are nurturing. On the other hand, all their abilities are destructive. That's something that sets us apart."
Sloane winced, but kept her silence.
"Slave, bed companion, cadet, fucking feeder, whatever it is...the sooner we get this over with, the better." Alexis grumbled from her place ahead of Sloane. "Creator knows, I'll dig their eyeballs out before submitting to any of those monsters."
"Next!" The auctioneer called, as the door swung open again.
Sweat beaded on Sloane's forehead. Her heart thudding against her rib cage.
Vice Chancellor Hannes had said all tax brides that were unbid for, would become slaves.
Their gifts wouldn't spare them that fate.
What would become of her if they discovered she had no moon gifts at all? That she was purely human? That she had nothing to showcase behind that door?
Would she still be cast to the House of Commons? Or would she face an even worse fate?
The row of girls grew thinner and thinner.
"Next!"
Alexis hesitated, glancing back at Sloane, Denna and Elise, for a brief moment. Then, her expression hardened and she headed to the door.
The door slammed shut.
Sloane shifted in place. Every passing moment pulsed achingly in her temple. Every breath. Every whimper from the girls behind her.
"Next!"
Sloane's blood ran cold. She couldn't move. Her feet weighed a few tons.
"Next!" The auctioneer demanded sharply.
"Well? What are you waiting for?!" A girl at the back hissed, "Get moving!"
Sloane exhaled heavily. Forcing her feet forward, she made her way to the door.
The door slammed shut the moment she stepped into the cage-like, metal contraption.
The contraption ascended at a steady pace.
After what felt like forever, but must have only been a minute, it surfaced, and Sloane found herself in the center of a dais.
Sloane's eyes widened.
Trapped in the metal cage like some wild beast, over a dozen predators sat in rows, eyes trained on Sloane.
The hall was visibly divided in two. On one side, were rows of predators in dim red cloaks.
On the other side, the predators were decked in leather uniforms.
She was suddenly grimly aware of the sheer white night dresses the tax brides had been forced to put on, and the fact that she was near-full exposure to the gazes of no less than fifty predators.
Sloane's eyes dropped to her bare feet. She gritted her teeth against the urge to curl up in a corner and cower at the intensity of their gazes.
"First year cadets," The auctioneer continued, "As we are all already aware, biding rights are reserved by cadets who have earned no less than 5,000 points in the enrollment test."
Sloane winced visibly. Five thousand points? How many kills did that amount to?
"Remember, your senior cadets are currently watching and accessing your ability to win honor to your respective houses."
"They retain the right to annul a bid from private viewing rooms, if the bride in question is deemed a wrong fit for their house."
Sloane trembled.
The mere thought that she was being watched, not only by the crowd of predators before her, but Creator knew how many more, only fed the terror curling in the pit of her stomach.
The auctioneer turned to Sloane, giving a slow nod.
Sloane guessed that it was her cue, to reveal her gift.
The hall fell eerily silent. Dozens of eyes watched and waited. Her blood ran cold.
"Tax bride, reveal your moon gift." The auctioneer said firmly.
Sloane's heart shrivelled.
If she just kept silent, they might conclude she was scared frozen and let her off, right?
Just then, an amused chuckle broke the silence. "How can she reveal what she doesn't even have?"
A red cloak stood up, pushing back the cloak to reveal a face Sloane hoped never to see again.
Armenia...
A cold chill ran down Sloane's spine.
"Pardon my interruption, Professor Brandon, but I can't help my amusement."
"Since when did Eclipsera become such a big joke?" Armenia giggled again, "That poor girl isn't even a she-wolf, she's human!"
Armenia's words seemed to bounce off the very walls of the dreary hall they stood in.
Sloane flinched.
Humans were the lowest class in the Federation. They weren't even good enough to be slaves, or even mentioned in the presence of Lycans and Vampires.
They lived in small settlements at the furthest reaches of the Federation, ravaged by famine and werewolf slave traders.
The federation turned a blind eye to their reality.
Nevermind the House of Commons, she would be lucky if she didn't get tossed back into Evernight for sullying the halls of the Federation's prestigious academy.
And her father had known it.
That she would not survive, if her identity was discovered.
He'd sent her here to die. They all had.
Sloane's thoughts trailed off when a deep voice echoed through the hall.
"By Lord Zeus's orders, the House of Crimson lays claim to this bride!"